In this module, the product life cycle was defined as a concept that explains how products go through four distinct stages from birth to death including: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Each stage is actually based on the market's response to the product. This dynamic causes firms to adjust their marketing strategies so that they are in alignment with the current stage. For this discussion, review the Product Life Cycle Strategies on pg. 304 in your text and then respond to each of the following prompts:

• Identify one product for each stage in the product life cycle (i.e. four different products) and explain how each product fits in its particular stage.
• 1. For the products in the introduction stage(Self-driving cars), tell us what strategies you would use to launch this new product.
• 2. For the product you identified in the growth stage(fully electric cars) indicate what strategy would be necessary to maintain brand loyalty as competitors now are entering the market.
• 3. For the product in the maturity stage(apple), identify a strategy to remain competitive in the market as this product matures.
• 4. For the product in the decline stage(DVD player), what would be your recommendation for the future? Should the product be dropped immediately? Could there be an alternative use for the product?

eting Real People, Real Choices (Michael So.. X e 336 / 653 b C |Find: product life cycle| 316 PART THREE | DEVELOP THE VALUE PROPOSITION FOR THE CUSTOMER company usually does not make a profit during this stage. Why? Research-and-development (R&D) costs and heavy spending for advertising and promotional efforts cut into revenue. ancestry As Figure 9.5 illustrates, during the introduction stage, pricing What are you! What are may be high to recover the R&D costs (demand permitting) or low to attract a large number of consumers. For example, when the pop- ular AncestryDNA direct-to-consumer genealogical test was first launched, the pricing strategy was stable at $99 for several years. Then, as more competitors entered and the newness of the concept began to wear off, occasional promotions brought the price down $10 or so for short periods. Fast-forward to 2020 and beyond. Check out the Zouton aggregator website for Ancestry deals and coupons. M406 PhotosiAbry Stock P Now, every sort of double-digit discount imaginable is available for the consumer. Probably nobody pays "full price" (whatever full price means). 15 Ancestry.com, founded in 1996, is still growing as they develop new markets How long does the introduction stage last? As we saw in the and new uses for the app microwave oven example in Chapter 8, it can be quite long. A number of factors come into play, including marketplace accept tance and the producer's willingness to support its product during start-up. Sales for hybrid cars started out pretty slowly except for the Prius, but now with broader con- sumer acceptance of the value of hybrid vehicles and greater levels of sales, hybrids can be considered well past the introduction stage. As of mid-2020, Tesla Model 3 usurped everything else at the top of the introduction quadrant. However, con- sumer demand was much higher than Tesla's problem-plagued production process could deliver against, raising the specter of a red-hot product introduction fizzling Figure 9.5 Snapshot | Marketing Mix Strategies and Other Characteristics through the Product Life Cycle Marketing mix strategies (the four Ps) and other characteristics change as a product moves through the life cycle. Characteristic Introduction Growth Maturity Decline Single company New competitors enter New features added; Number of produces single the market creating sales are mostly variations Product product new variations of the replacement reduced product products Get first-time Encourage brand Attract new users Remain profitable; buyers to try the loyalty decide whether to Goals new product keep or phase out product Increase at a Rapid increase Peak, then level off, Continue to Sales steady but slow pace often decline decline Negative Increase and peak Profit margins Declining Profits narrow High: recover R&D costs May need to reduce Price to maintain market share May reduce if Pricing Low: attract large because of increased product can remain numbers of customers competition profitable Informing Heavy advertising Reminder Decreased to Marketing customers o counter new advertising maintain Communication competition profitability O 22 3 20 Type here to search