1. Product LIFE CYCLE & Positioning #2
Today I am: Taking more notes (because that’s awesome!)
So I can: understand positioning of product within a product life cycle.
I will know I’m successful when: I can identify products at the different stages of the product life cycle.

2. The Product Life Cycle
Know this
process
A product life cycle represents the stages that a product goes through during its life. There are four stages:
Introduction
Growth
Maturity
Decline

3. Managing During the Introduction Stage
The major goal at this first stage is to draw the customer’s attention to the new product by increasing product awareness and promotions.
This is the least profitable stage

4. Managing During the Growth Stage
Most prosperous phase
Advertising focus on consumer satisfaction.
To keep its product sales growing, the company may have to introduce new models or modify the product to offer more than the competition.

5. Managing During the Maturity Stage
During this stage, a company spends more of its marketing dollars fighting off the competition.
As advertising expenses climb, the company may have to decide if it can continue to improve the product to gain sales.

6. Managing During the Decline Stage
Besides dropping the product, the company can use other product mix strategies to gain further sales from a declining product. This may include:
Discount the product
Regionalize the product to areas where the product sells well
Modernize or alter the product
Companies are always
hesitant to discontinue
a product

7. Product Positioning
The focus of product positioning is the image that a product projects. Its goal is to set the product apart from the competition. Product positioning refers to the efforts a business makes to identify, place, and sell its products in the marketplace
Identify and monitor:
Consumer needs
Competition

8. Product positioning by:
Price and Quality
Economy, mid-priced and luxury lines
High price = quality, low price = value
Features & Benefits
Highlight unique characteristics
Relation to competition
Used when solidifying an advantage or that you are the underdog
Relation to other products in a line
To showcase brand value to customers

9. Assignment
Work individually. Write down a product that represents each of the following stages.
Introduction
Growth
Maturity
Decline