Question

Jay and Sons Company Limited (JSCL) are manufacturers and distributors of a host of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). The Management has realized that some of the products of the company do not survive after few years of introduction. You have been appointed by the company to manage the products so as to lengthen their existence. Discuss the relationship between product life cycle and marketing mix variables indicating marketing mix strategies you will adopt at each stage of the product life cycle.

Answer 1

Think of a product that was ruling the markets during our childhood. It may have made huge profits then but why does the product doesn't occupy a market space in the present market conditions. Why Apple smartphones are updated from time to time? How technology is changing rapidly?  The reason is that each and every product has a life cycle. Each product should go through this cycle. Manufacturers are investing huge amount of money in research and development activities and conducting market researches timely to check the impact of their product in different market conditions. Let us first identify how many stages are there for a product and what all are the different marketing mix separately.

Product life Cycle.

Every product passes through certain stages at different points of its life. They can be classified as below:-

1. Developmental Stage
2. Introduction stage
3. growth stage
4. maturity stage
5. Decline stage.

Every product will definitely pass through the decline stage or it will face an end. This happens due to several factors like lack of proper market research, technological degradation, changing preferences of the consumers, and certain natural factors that are beyond the control of the manufacturers.

Now let us get to know about the marketing mix.

The marketing mix is the set of tactical marketing tools used by the company to produce a desired response from it"s target audience. It consists of everything that a company can do to influence the demand for its product. The four P's of the marketing mix are:-

a) Product

b) Price

c) Place

d) Promotion

Product is the good or service that the company is planning to provide to its target customers. The product must be designed in such a way that it meets the expectation of the customers. Aspect like quality, quantity, color, design, brand name, packaging, etc come into play. Price is the value that the company fixes for the product. Credit terms, discounts, payment period, etc will be given importance here, Place is very much important aspect because the company should ensure that there is a proper channel of distribution to reach the end customers. Lack of proper distribution channels can affect the total sales of the company. Lat is the promotion area. Here the company should find different ways to pump by the sales of its products using attractive advertisements and other campaigns. This area covers sales promotion, personal selling, etc.

The effective marketing mix combines the four P's of the marketing mix. It is designed to meet the company's marketing objective and by delivering value to its customers.

Next, we get into the main part of the question. What all are the different marketing strategies adopted by a company to boost its sales at different stage in the product's life.?

The developmental stage is a phase of selecting an idea. The adequate marketing strategy that should be adopted by the firm is to conduct thorough research and get an idea about the consumer's expectations about the product, their taste, and preferences. Lack of adequate market research will lead to .product failure.

The next stage is the introduction stage. Here the product gets introduced to the market. The sales for the product will be very low during this time. The customers may not be aware of the product during this phase. The marketing expenses at the introduction stage will be very high because the company should undertake different strategies to create and image for the product. The company should take care of the distribution channels and should heavily invest in advertisements and other promotional activities.

Growth Phases is a stage when the product get into the minds of l,large number of target audiences. The people will become familiar with the product. The marketing strategy should focus on product differentiation at this point of time. This will help the company to create a brand image and differentiate its product from that of the competitors.

The maturity stage is a stage where the product gain over its competitors.It is the stage where the product yield maximum sales. The strategy that should be followed during this stage involves efforts to build customer loyalty, typical by giving special promotions and incentives to customers to switch from competitors brand. The company should surveillance the technology very closely and must be updated to changing technology.

Last is the declining stage. The good life of the product decline at this stage. The marketing efforts to decline at this stage. This stage doesn't attract new customers but maintains loyal customers. The company at this stage try to reinforce the image of product and attempts to regenerating the sales. The company tries to maintaining the loyal by fulfilling their needs.

Each and every product must undergo this cycle provide the time period of each period will be different. Adequate research and proper implementation of marketing strategy will help the company in gaining a lot from its product. Hence there is a great underlying relationship between the product life cycle and marketing mix strategies.