Goods and services are the outputs offered by businesses to satisfy the demands of consumer and industrial markets. They are differentiated on the basis of four characteristics: Tangibility: Goods are tangible products such as cars, clothing, and machinery. They have shape and can be seen and touched. Services are intangible. Hair styling, pest control, and equipment repair, for example, do not have a physical presence. Perishability: All goods have some degree of durability beyond the time of purchase. Services do not; they perish as they are delivered. Separability: Goods can be stored for later use. Thus, production and consumption are typically separate. Because the production and consumption of services are simultaneous, services and the service provider cannot be separated. Standardization: The quality of goods can be controlled through standardization and grading in the production process. The quality of services, however, is different each time they are delivered.

For the purpose of developing marketing strategies, particularly product planning and promotion, goods and services are categorized in two ways. One is to designate their position on a goods and services continuum. The second is to place them into a classification system.The goods and services continuum enables marketers to see the relative goods / services composition of total products. A product's position on the continuum, in turn, enables marketers to spot opportunities. At the pure goods end of the continuum, goods that have no related services are positioned. At the pure services end are services that are not associated with physical products. Products that are a combination of goods and services fall between the two ends. For example, goods such as furnaces, which require accompanying services such as delivery and installation, are situated toward the pure goods end. Products that involve the sale of both goods and services, such as auto repair, are near the center. And products that are primarily services but rely on physical equipment, such as taxis, are located toward the pure services end.The second approach to categorizing products is to classify them on the basis of their uses. This organization facilitates the identification of prospective users and the design of strategies to reach them. The major distinction in this system is between consumer and industrial products. Consumer goods and services are those that are purchased for personal, family, or household use. Industrial goods and services are products that companies buy to make the products they sell

Although Canada is often viewed as a single market, in reality the country is composed of diverse regional markets, the most distinct of which is its predominantly French-speaking market, the province of Quebec. Comprising 6.9 million consumers, or approximately 26 percent of Canada's population of 27 million, Quebec presents challenges and opportunities for US exporters of consumer goods and services to tailor their promotional strategies to appeal to a unique, North American French-speaking population. Eighty-five percent of Quebecers speak French as their mother tongue; 9 percent, English; and 6 percent, other languages. However, both English and French are widely spoken in Montreal, one of Canada's major commercial and cultural centers, representing about one-half of Quebec's populationMontreal is a cosmopolitan hub, attracting business visitors, tourists, and immigrants from around the world. The sponsor of both Expo '67 and the Summer Olympics in 1976, Montreal enjoys an international status in many domains, including design and apparel. Montreal may well be the world's capital of humor; the city has its own International Museum of Humor and annually sponsors a "Just for Laughs" festival that features international talent. Montreal's annual international jazz festival, perhaps the largest jazz festival in the world, has contributed to the city's reputation as one of the world's capitals of jazz. Montreal is also the birthplace and home of the Cirque du Soleil, world-renowned for its creative and innovative acrobatic performances. With Montreal as its capital of culture and creativity, the province of Quebec represents a North American French-speaking culture replete with its own idiomatic French language, literature, magazines, music, television programs, films, and sports and entertainment stars