Marketing Management - Assignment 8 - Essay Example

Form or Function? When it comes to the key to a product’s success, is it really about form or function? Well, this has been a long-running debate between marketers where both sides have actual case studies to prove either product functionality or product design being key to a brand’s success. However, in my own opinion, I would say that product functionality still has a greater weight to pin down success. All of us are consumers because of the needs we have to satisfy. Whatever they are, whether it is motivated by a need or a want, all of us allocate a certain amount of our money to the purchase of products where the end goal is to satisfy something.

Thus, functionality of a product is an element that should never be absent in anything that is sold in the market. This is very evident in a consumer behavior where a customer would immediately ask for a replacement or product service for any damaged or defective produce they have just bought. With this said, functionality is the end all and be all. Though a form of a product would attract people to buy things that may not be necessary, this is just mainly applicable to impulsive buyers. Furthermore, a product with just form without functionality could end up in a sale but not a sustainable relationship with a certain product or brand (Form vs Function: Design, Emotion and Profitability, n.d.).

Once customers are not satisfied with a product, they would always immediately look to another brand that would not disappoint. However, there are still products which lack functionality and yet are still in the market because of the few who put aesthetic considerations over functional considerations (Smashing Magazine, n.d.).Right Price a Fair Price?Pricing is one of the elements that affect a consumer’s purchase behavior. This is because all of us have to prioritize the kind of expenses we make for a limited budget.

That is why we are all told to be practical buyers, only getting what we need and to spend within our means. With this said, the question of whether prices should reflect the value that consumers are willing to pay or if prices should primarily just reflect the cost involved in making a product or service comes into picture. In my own opinion, companies should have the right pricing, meaning reflecting the cost involved in making a product or service which translates into fair pricing as opposed to a price that reflects the value that consumers are willing to pay for.

This is because the latter poses many issues such as isolating a lot of consumers that belong to the lower income bracket. When this happens, only the rich people are able to purchase their products which allows them to ignore being given an “unfair” pricing while the poor people is greatly affected by its implications.With this said, I would say that right pricing or fair pricing is something all companies should adhere to especially because it is not only for the benefit of the consumers but also of the company itself.

With right or fair pricing, companies can ask for an amount that equates to the quality of the materials used to produce the product which also has considerations for the labor put in (Can There Ever Be a Fair Price? Why Jcpenneys Strategy Backfired, n.d.). Pricing based on the value one’s customers are willing to pay for is a form of abuse towards buyers and at the same time creates a generation of reckless and frippery buyers who have little regard for the value of money. Bibliography:Form vs Function: Design, Emotion and Profitability. (n.d.). Form vs Function: Design, Emotion and Profitability.

Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.kaminibanga.com/professional/articles/brand-equity/22-form-vs-function-design-emotion-and-profitability.htmlSmashing Magazine. (n.d.). Smashing Magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/03/23/does-form-follow-function/Can There Ever Be a Fair Price? Why Jcpenneys Strategy Backfired. (n.d.). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/05/can-there-ever-be-a-fair-price/