what is a product

When the outputs of competing factories are essentially identical and their prices the same, the conversion of an indifferent prospect into a solid customer requires a special effort. Whether the product is cold-rolled steel or hot cross buns, whether accountancy or delicacies, competitive effectiveness increasingly demands that the successful seller offer his prospect and his customer more than the genetic product itself. He mmust surround his generic product with a cluster of value satisfactions that differentiates his total offering from his competitors'. He must provides a total proposition, the content of which exceeds what comes out at the end of the assembly line.

take cosmetics. The industry has factory sales of over $3 billion.