ABSTRACT
Marketing theory was originally focused on selling tangible goods, which are physical products that are handcrafted or manufactured (e.g., a can of soda, a jacket, or a bed). With the growth of the service industry in the 1980s, those in charge of marketing realized that services may diff er in some aspects from tangible products, but they still need to be marketed. Th erefore, marketing theory was expanded to address the unique challenges presented by the need to market service products. With the expansion of the service industry, it is now understood that ideas, such as political parties, and experiences, such as a visit to another country, are also products that must be marketed. In marketing theory, the word product can now be used to describe any combination of a tangible good, a service, an idea, and an experience.
