Alina Babaisakova
ESL 91

Business utilities.

For a long time people have opened their business organizations, where they produce many useful products for societies that need them. The general business refers to all such efforts within a society and an industry. Each company wants to achieve and tries to produce its products, however, it can. A product is what a person can exchange, including all material and nonmaterial goods, ideas, and services. Marketing is a process of planning, dealing with price, promoting and distributing ideas, creating goods, and services, and individual or organizational objectives. Utility is a skill of producing goods and services for human needs. For businesses to succeed, they must know all about the four marketing utilities, which are form, place, time, and possession.

Form utility means that the product is in the form that the customer needs. For example, if I wear size six of shoes and the store doesn’t have my size; the shoes don’t have form utility for me, so I will not buy them.

Place utility is based on selling products at a location where customers wish to buy products. For example, I am living in California and I want to buy something from Canada. To do this I need to order by mail from the post office, but the company does not have mail order. Therefore, the product doesn’t have place utility in this case and so I can’t buy it.

Time utility is based on making products available when customers wish to buy them. For example, Halloween costumes might be manufactured in April, but not displayed until September when customers start buying them. So by storing the costumes until they are wanted, the manufacturer provides time utility.

Possession utility is based on ownership of products by the buyer. For example, I go to the shop to buy a suit, which I like. Its right for my size and I want to buy it with a credit card, but the store takes only cash. So that is a problem for me, because I don’t have cash. Therefore, I’m not being able to buy the suit. I may go to another store that takes credit cards or I won’t buy the suit at all.

The four utilities; form, place, time, and possession are each necessary for an exchange to take place. Wherever any one of them is missing, the consumer will not buy the product. Companies that produced goods and services are must pay attention to all aspects of marketing and must listen to customer’s wishes order to be successful.