MARKETING MANAGEMENT-Assignment

1. Explain the stages in the Product Life Cycle with examples.

As consumers, we buy millions of products every year. And just like us, these products have a life cycle. Older, long-established products eventually become less popular, while in contrast, the demand for new, more modern goods usually increases quite rapidly after they are launched.

Because most companies understand the different product life cycle stages, and that the products they sell all have a limited lifespan, the majority of them will invest heavily in new product development in order to make sure that their businesses continue to grow.

Product Life Cycle Stages

The product life cycle has 4 very clearly defined stages, each with its own characteristics that mean different things for business that are trying to manage the life cycle of their particular products.

 

Introduction Stage – This stage of the cycle could be the most expensive for a company launching a new product. The size of the market for the product is small, which means sales are low, although they will be increasing. On the other hand, the cost of things like research and development, consumer testing, and the marketing needed to launch the product can be very high, especially if it’s a competitive sector.

Growth Stage – The growth stage is typically characterized by a strong growth in sales and profits, and because the company can start to benefit from economies of scale in production, the profit margins, as well as the overall amount of profit, will increase. This makes it possible for businesses to invest more money in the promotional activity to maximize the potential of this growth stage.

Maturity Stage – During the maturity stage, the product is established and the aim for the manufacturer is now to maintain the market share they have built up. This is probably the most competitive time for most products and businesses need to invest wisely in any marketing they undertake. They also need to consider any product modifications or improvements to the production process which might give them a competitive advantage.

Decline Stage – Eventually, the market for a product will start to shrink, and this is what’s known as the decline stage. This shrinkage could be due to the market becoming saturated (i.e. all the customers who will buy the product have already purchased it), or because the consumers are switching to a different type of product. While this decline may be inevitable, it may still be possible for companies to make some profit by switching to less-expensive production methods and cheaper markets.

Product Life Cycle Examples

It’s possible to provide examples of various products to illustrate the different stages of the product life cycle more clearly. Here is the example of watching recorded television and the various stages of each method:

1.    Introduction – 3D TVs

2.    Growth  – Blue ray discs/DVR

3.    Maturity  – DVD

4.    Decline  – Video cassette

The idea of the product life cycle has been around for some time, and it is an important principle manufacturers need to understand in order to make a profit and stay in business.

However, the key to successful manufacturing does not just understand this life cycle, but also proactively managing products throughout their lifetime, applying the appropriate resources and sales and marketing strategies, depending on what stage products are at in the cycle.

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2. Write Short Notes on

(i) Online marketing. (ii) Green marketing.

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       i.            Online Marketing

It is the art and science of selling products and/or services over digital networks, such as the Internet and cellular phone networks.

The art of online marketing involves finding the right online marketing mix of strategies that appeals to your target market and will actually translate into sales.

The science of online marketing is the research and analysis that goes into both choosing the online marketing strategies to use and measuring the success of those online marketing strategies.

The broad online marketing spectrum varies according to business requirements. Effective online marketing programs leverage consumer data and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Online marketing connects organizations with qualified potential customers and takes business development to a much higher level than traditional marketing/advertising.

Online marketing synergistically combines the Internet's creative and technical tools, including design, development, sales and advertising, while focusing on the following primary business models: 

• E-commerce
• Lead-based websites
• Affiliate marketing
• Local search

Online marketing has several advantages, including:

·         Low costs: Large audiences are reachable at a fraction of traditional advertising budgets, allowing businesses to create appealing consumer ads.

·         Flexibility and convenience: Consumers may research and purchase products and services at their leisure.

·         Analytics: Efficient statistical results are facilitated without extra costs.

·         Multiple options: Advertising tools include pay-per-click advertising, email marketing and local search integration (like Google Maps).

·         Demographic targeting: Consumers can be demographically targeted much more effectively in an online rather than an offline process.

The main limitation of online marketing is where goods are being sold, the lack of tangibility means that consumers are unable to try out, or try on items they might wish to purchase. Generous return policies are the main way to circumvent such buyer apprehension.

Online marketing has outsold traditional advertising in recent years and continues to be a high-growth industry.

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     ii.            Green Marketing

Green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally preferable to others. Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, sustainable packaging, as well as modifying advertising.

Marketing products and services are based on environmental factors or awareness. Companies involved in green marketing make decisions relating to the entire process of the company's products, such as methods of processing, packaging and distribution.

The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service's "greenness" as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly.

The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative product - an assumption that, in my opinion, has not been proven conclusively.

While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciousnesses with their dollars, it can be dangerous.

The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to be false or contradicted by a company's other products or practices. Presenting a product or service as green when it's not is called green washing.

Green marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though when it's done right.