Marketing firms use a variety of strategies to convince consumers of the utility of a product. A product's utility is its usefulness or the value it provides to the consumer. There are six utilities in marketing: form utility, time utility, place utility, information utility, service utility, and possession utility.

Possession utility is the value a consumer places on purchasing a product and having the freedom to use it. For example, if Joe wants a new car, he will shop car lots until he finds a car he likes with a price he can afford. He is searching for possession utility in the form of a low payment. Low monthly payments are valuable to Joe and allow him to take possession of the car, satisfying his possession utility.