Kotler’s classification of products

Kotler (1972) identified four classes of product along two dimensions: immediate satisfaction and long-term consumer welfare.

There is diagram on page 60 of the B324 Block 2 course book.

Deficient products are those that offer no immediate satisfaction and have no long-term benefit to consumer welfare. Pleasing products have no long-term benefit to consumer welfare but are immediately satisfying (e.g. cigarettes). Salutary products are those which are beneficial to consumers in the long-term, but offer no immediate satisfaction. Desirable products are those which are both immediately satisfying and beneficial to consumer welfare in the long-run.