Introduction
The ability of any business to attract and retain its customers is directly dependent on the strengths and weaknesses of its product development. It is important for a company to map out a guide for its efforts in developing and marketing of products that create and sustains a competitive advantage (Stark, 2007). The product strategy should be able to meet the company’s growth and profit objectives. A successful product strategy should, therefore, help the entity to maximize both its customer satisfaction and profits (Stark, 2007).
GNC being a leading retailer in the health and wellness industry must strive to find a competitive advantage in the market through the establishment of a good product strategy, proper pricing strategy, exceptional brand awareness, and setting up a foundation for growth. The product strategy must be clearly thought out through the three levels of product and services.
Core customer value
In analyzing the product’s core values, the producer/ manufacturer establishes what the buyer wants from the product. It helps create a list of benefits that the consumer hopes to get from the purchase. The appropriate marketing strategy decisions can only be realized after clearly defining the core product clearly. The core product is intangible in nature.
GNC fish oil has a core value of ensuring healthy living and wellness. This core value is reached through the reduction of body fat, improved muscle gain, reduced symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, reduced risk of heart disease, and improved lives for those with diabetes ("Shop - GNC", 2016).
The actual product
Upon making a decision on what the core values of the product will be the business must make a decision on how the actual product will be manufactured. The actual product refers to the tangible commodity that the consumers purchase with an aim of deriving the core benefits. The business must make decisions on the product attributes, packaging and labeling. The product quality is among the most important product attributes. The focus of the actual product is essentially about meeting the expectations of the buyers. This aspect of the product is also concerned with the conceptual and practical problems of measurement.
The product quality, its features, and design must provide differentiation from its competitors. GNC fish oil as ensured that the commodities remain not only safe for use but also effective. The performance of the product can be improved through the introduction of trial packets and also the introduction of the smaller size of all the products. The smaller sizes can help in meeting the growing demand for the product and the country’s purchasing patterns.
The augmented product
This refers to the non-physical aspect of the product. Usually, it entails the goods and services that add value to the consumer’s purchase. Although these features may not be the primary reason for buying a product, for some products their inclusion strengthens the purchase and for others, their omission might cause a customer not to buy. The items include guarantee, warranty, customer service and complementary products
GNC fish oil can improve the augmented product by ensuring no delivery charge, improving the online store, providing exclusive member deals and updates, ensuring increased number of stores, and organizing and cleaning the stores ("Shop - GNC", 2016). Also, the company should reduce the delivery period while providing the attendants in the shops are knowledgeable about the product
Pricing strategy
The price to be charged for a product is one of the most significant strategic issues that the company faces. Pricing determines the products positioning in the market. It also has an effect on the other marketing mix elements such as the channel of distribution, product features, and promotion. The price to be set is established after a keen consideration is made on the fixed and variable costs, competitive environment company objectives, positioning strategies set, and the target group and their willingness to meet the set price (Smith, 2012).
Upon consideration of the mentioned factors, a firm can make a choice on whether to implement one of the customer-based pricing, cost-based pricing or competitor-based pricing. Cost based pricing usually involves the addition of a fixed amount or percentage to the total cost (Smith, 2012). The rate or the fixed amount to be added is subject to the competition in the environment and also whether the price will be acceptable in the market.
GNC charges rates that are relatively competitive in comparison to the other players in the market. Healthy Options charge higher prices while Healthy Express charges low prices than GNC ("Shop - GNC", 2016). The little brand awareness about GNC products makes it impossible for the company to get old of the market. For the same reason, it cannot charge high prices.
The company should continue with its pricing strategy and keep the premium prices stable so as to maintain the image of the brand. Issuing of Platinum cards and other influencers and high discounts of up to 40% could also work for the firm. A good pricing strategy will motivate dealers to who will trade more in the product. Increased action by the dealers attracts more customers leading to more revenue for the entity (Smith, 2012)
References
Shop - GNC. (2016). GNC. Retrieved 11 April 2016, from http://www.gnc.com/home/index.jsp
Smith, T. (2012). Pricing strategy. Mason, Oh: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Stark, J. (2007). Global product. London: Springer.
