and what the ratio of long-wearing to budget tires will be.
In addition to the physical characteristics of the product itself, the product question is also concerned with the type of packaging and image associated with a particular product. Some of these decisions can be strictly aesthetic, such as putting whitewalls on tires, but other decisions have more important market implications. Soft drink manufacturers, for example, not only are responsible for developing the syrup which determines the taste of their product, they also design the bottles or cans in which the product is delivered. The Coca-Cola bottle which became popular in the early part of the twentieth century certainly was one of the product's most distinctive features, yet was not directly related to the product at all in that it had no effect on the taste of the soda.
The distribution question refers to where the product or service will be available. Some end users do not buy products directly from the manufacturer; this is the case with most consumer goods in the United States where distributors and retailers buy products before they are offered to the consumer. Depending on who the customer is, and the distribution channel used to reach the customer, companies find that they have to have different marketing strategies. Some companies which are ultimately concerned with selling to the public but which do so through intermediaries, find that they must work closely with their distributors in order to build a strong customer base.
Goodyear Tire sells its products through distributors who, in turn, sell to retailers, but the company also sells directly to end users through its corporate sales. This is how the company obtains contracts to have tires placed on vehicles sold through new car dealerships. This decision to have two different methods of reaching the consumer means that the company has two distinct sales staffs which pursue different selling techni...