The PLC concept is very useful to marketers and brand managers for many reasons. First of all, the concept establishes that products follow a life cycle that starts when they are launched, from there they will grow and will, one day, die. However, the most important advantage of this model is that it divides the life of a product in several stages with different characteristics, mostly based on the sales level and growth: introduction, growth, maturity and decline.
This division allows managers to have some insights on which strategies can be taken, according to the behavior of the sales of a product. Also it may help predicting how the competition will act and what will be the future growth tendencies for the product.
Nevertheless, it
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These moved the product through the maturation phase.
The liberalization of the Indian market during the 1990´s changed the market upside down. On one hand the market suffered a rapid growth and was introduced to a huge variety of new products that created much more value to the customer by offering freshness, beauty-care, nature-car and deodorant in soap bars besides the cleaning and health body that was all Lifebuoy was offering. On the other hand the growth of the 3rd economic sector in the Indian economy, promoted the migration from rural to urban areas, shrinking Lifebuoy's market. It also produced higher income levels, which played a big part in changing consumer needs, who started to prefer more expensive soaps and different products. Consumers start asking themselves: "why would I buy Lifebuoy if all soaps clean?" All these factors, lead to a steady decline on lifebuoy's market share, marking the entering on the declining phase of the company's carbolic soap.
4. How do you think brand rejuvenation is helpful? Analyze how it helped Lifebuoy extend its life cycle.
Brand rejuvenation is very helpful when brands enter the declining phase of the brand Life Cycle. Usually brand managers start thinking in strategies to avert the declining of a brand in the life cycle and avoid its death. By doing so
A. Describe Eco-Products’ early history (1990 through 2003). Would you view the firm during that period as being a life-style business, an entrepreneurial venture, or? Why?
Revamping an old brand. Reconnect with the customer using the price and value perception that was lost during the rebranding initiative by reintroducing an updated version of the old pricing strategy.
6 – Products and consumer perceptions are variable, so changes in strategy may be required to better address customer needs, technological developments, new laws and regulations, and the overall product life-cycle. By monitoring external conditions and shifting product development accordingly, a company can better target its consumers and learn to react to their needs.
It is used to measure the position of a firm in relation to its relative market share as well as its market growth. Based on this the situation where in all of the given four divisions of the firm are at different levels of performance can be evaluated in order to formulate a 5 year strategy plan. This can help in the creation of a portfolio
The convenience that this division offer customers should give the organization a profitable and popularity boost, allow them to expand globally, and make the company a leader in innovation in its industry.
Shareholders want results and returns immediately while management knows it would take strategic planning to take the investment forward, it can lead to an agency cost. The project is a risky venture because it can bring many disagreements between managers and stockholders putting aside the company’s long-term objectives and goals to increase the value. Financial decisions in marketing are to increase sales and demand, therefore it helps to improve return on equity. As said before a market research is necessary for each designated location and to learn about the mass market they are about to enter. Finance helps to fund and implement marketing strategy which is crucial in the future to generate loyal customers, the most profitable customers for a company. The product mix is going to grow in its all four dimensions and would take financial decisions from the marketing managers to see what products are convenient for the customers. Financial decisions in operations deal mainly with the supply chain. To keep customers satisfied is necessary to invest heavily in logistics, technology, and inventory. Finance keeps track of every monetary move made by the company, like paying bills and collecting money generated. In other words, it assists to cut unnecessary operating costs and seek ways to improve the business operations by measuring performance.
From the case study, take a position on whether Tropicana did or did not make a major mistake in changing its product packaging. Next, suggest the next two (2) steps that you believe Tropicana should take in its branding strategy in order to counteract the initial negative response to the new product packaging. Provide a rationale for your response and do not duplicate your classmates’ responses.
All products possess ‘life cycles.’ A product 's life cycle, abbreviated PLC, consists of a series of stages, beginning with its introduction to the market and ending with its decline and eventual withdrawal from the market. As a product progresses through its life cycle, its sales and profitability change as it faces changing environmental pressures. Knowledge of the product’s life cycle can provide valuable insights into ways the product can be managed to enhance sales and profitability.
A brand is an organisation, product or service which has created an emotional connection with their consumers in order for them to favour their brand over their competitors. It is incredibly important for brands to keep up their image and one little thing could change the global perception of a business. It takes a lot to maintain a brand image that has been built up over a long period of time and even more to regain it if that reputation is lost. Brands are created through various different aspects such as their visuals, tone of voice, advertising, actions and reputation. The combination of these will leave their consumers with long lasting emotions and perceptions of a particular brand and will effect whether they support a business or not and whether they would favour or avoid it. When a brand looses their image it can cost a lot of money and time to rebrand to prevent complete failure of the product or service.
Maytag formed a cross-functional new product development team to quickly focus the effort. It screened various product ideas and strategies on criteria such as potential for superior customer value, initial costs, long-term growth, social responsibility, and profitability. Using nearly 40 pieces of consumer research, the team refined what the strategy might be and what it would cost. Marketers today have better marketing metrics for measuring the performance of marketing plans. They can use four tools to check on plan performance: sales analysis, market share analysis, marketing expense-to-sales analyss, and financial analysis. Sales analysis consists of measuring and evaluating actual sales in relation to goals. Market share can be measured in three ways. Overal market share is the company's sales expressed as a percentage of total market sales. Served market share is its sales expressed as a percentage of the total sales to its served market. Its served market is all the buyers who are able and willing to buy its product. And relative market share can be expressed as market share in relation to its largest competitor. Annual plan control requires making
However, marketers should not become complacent and they may seek to inject new life into the brand to prolong the growth stage and put off the onset of maturity. A mature product may need a facelift, and marketers must decide whether to support a declining brand or let it die a natural death.
A. Describe Eco-Products’ early history (1990 through 2003). Would you view the firm during that period as being a life-style business, an entrepreneurial venture, or? Why?
1. Discuss how business relationships and strategic partnerships have helped to increase the value of Camelback’s products and the business itself.
It gives valuable insight into a market where you can identify the size, growth and market share of your rivals, while observing trends and benchmarking objectives for the future.
Samsung is one of the world’s premium electronics manufactures. The estimated value of Samsung brand had risen from US$6.37 billion in 2001 to US$10.85 billion in 2003. A major factor behind this impressive growth had been Samsung’s effort to redefine itself as a vendor of cutting-edge, “gee-whiz” consumer technology. Samsung believed that repositioning the brand is a vital to the company’s future success.