Essay About Product Strategy And British Airways

Product Strategy of the British Airways
Essay title: Product Strategy of the British Airways
Product Strategy of the British Airways
1.1 Introduction to product strategy
Product is the most important component in an organization. Without a
product there is no place, no price, no promotion, and no business.
Product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want
or a need. It is the core ingredient of the marketing mix and is
everything favorable and unfavorable, tangible and intangible received
in the exchange of an idea, service or good (Kotler 11th edition,
2003). British Airways is a business offering service products,
flights across destinations, in the transportation industry. Service
is an intangible product involving a deed, performance or effort that
cannot be stored or physically processed, were customers directly
participate in the production process.
Product strategy is therefore very vital for the organizations
success. It needs to be developed and manage very careful in order to
be successful. British Airways product strategy includes flight
services, quality of flights, various destinations across Europe and
the world, executive class, business class, speed, security, support
facilities and years of experience. It provides the basic product and
various alternatives to satisfy all the different customer needs.
1.2 Product Levels
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If we have a brief look at Kotlers five-product levels theory, there
are five products levels in regards with the quality and the
expectation of the customers and each level adds more value to the
customer (Kotler 11th edition, 2003).[1]
1. At the beginning is the core benefit, the fundamental service or
benefit that the customer really buying. The most fundamental level is
the core benefits; what the customer really buys. In British Airways
customers buying flight tickets to satisfy their basic need which is
to flight from one destination to another.
2. The second level is the basic product, were customers book their
seat on a schedule flight to a particular destination. British Airways
flies to the busiest airports in Europe in 95 different cities and to
58 other destination across the world. It is by far the busiest
Airways company in the world operating a big number of airplanes
3. The third level is the expected product in other words the
condition buyers expect when the purchase their tickets. In British
Airways customers expect to have an allocated seat, meals and drinks,
on board entertainment good service, in contrast with Easy-Jet were
customer just buy a ticket with no allocated seat and without on board
service of food and drinks.
4. The fourth level is the augmented product that exceeds customer
expectation. The augmented product is the extra services that British
Airways provides and the support facilities. It has three different
executive classes for different needs: the blue, the silver and the
gold. For the member of the silver and gold there are executive
lounges in all the main airports where customers can relax away from
the noise and eat something or even have a shower and go to the gym.