There are a huge number of different products that offer customers. Some products are in great demand and do not need active promotion, while others require special promotion, since the buyer does not think for a while about their purchase. We will talk about what are goods of passive demand, what are their specifics and how should they be promoted.
Demand concept
The basic law of market existence is the law of supply and demand. If there is no demand, then the market does not grow, production slows down and the entire economic system stagnates. Therefore, demand is a constant concern of marketers, they try to find techniques and methods of boosting demand for all types of goods. Demand is the monetary form of expressing consumer needs. This is the amount of money that they are willing to pay for a certain product in a certain period. Demand is highly dependent on price; if it is excessively high, then the consumer will not purchase goods and demand will begin to fall. However, this does not mean that lower prices always lead to higher demand, although such a correlation is observed in many product categories. Therefore, marketers are constantly monitoring demand. They are making a lot of efforts to boost it. The biggest problem arises when you need to sell passive goods.
Types of demand
Since many factors influence the purchasing power of a consumer, different types of demand can be distinguished. According to the frequency of occurrence, there is daily, periodic, episodic, potential and emerging demand. In this case, the decision on the purchase is affected by the frequency of the need. Depending on the buyer's intentions, demand can be divided into steady, impulsive, irregular, negative, negative, alternative and speculative. In all these cases, the consumer has some idea of the product and correlates its quality with its needs. According to the degree of satisfaction of demand, demand is satisfied, unsatisfied and conditionally satisfied. Depending on what the consumer knows about the product and its ability to satisfy the need, active and passive demand is also distinguished. In the first case, we are talking about goods that are well known to the consumer, with clearly recognizable consumer properties. And in the second case, they talk about goods of passive demand, about which the consumer either has absolutely no idea or there is completely vague knowledge about the use of the product and its properties.
Product Classifications
A product is a product made for exchange and able to satisfy the needs of the buyer. Since there are so many needs of people, there are many different products. All products can be classified according to their purpose. In this case, goods of individual, intermediate and industrial consumption are distinguished, depending on who acquires this product and for what purpose. In accordance with the way the product will be used, long-term and short-term items and disposable items are allocated. According to the main characteristics, it is possible to divide goods into food and non-food, long-term storage and perishable. There is a classification of goods and the type of demand for them. In this case, the following products are distinguished:
- Everyday demand. This is what people buy almost daily. Food, detergents, household supplies. When purchasing such items, people often act in the usual way, especially without thinking about making a purchase.
- Periodic demand. The purchase is made when the product ends. For example, light bulbs or stationery. Upon purchase, the buyer also usually acts according to the usual scenario, without spending a lot of time comparing and choosing the product.
- Pre-selection. These are durable goods, often at tangible prices: clothing, shoes, furniture. When buying, the consumer compares goods from different sellers, evaluates the quality of the goods, and chooses for a long time.
- Rare demand. This is something that people buy infrequently, such as jewelry, fur coats, cars. In this case, the buyer usually spends a lot of time comparing alternatives, choosing and evaluating the product.
- Seasonal demand. These are products that people remember about during certain seasons of the year - skis, swimwear, sunglasses.
- Passive demand. In this case, the buyer does not naturally need a product; it needs to be formed and stimulated.
Product Features
The choice of a product and its demand is influenced by its characteristics. Each product has four fundamental characteristics. These are assortment, quantitative, qualitative and cost characteristics. When choosing a product, the buyer pays attention to the assortment line, if it includes more than three items, the consumer considers the assortment to be sufficient and usually makes comparisons within the same brand. For example, milk of a preferred brand offers different types of packaging and a product of different fat content, and the buyer does not need to choose a product of another brand. Qualitative characteristics are most difficult to manage, as consumers have different requirements for the characteristics of the goods. But usually they pay attention to the physical properties of the product, as well as its packaging, fame, prestige, all this is formed by marketing. Quantity - this is a physical parameter of evaluation, the buyer looks at the weight of the goods, the number of pieces in the package and correlates them with their needs. And the buyer uses the price parameters, evaluating his capabilities when buying. Aesthetic, ergonomic and environmental features of products are also distinguished. It is possible to evaluate the goods from the point of view of the need for the buyer. In this case, we can talk about well-known and necessary goods, as well as passive demand goods. They are characterized by varying degrees of awareness of the need to make a purchase. The buyer is aware of the necessary goods and knows how they will be able to satisfy his needs, but in the case of the second goods there is no such clarity. It must be formed with the help of marketing communications.
Features of passive goods
Demand can be expressed when the buyer knows what he needs to buy to meet his needs, and hidden or passive. In this case, the consumer usually does not think about satisfying any needs and, accordingly, does not pay attention to certain groups of goods. They are called passive goods. Examples of such objects, according to the famous theoretician and marketing practitioner F. Kotler, are tombstones, cemetery plots, and insurance. The main feature of such goods is that the consumer does not think about purchasing them at all, he does not have the need of his own free will, which he could and would like to satisfy with the help of such goods. For example, it is not common for most people to think about the risks of fire or floods that could seriously damage their homes. And only an insurance agent can actualize the need for security and push a person to purchase an insurance policy. It is interesting that a person who once made a purchase of a product of passive demand, in the future it is much easier to re-purchase, and even he can become its initiator.
Needs and different types of goods
The consumer makes purchases in an effort to satisfy their needs, to remove the feeling of discomfort. At the same time, physiological needs are accompanied by a pronounced sense of deficiency, and a person does not need to spend resources on their recognition. In this connection, the goods with which he can satisfy this need always attract the attention of the buyer. He is ready to learn about them, to compare and evaluate them. But unconscious or unformed needs can be satisfied with special goods, the purchase of which a person usually does not think about. For example, passive demand products include various technological products. What consumer would buy an energy-saving light bulb if marketers did not tell him for a long time and stubbornly about the need to protect the ecology and resources of the Earth? Today, this product has already left the category of passive demand. But this required great efforts and costs from the manufacturer of the goods.
Examples
The most problematic from the point of view of promotion are passive goods. Examples of goods are given in his works by F. Kotler - these are tombstones, places in cemeteries. But there are not so radical examples of such goods. For example, who would have thought about buying a pedometer if marketers hadn’t told that a person should take a certain number of steps for health? The same group includes various know-how, for example, photography technology in mobile phones. Manufacturers must talk for a long time about why they are needed, so that people begin to feel the need for them.
Product Development
Today, most products are created for a specific need. This need may still not be with the consumer. But it will be formed to sell passive goods. The list of such things is quite long. So, gadget manufacturers, before starting the production of a new device, think over what kind of need can be formed from a person to buy goods. For example, the appearance of such a familiar device today as a multicooker was accompanied by thoughtful communication, during which the housewives were told that they could save time and effort if they use the new device.
Special Product Marketing
In connection with specific characteristics, there are also peculiarities of marketing passive demand products. First of all, they consist in the fact that significant efforts are needed to promote such products. It is necessary to build a long, active, and sometimes aggressive communication, so that the consumer begins to think about the acquisition. For example, in order to encourage people to buy insurance policies, it is necessary to cause real fear in them, which they would like to remove by purchasing insurance.
Merchandising
To promote special products, they often use the opportunities of advertising at points of sale. This may be a special calculation, the allocation of special zones for these groups of goods. For example, passive-demand goods in a pharmacy are often laid out in the “hot” checkout area so that consumers can make an impulse purchase. Small vitamin bars, nutritional supplements, first aid products - a person usually does not think about acquiring all this. But, seeing them, he can make a purchase.