In the modern world, in our consumer society, the market for goods and services occupies almost a dominant position. So, probably, it should be, because everyone, to the best of his ability, buys various goods and uses the services he needs. Moreover, almost always a product and a service are complementary, not contradictory concepts. Sometimes even interpenetrating.
What is a product?
This concept is understood as a product of labor, which primarily has a value. It is distributed in society in various ways (purchase and sale, exchange), and, of course, is the subject of trade. It is also any thing, a product that has a material form, a dominant object that participates in the "seller-buyer" market relations. It does not have the quality of spirituality and is always directly related to material values.
Main classifications
All products are mainly divided into two groups:
- "A" - industrialdestination;
- "B" - consumer consumption.
Roughly speaking, the goods of the first group are used for industry and production, and the second, on the contrary, for personal consumption. The creation of priorities in relation to groups, the artificial allocation of one to the detriment of the other, as a rule, leads to disastrous results. A historical example: the beginning of "perestroika", when the so-called Brezhnev economic model collapsed, which put the production of goods of group "A" at the forefront. We all remember the empty store shelves and the total shortage of even basic products, selling from under the floor, by acquaintance! In general, the consumer society should be oriented towards the production of Group B products, of which there are also several types.
Durables
Material products used by the buyer repeatedly. For example, household appliances, or hardcover books, or furniture and clothes.
Disposables
Material products used one-time or in several stages. For example, food or newspapers, magazines.
Daily demand
Products that are bought frequently, without much thought, without making an effort to compare them with each other. For example, sugar, s alt, cereals, sunflower oil, soap, matches.
Preselection
Products that are purchased by comparing them by the buyer according to the criteria of quality, price, suitability. For example, various types of household appliances, or tableware, or somefood.
Special Demand
Goods for which a person spends extra effort to acquire. These are, as a rule, branded products that are a priority in the modern market. For example, a Mercedes car or a Nikon camera.
Prestigious demand
Products characterized by a certain degree of "eliteness", with the help of which the consumer shows his location on the social ladder. For example, yachts, concept cars, mansions. Goods of this kind are purchased infrequently, on an individual basis.
In general, both goods and services are a kind of market engines. Often these concepts are interpenetrating, they accompany each other. And the all-round production of goods and services is a characteristic feature of the modern economic model of society. Therefore, both play a crucial role in the world of consumption.
Product and service
Having learned what a product is, let's now analyze the concept of "service". These are types of various activities in which a product is not created (new, not previously existing), but the quality of an existing product is modified. Conventionally, these are benefits that are provided to the consumer not in material form, but in the form of some kind of activity. This household, transport, public services. These are training, treatment, cultural enlightenment, all kinds of consultations, provision of various kinds of information, mediation in the conduct of contracts and business transactions. Goods and services differ mainly: the first is a specific thing that has a material form,the second is the type of activity offered for sale.
Definition and classification
Entrepreneurial activity, which is aimed at the result - the satisfaction of the various needs of others - is called a service (at least, this is how it is defined by law). It is characterized by a direct focus on consumers, has inseparability from the source. Services by appointment are divided into material, as well as socio-cultural.
Material - satisfaction of the everyday needs of the individual. For example, repair of various products, utilities, catering, transportation.
Socio-cultural - meeting the spiritual, intellectual needs of a person, ensuring and maintaining his he alth, improving skills in various professions. For example, cultural services, medical, tourism, education. Moreover, today goods and services are so intertwined that the service acts as a commodity. An example is all kinds of training video courses, master classes. They are becoming more and more great virtual goods!
