Question

Select a product you are familiar with. Based on your knowledge of the product life cycle, what types of changes will occur to your selected product as it continues through the product life cycle? How will this affect the marketing of your selected product?

Answer 1

Select a product with which you are familiar. What stage is your selected product at in the product life cycle? Provide rationale for your answer. Based on your knowledge of the product life cycle, what types of changes will occur to your selected product as it continues through the product life cycle? How will this affect the marketing of your selected product?

Select a product with which you are familiar.

The selected product that I am familiar with is the latest technology that Apple has developed which is called the iPad. The iPad is lightweight and very compact device that will hold all your desired apps on one device. You can check email, have a photo gallery, watch videos, and much, much more.

What stage is your selected product at in the product life cycle? Provide rationale for your answer.

According to Perreault (2009), “The product life cycle describes the stages a really new product idea goes through from beginning to end. The product life cycle is divided into four major stages: (1) market introduction, (2) market growth, (3) market maturity, and (4) sales decline” (p. 261).

I believe the iPad is at the beginning of the product life cycle because it was not too long ago introduced. I believe it has just passed the first stage and is now in the second stage of market growth. On the university campus that I work for, it is one of the must have items that students and professors are raving about.

Based on your knowledge of the product life cycle, what types of changes will occur to your selected product as it continues through the product life cycle?

Now that the iPad has introduced itself to the market it is now in the market growth stage of the product life cycle. The market maturity stage can be reached quickly once another new technology “gadget” becomes available. But for now, more advertisement must be ran to get the market’s attention more.

How will this affect the marketing of your selected product?

In the electronic market, it is very likely that competitors can make a similar product and sell it for less creating the iPad to reach the market maturity quickly. This will in turn to show sales decline in the last stage of the product life cycle. But right now, it is one of the hottest items on the Christmas list for this year for college students and adults.