product liability

(noun)

the idea that manufacturers of products are responsible for the safety of that product, which may be compromised due to defect or every day use.

Related Terms

  • legislation
  • deregulation

Examples of product liability in the following topics:

  • Applicable Legislation

    • Examples of product liability in action: Two Maryland men decided to dry their hot air balloon in a commercial laundry dryer.
    • We will briefly discuss the three areas receiving the most notice in marketing: product liability, deregulation, and consumer protection.
    • Liability can even result if a court or a jury decides that a product's design, construction, or operating instructions and safety warnings make the product unreasonably dangerous to use.
    • Many feel that product liability law is now as it should be—in favor of the injured product user.
    • Consumer advocates like Ralph Nader argue that for too long, product liability favored producers at the expense of the product user.
  • Product Quality

    • The specifications guide product and service design, process design, production of goods and delivery of services, and service after the sale or delivery.
    • Some of these consequences of poor quality include loss of business, liability, decreased productivity, and increased costs.
    • When making designs, designers must keep in mind customer wants, production or service capabilities, safety and liability, costs, and other similar considerations.
    • Designing a product with "ease of use" increases the chances that the product will be used in its intended design and it will continue to function properly and safely.
    • Customers are willing to pay a very steep price for this product.
  • Customer Concerns

    • This is especially true for business-to-business (B2B) companies where stakeholders often provide constructive criticism to help marketing, sales, and technical departments adapt product offerings to meet changing customer needs.
    • Customer concerns may arise due to issues over product quality or functionality.
    • Mass product recalls are examples of company efforts to limit liability or avoid costly legal penalties due to corporate negligence.
    • Account or sales managers are often a B2B company's first line of defense when it comes to flagging and responding to customer complaints regarding service disruptions or product malfunctions.
    • B2B brands often assign cross-functional teams – sales representatives, developers, product specialists, and call center professionals – to oversee individual client accounts.
  • Types of Businesses

    • Primary ownership types of businesses include corporations, cooperatives, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), limited liability companies (LLCs) and sole proprietorships.
    • The business owner has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business.
    • Businesses also vary by industry due to the wide variety of products and service they offer to the market.
    • Agriculture and mining businesses are concerned with the production of raw material, such as plants or minerals.
    • Manufacturers create products from raw materials or component parts, which they then sell at a profit.
  • Product Line Breadth

    • The product mix breadth is five.
    • What products will be offered (i.e., the breadth and depth of the product line)?
    • You may also hear the product line breadth referred to as the product width, product assortment width, and merchandize breadth.
    • The product mix (sometimes called "product assortment") is made up of both product lines and individual products.
    • An individual product is a particular product within a product line.
  • Organizational Requirements for Product Development and Management

    • Product development combined with product marketing make up the product management function within an organization.
    • Product management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning, forecasting, or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle.
    • Product development – the process of bringing new products to the marketplace – combined with product marketing, make up the product management function that oversees the launch of a company's new products.
    • A product manager investigates, selects, and develops one or more tangible products for an organization.
    • However, product management also deals with intangible products, such as music, information, and services.
  • Product Orientation

    • A firm employing a product orientation is chiefly concerned with the quality of its product.
    • Similar to production orientation, the product orientation of marketing focuses solely on the product a company intends to sell.
    • A firm employing a product orientation is chiefly concerned with the quality of its product.
    • A firm such as this would assume that as long as its product was of a high standard, people would buy and consume the product.
    • Consumers recognize product quality and differences in the performance of alternative products.
  • Characteristics of the Product

    • The unique characteristics of a product should be used as inputs in determining the product's marketing mix.
    • The characteristics of the product are the features and elements that differentiate it from other products on the market.
    • Product characteristics help determine the marketing mix, potential target market and the pricing of a product.
    • Characteristics of a product also help to determine the price of a product.
    • The characteristics of a product determine the target market and price of a product.
  • When to Modify Products

    • While the decision to modify products happens ideally at the design stage, products can be changed during any phase of the life cycle.
    • The product life cycle (PLC) encompasses the multiple phases products pass through during their 'life' in the market.
    • Stakeholders typically contribute input during product development, demanding something different from the product designer and design process.
    • Other products are never re-introduced and deleted entirely from the product roadmap.
    • While some products are completely new innovations, others are simply minor modifications to existing products.
  • The Product Life Cycle

    • Product development and product life cycles go hand-in-hand.
    • The product life cycle (PLC) describes the life of a product in the market with respect to business/commercial costs and sales measures.
    • Products have a limited life and, thus, every product has a life cycle.
    • The product life cycle begins with the introduction stage (see ).
    • A good product manager should find new products to replace those that are in the declining stage of their life cycles; learning how to manage products optimally as they move from one stage to the next.
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