Summary
Highlights
The video introduces the concept of product design and management in the hospitality and tourism industry, emphasizing that products can be tangible (e.g., food) or intangible (e.g., experiences, service speed). Products can also be planned or unplanned. Both tangible and intangible aspects are crucial in hospitality, where customer experience is shaped by both physical offerings and service quality.
Products are categorized into different levels: core, facilitating, supporting, and augmented. The core product is the basic offering satisfying the customer's primary need, such as a guest room in a hotel or food in a restaurant, along with the quality of interaction with staff. Facilitating products are essential for delivering the core product, like utensils for food or shampoo in a hotel. Supporting products provide additional value and differentiate offerings, eventually sometimes becoming facilitating products (e.g., internet access). Augmented products encompass elements that assist in delivering the product, like accessibility, operating hours, location, atmosphere, and even customer interactions with other customers, enhancing the overall experience and differentiation.
New product development is a systematic process for hospitality and tourism providers. It begins with idea generation, drawing from internal insights and market research to identify customer needs. This is followed by concept development and testing, where prototypes are created and tested for market viability. The third stage is market strategy development, involving target market analysis, segmentation, distribution channels, and projected sales. Business analysis then evaluates feasibility against company objectives. Product development involves creating limited-quantity prototypes for testing, leading to test marketing in real-life situations. Finally, commercialization determines when, where, and how to launch the new product.
The product life cycle consists of four stages: product development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Profitability is initially low during development and introduction due to costs. As a product matures, companies often introduce new versions to offset the decline of existing products and maintain profitability. This strategic approach ensures continuous innovation and sustained market presence.