An augmented product is a product that includes intangible benefits beyond the physical product itself. These intangible benefits may include customer service, warranties, or access to information or resources.

Augmented products can be an effective way for companies to differentiate their products from competitors and add value for customers. For example, a company that sells electronic devices may offer a warranty and customer support services as an augmented product, providing peace of mind and convenience for customers.

In addition to tangible benefits like warranties, companies can also use augmented products to provide intangible benefits such as access to information or resources. For example, a software company may offer training and support as an augmented product, helping customers to more effectively use and get value from the product.

In order to effectively market and sell augmented products, it is important for companies to clearly communicate the value and benefits of these intangible elements to customers. This may involve highlighting the benefits in marketing materials and packaging, as well as providing information about the availability and terms of the augmented product.

Overall, augmented products can be a useful way for companies to differentiate their products and add value for customers. By clearly communicating the benefits of these intangible elements, companies can effectively market and sell augmented products. The following are common types of intangible benefits that are included with products.

Delivery
Delivering the product to the customer’s door.

Warranty
A warranty on the product and process for the customer to return the product or make a claim against the warranty.

Customer Service
A service that allows the customer to contact you with requests, issues and inquiries.

Financing
Financing services.

Installation & Configuration
Installing the product and configuring it for the customer.

Customization
Customizing the product to the customer’s requirements.

Updates
Updates for the product such as ongoing security patches for software.

Services
Services that come with the product. For example, a mobile device that comes with internet connectivity.

Customer Experience
The end-to-end experience of buying and using the product including all interactions between your firm and the customer. For example, your website and retail environments are part your product’s customer experience.

A product feature is a characteristic or aspect of a product that contributes to its overall functionality and performance. Product features can include both tangible and intangible elements, such as physical attributes, capabilities, and benefits.

Product features play a key role in the development and marketing of a product. They can help to differentiate a product from its competitors and attract potential customers. In order to effectively communicate the value of a product to customers, it is important for companies to clearly define and highlight the features of their products.

There are several factors that can influence the selection of product features, including the target market, the intended use of the product, and the desired price point. It is important for companies to consider the needs and preferences of their target audience when deciding on product features. Companies may also conduct market research and gather customer feedback to inform their decisions about which features to include in their products.

In conclusion, product features are an essential element of product development and marketing. They help to differentiate a product from its competitors and communicate its value to customers. Companies should carefully consider the needs and preferences of their target market and gather customer feedback when deciding on product features. The following are the basic types of feature.

Style
The artistic elements of form, shape, line, color, tone, space and texture. For example, the form and color of a bicycle helmet may be considered a feature by customers.

Function
Functions are things that a product or service accomplishes. Each function helps a customer perform a task. For example, a coffee mug holds hot or cold beverages.

Experience
The intangible elements of products and services that define end-to-end customer experience. For example, how a coffee cup feels in your hand or how it wears with time.

Quality
The merit of a product or service including both intangible and tangible elements. For example, the taste of food and the health properties of ingredients.

Product analysis is the process of evaluating a product for the purpose of product development, review, or purchasing. This evaluation can be conducted by the producer, the customer, or a third party, such as a product review blog. During product analysis, the product may be tested and information gathered from various sources, including customers and industry analysts. The analysis may also involve comparing the product to competing products on the market. When a customer performs the evaluation, the product may be assessed based on a set of requirements or customer needs. Overall, product analysis helps to identify strengths and weaknesses of a product and inform decision-making about its development, marketing, and sale. The following are illustrative examples of product analysis.

Cost
Evaluation of cost such as a product development team that calculates how much a proposed design will cost to produce at scale.

Functions
Functions are what a product does. For example, a customer may evaluate the functionality of an industrial robot against a set of requirements.

Features
Features are how functions are implemented. For example, two air purifiers that perform similar functions in removing fine particles from air that have different user interfaces. Features are often evaluated in terms of usability.

Performance
The performance of a product such as the responsiveness of a snowboard.

Figure of Merit
A measurable element of product performance such as a CPU benchmark for a computing device.

Ingredients & Materials
The quality of a product’s ingredients or materials such as a food product with natural organic ingredients as compared to a product with chemical additives.

Sensory Analysis
Sensory analysis is the evaluation of products using human senses such as taste, smell, touch, sight, sound and sensation.

Look & Feel
The overall visual appeal of the product.

Customer Experience
The end-to-end customer experience including the services that may be offered with the product. For example, considering the level of customer support offered by a bank as part of the analysis of a financial product.

Packaging
The experience of opening up the product and reusing packaging.

Productivity
How much you accomplish with the product in a unit of time. For example, a mobile phone that makes it easy to quickly enter text.

Efficiency
The resource consumption of the product such as the power used by a refrigerator.

Durability
The ability of the product to retain value over time and when subjected to stresses. For example, a leather couch that still looks new after 5 years as opposed to one that looks worn in 6 months. This may be evaluated with accelerated life testing or with information from existing customers of the product.

Reliability
Consistent performance over time. For example, a printer that maintains high uptime across all customers versus a printer that has a reputation for downtime and being difficult to maintain.

Customization
The ability to configure the product to your preferences or requirements.

Compatibility
How well the product integrates with other things such as a mobile phone that effortlessly integrates with data backup tools and hardware offered by many manufacturers.

Standards
Compliance with standards such as a pillow that is independently certified to have low emissions of VOCs.

Sustainability
The impact of the product on the environment and communities.

Safety
Evaluating product safety such as an organization that performs crash tests on vehicles.

Risk
The risk associated with a product such as the risk of vendor lock-in associated with a software product.

Security & Privacy
Evaluations of the security and privacy of a product. For example, considering the value of an household appliance that connects to the internet versus the security implications of this connectivity.

Terms & Conditions
The legal agreements that come with a product. For example, the software license agreements that apply to a mobile phone.

Conformance Quality
A product with adequate quality control such that every product is the same as opposed to the customer facing a risk of obtaining a defective product. Customers may evaluate this by looking for customer reviews that report a defect product or by seeking data from consumer protection agencies and organizations.

Reputation
A summary of the producer’s reputation including your experiences with its products.

Value
Comparing the ratio of quality to price. In this context, quality is evaluated in terms of the product’s fitness for purpose.

A latent need is a customer need that is not currently being met by the market and is not actively requested by customers. As a result, it may not be identified through market research. These needs are often referred to as “unknown” or “unstated” needs, as customers may not be aware of them. Latent needs can be uncovered through careful observation and analysis of customer behavior, as well as through the development of innovative products and services that address these unmet needs. The following are illustrative examples of a latent need.

Convenience

Products and services that save the customer time and effort. In the 1960s, few customers would have asked for a faster oven because they would have assumed it would burn the food. When the home microwave oven was first introduced in 1967 it didn’t sell particularly well for the first decade because customers were unaware of the technology.

Productivity

Tools that allow customers to accomplish more with their time. In 1990, few customers would have asked for an integrated global network of information, entertainment, commerce and communication but this is what they got with the commercialization of the internet beginning in the mid-1990s.

Usability

Products and services that are pleasing and productive to use. Customers often find faults in the usability of products and services and this commonly surfaces in market research. However, leaps forward in usability such as cut-and-paste and pinch-to-zoom weren’t obvious needs before their introduction.

Experience

Elements of the end-to-end customer experience of a product, service or environment. For example, the introduction of pervasive games that merge reality with digital game elements generated significant customer demand but wasn’t something customers were asking for before its introduction. Customers commonly asked for virtual reality but not mixed reality.

Efficiency

Tools that give you more output for input. For example, a digital twin that is used to manage infrastructure.

Quality of Life

Things that improve quality of life. For example, customers might be happy with concrete walls until they see a green wall for the first time.