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

The product life cycle has four stages. They are Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. The product selected for the given question is mobile phone. Every product has to go through the four stages of product life cycle. The initial stage i.e. Introduction stage is the stage when the company will try to create awareness about the product and attract the potential consumers attention towards the product. The marketing strategy at this stage will include promotional activities to reach out to more number of customers so that they get to know about the product. In this case, the company can highlight the benefits of using mobile phone like portability, light weight, anywhere anytime communication etc.

Growth stage is marked by a substantial increase in the sales of the product and the adoption of the product by the market. The company will now begin to earn profits and occupy a substantial part of the market share. The marketing strategy the company has to follow is based on price and product features. The mobile phone can emphasize on the various additional features that mobile phone has such as email, music, camera, radio etc.

Maturity stage is the third stage of the product life cycle. It is the stage when the company has made significant place for itself in the market. The competition increase as there are other companies that will come up with similar products. The marketing strategy in this stage should focus on differentiating itself from others. The mobile phone company may now compete based on the features of camera like selfie camera.

Decline stage is the last stage of the product life cycle when the company is losing its market share to the competitors. In this stage the company tries to hold on to the market. The company may give discounts or add on services so that people still buy their product.