Ch.10 Product Concepts

The most important element of the marketing mix is the product. A great product offering or product mix is vital to a firm's success in the marketplace. Product attributes and benefits must provide customer value in order to compete effectively. Maybelline has a good understanding and a clear vision as to what benefits their target market seeks, and they create products to complement and fulfill their needs. Maybelline offers a wide variety of product categories, all strategically grouped together under different product lines offering beauty essentials such as Mascara, Eyeliner, Eye shadow, Lip Balm, Lip Gloss, Foundation, etc. Each of these product categories has great depth, offering variations to match the individual needs of different customers. For example, Maybelline’s Volum’ Express Mascara line has nine different mascaras, each providing a different benefit such as “Extensive length”, “Clump-free volume”, and “Explosive Volume”. 

 

The product line FIT Me seeks to provide its own special benefits, such as makeup with a natural, fresh, and breathable finish, skin perfecting, and skin-tone matching which women can use to highlight and enhance their features without covering their natural beauty. FIT Me offers an assortment of six different products, New Shine-Free Stick Foundation, Liquid Foundation, Pressed Powder, Concealer, Blush, and Bronzer. Each of these products comes in many different shades to match different skin tones and preferences. FIT Me is of great quality, has received great reviews from customers, and has become very popular. Although there are other competitors promoting products with similar benefits, FIT Me has been successful due to it being one of the few lines (if not the only one) in the market that is specifically aimed at meeting the demand for natural, breathable, and skin-tone matching makeup. FIT Me’s Shine-Free Stick Foundation, was a product extension made my Maybelline which is the “first of its kind”, and significantly contributed to the success of the makeup line. FIT Me has a cost-competitive advantage over its competitors because it is easily accessible and affordable, compared to higher priced products from other brands with similar benefits.

 

Another important aspect of product design is the packaging. FIT Me’s products are easily recognizable, due to their uniform packaging. The packaging for all FIT Me products is very similar to that of one another, using the same color and similar shape. The packaging also tells a lot about the product. FIT Me’s product packaging comes in black and nude to convey the idea of simplicity, and that the line focuses on matching different skin tones for a flawless natural look. FIT Me’s product packaging provides ease-of-use to its customers. All of the products come without a large and difficult to take off plastic encasement. Instead, they simply come with a thin plastic wrap to display and ensure freshness and newness of the product.

Maybelline has a high brand equity, which is a great advantage when releasing new products or product lines, which Maybelline does often. Brand equity refers to the level of Maybelline’s brand awareness in the marketplace, perceived quality, reputation, and most importantly, brand loyalty. Customers who have had positive experiences with Maybelline products or have heard of others' experiences, are more likely to purchase Maybelline products because they refer back to that positive experience when comparing brand options. Also, any consumer with a positive view of Maybelline’s products, especially those who had personal experiences with the product, are more open to trying new products by the brand as well.