The Product Life Cycle Last lesson we looked

The Product Life Cycle

Last lesson we looked at…. l Market segments – what are they and examples l Sampling – what is sampling and the different ways to sample a market

Today’s Lesson… l What is meant by the term ‘Product Life Cycle’ l How l The does the product life cycle work? different stages of the product life cycle

The Product Life Cycle… The stages that a product passes through from its development stage to the decline stage The stages are l Research & Development l Introduction l Launch l Growth l Maturity l Saturation l Decline

How does the Product Life Cycle work?

Example of how the Product Life Cycle works with celebrities…

Activity… As we learn about the different stages you are going to, on your own, make a note of which celebrity you would place at that stage. Once we have learnt all the stages we will discuss as a class where you believe each celebrity goes.

Research & Development Stage… l Start of the products ‘life’. l Research into the product – what is should be like, do, what customers want from it etc. l Development – make prototypes, test designs, gain feedback before final design

Launch Stage… l Product l It is now ready to enter the market. will be supported with a large promotional & advertising campaign.

Growth Stage… l As more customers know about the product and like it, the more people buy it. l If people like it, the product will grow in sales. l Becomes products. competitive against rival

Maturity Stage… l The product has reached its ‘peak’ in terms of sales. l The product is profitable (making money) l Many buyers are now repeat buyers and there is customer loyalty for this product.

Saturation & Decline Stages… l The market is now saturated. Sales of this product begin to slow down. l This maybe due to lots of products being on the market and therefore difficult for the product to keep growing. l In decline, the sales of the product fall. No one is buying the product as much as before.

So what celebrity goes where?

The Product Life Cycle Diagram…

But what about Take That? ? Why do you think we have not placed Take That on the Product Life Cycle?

Extension Strategies… This is where a business thinks of new ways to prolong the life of its products. Can be done to refresh the product or make it appeal to a new market segment It can be done using the 4 p’s – Product – Make changes to the product, e. g. new flavours Price – Reduce the price to keep up with the competition Place – changing how the product is available to customers, e. g. sell online l Promotion – Design a new campaign, new adverts or offers. l l l

How do we show an extension strategy?