TABLE OF CONTENTS When the term product is used in marketing, it can refer to a tangible physical good, an intangible service, an idea, or an experience. Most products that are marketed are physical goods, such as a piece of furniture and an article of clothing. When purchasing a tangible good, the consumer buys the actual product. However, other products, such as a haircut and a medical exam, are intangible services. When purchasing a service, it is the outcome of the process that the consumer purchases, such as looking attractive after a good haircut or feeling healthy after a medical treatment.
Not always thought of as products that need to be marketed are ideas. However, convincing people to vote for a particular candidate or to change a socially unacceptable behavior such as drinking and driving is also a marketing activity. If the marketing is successful, the consumers have "purchased" the idea by changing their behavior. Finally, a product can also be the experience that results when goods, services, and ideas are consumed. The exact components of this experience may be difficult to define, but it is a very real purchase to the consumer.
When tourists visit a city, they are purchasing just such an experience product. Tourists visiting the city will consume physical goods, services, and ideas, all of which together create the experience of visiting. Tourists will consider the visit experience as acceptable only if all the goods, services, and ideas meet their...
