A consumer has a host of choices across a wide price range when purchasing this type of electronic. In order to differentiate themselves from the competition, companies selling computers will augment the basic computer - the actual product - with warranties, customer service hotlines and other add-ons in order to make their products stand out.
The consumer then has the choice of buying a basic computer or an augmented product that has more bells and whistles. A company's success in selling an augmented product is heavily dependent on consumer perception of the value the add-ons bring, which makes marketing the product very important.
Additional services are part of the augmented product.