Know-How Exchange : Other

Commodities are differentiated only by price. Proprietary products (or services) have some other basis for differentiation.

Examples of commodities: silver, gold, crude oil, wheat, corn, soybeans, electrical energy, etc.

Examples of proprietary products: Coca Cola, McDonalds, Singapore Airlines, Toyota automobiles, Doritos tortilla chips, Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste, etc.

A true marketing purist would probably argue that the commodity designation is a state of mind, not a characteristic of the product itself. We've shown our clients how to brand (and thus make proprietary) industrial chemicals, man-made fibers, paper, and other things previously considered commodities. It's all in how you define your offering and meet your customers real needs.

A commodity is still a product, but it's one sold primarily on price. It's also one sold primarily business-to-business.

Eg: if you have a ton of wheat, you have a commodity; if you grind the wheat into flour and make bread out of it, you've turned it into a product.