About Lesson
Products, like living entities, have a life cycle. They are born (introduced), grow, mature, and eventually decline.
- Introduction Stage:
- Launch of the product.
- Sales grow slowly.
- High investment costs, often leading to negative profits.
- Marketing objective: create product awareness and trial.
- Strategies: Offer a basic product, use cost-plus pricing, build selective distribution and awareness advertising.
- Growth Stage:
- Rapidly rising sales.
- Increasing profits.
- Competition begins to increase.
- Marketing objective: maximize market share.
- Strategies: offer product extensions, diversify the brand and distribution, and enter new market segments.
- Maturity Stage:
- Sales peak.
- Profits stabilize or decline due to increased competition.
- Marketing objective: defend market share while maximizing profit.
- Strategies: modify the market, product, or marketing mix to find new customers, improve product appeal, or create a broader distribution.
- Decline Stage:
- Sales fall off and profits drop.
- Marketing objective: reduce expenses and milk the brand, or decide to discontinue the product.
- Strategies: phase out weaker items, cut prices, use selective distribution, and reduce advertising to minimal level.
Understanding the product concept, devising robust product strategies, and acknowledging where a product is in its life cycle allows marketers to make informed decisions. This ensures the product remains relevant to its target audience, meets their needs effectively, and continues to bring value to the company. Businesses that proactively manage their products through each stage of the life cycle often enjoy sustained success and can navigate challenges more adeptly.
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