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7.2: Managing New Products- The Product Life Cycle

  • Page ID
    5006
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    Learning Objectives

    1. Explain how organizations manage offerings after being introduced to the marketplace.
    2. Explain how managing an offering may be different in international markets.
    3. Explain the product life cycle and the objectives and strategies for each stage.

    Over 20,000 new offerings, including convenience foods, health and beauty aids, electronics, automobiles, pharmaceutical products, hotels, restaurants, and so on, enter the marketplace each year. For example, in 2006 almost 1,400 food products making a “whole grain claim” were introduced (Roskelly, 2010). Other recent new product introductions include many technological products such as Nintendo’s Wii, iPhones, and digital video recorders (DVRs); many new personal care products such as new fragrances of shampoo and conditioner and new flavors of toothpaste; and new convenience foods such as frozen meals, “100 calorie pack” snacks, and cereal bars (Hunter, 2008).

    Video Clip

    Oreo 100 Calorie Pack

    (click to see video)

    The 100 Calorie Packs offered by Nabisco proved to be extremely popular.

    Once a product is created and introduced in the marketplace, the offering must be managed effectively for the customer to receive value from it. Only if this is done will the product’s producer achieve its profit objectives and be able to sustain the offering in the marketplace. The process involves making many complex decisions, especially if the product is being introduced in global markets. Before introducing products in global markets, an organization must evaluate and understand factors in the external environment, including laws and regulations, the economy and stage of economic development, the competitors and substitutes, cultural values, and market needs. Companies also need expertise to successfully launch products in foreign markets. Given many possible constraints in international markets, companies might initially introduce a product in limited areas abroad. Other organizations, such as Coca-Cola, decide to compete in markets worldwide1.

    The product life cycle (PLC) includes the stages the product goes through after development, from introduction to the end of the product. Just as children go through different phases in life (toddler, elementary school, adolescent, young adult, and so on), products and services also age and go through different stages. The PLC is a beneficial tool that helps marketers manage the stages of a product’s acceptance and success in the marketplace, beginning with the product’s introduction, its growth in market share, maturity, and possible decline in market share. Other tools such as the Boston Consulting Group matrix and the General Electric approach (see Chapter 2 “Strategic Planning” for discussion) may also be used to manage and make decisions about what to do with products. For example, when a market is no longer growing but the product is doing well (cash cow in the BCG approach), the company may decide to use the money from the cash cow to invest in other products they have rather than continuing to invest in the product in a no-growth market.

    The product life cycle can vary for different products and different product categories. Figure 7.8 “Life Cycle” illustrates an example of the product life cycle, showing how a product can move through four stages. However, not all products go through all stages and the length of a stage varies. For example, some products never experience market share growth and are withdrawn from the market.

     

    Figure 7.8 Life Cycle

    Life Cycles: as time progresses, profits and sales peak during maturity.

     

    Figure 7.9

    An old Diet Coke can next to a new one

    Diet Coke changed its can to keep from getting outdated.

    Wikimedia Commons – public domain.


    7.2: Managing New Products- The Product Life Cycle is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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