MARKETING

Marketing

Marketing

Question 1 Product Life Cycle

Introduction

Being the brand manager of who has taken the responsibility for a shampoo brand called Everest Shampoo, which has been successfully marketed by the company for several years, but which now appears to be entering the decline stage of the product life cycle; through this essay, I present a presentation to the group marketing manager. This presentation entails a critical discussion of the usefulness of the concept of product life cycle and also the identification of the strategic alternatives available together with the justification of the recommended approach.

Critical discussion of the usefulness of the product life cycle concept

The product life cycle may be classified into various phases typified according to the profits that the product generates. In case, a curve is formed to show the profits generated with time, it might take any of the several distinct shapes, an example of which is demonstrated in the figure shown below.

The development of the product is the incubation phase of the product life cycle. There aren't any sales, and the company arranges to launch the new product. With the progress of the product through its life cycle, alterations in the market are generally needed for the order of adjusting to the surfacing opportunities and challenges. After the introduction of the production, sales would be a bit low till the time consumers get acquainted of the new product and its qualities. In duration of the introductory phase, the company is probable to acquire supplementary costs allied to the preliminary supply of the product. Such high costs together with a lower volume of sales generally make the introductory period entail negative revenues (Hutton, 2006, pp. 155-162). The prime goal in the introductory phase is the establishment of a market and development of a principal demand for the product class. The next stage that is the maturity phase entails most of the profits. At the same time as the sales persist to escalate into this phase, they do so at a relatively slow lick. For the reason that the awareness of the brand is really strong, expenditures on advertisements would be trimmed off. Competition might lead to reduced prices or market share (Aaker, 2007, pp. 135-143).

At this point, the products in competition might be quite comparable, enhancing the intricacy in making a distinction amongst the products. The company puts in effort for prompting the customers of the competitors to switch their brand, escalating the utility of every customer, and transforming non-consumers into consumers. Sales promotions might be imparted for encouraging the merchants to provide more shelf space to the product against the products in competition. The primary goal in duration of the maturity stage is the maintenance of the market share and the extension of the product life cycle. The sale, ultimately start declining, since the tastes of the customer change, the product becomes technically outmoded, or the market becomes saturated. In case the product has acquired brand loyalty, the productivity might be upheld for long. The unit prices might rise with ...