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Muhammad Umair Akram MM103033 Shahid Rasool MM103020 M Junaid MM103019 Adiba iram MM103063. Product Life Cycle. PLC is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its life cycle.
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Muhammad Umair Akram MM103033 Shahid Rasool MM103020 M Junaid MM103019 Adiba iram MM103063
Product Life Cycle PLC is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its life cycle. It starts with the development of a product. For Example A seed is planted (introduction). It begins to grow (growth). It shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity). After a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).
Product Life Cycle The PLC indicates that products have four things in common: • They have a limited lifespan. • Their sales pass through a number of distinct stages, each of which has different characteristics, challenges, and opportunities. • Their profits are not static but increase and decrease through these stages. • The financial, human resource, manufacturing, marketing and purchasing strategies that products require at each stage in the life cycle varies (kotler and keller, 2006).
STAGES OF LIFE CYCLE • INTRODUCTION • GROWTH • MATURITY • DECLINE • Not all products follow this cycle: -Fads -Styles -Fashions
Major PLC Characteristics • Customers • Number of Firm • Profits • Product Varieties • Distribution • Foreign Trade • Marketing
INTRODUCTION STAGE • Firm seeks to build product awareness and develop a market for the product. • Aim is to satisfy a latent need. • Focus is to satisfy a generic need. • Low competition. • No significant differences found in products. • Smart entrepreneur will identify the need and enter the market. • Firms don't need to fulfil the need by differentiating the product from competition. • Price skimming strategy may be used here. • Marketing costs are high.
GROWTH • The firms seeks to build brand preference and increase market share. • Rapid growth in sales and profits. • It is cheaper for businesses to invest in increasing market share. • Need is more refined here. • Now consumers are more aware of the need. • Firms will try to differentiate themselves from others. • Firms will try to place entry barriers. • Threat of potential new entrants is high. • Significant promotional resources. • Firms may introduce customers support programs to acquire more risk averse customer. • Reduce prices or bundle the product with other offerings. (Porter, 1980; 1985; Kotler et al., 1996; Blackwell et al., 2001; Grant, 2002; Kotler and Armstrong, 2004).
MATURITY • Awareness of customers of the need is very high. • Imports • Need is highly refined. • Competition is aggressive. • Growth is slow at this stage. • Any expense on R and D is likely to be restricted. • Profits are increasing at decreasing rate. • this may involve starting new users or market segments, or making significant modifications to the product, perhaps improving its quality, reliability or some aesthetic feature. • Cost minimization -Plant size -Distribution
DECLINE • Final stage. • A war of slow destruction. • Firms will wipe out from the market. Market is shrinking. • Demand may be fully satisfied. • Firms will develop new product or services. • Firms will try to jump to other life cycle stage by changing strategies. (Doole and Lowe, 2004). • During this stage, a few laggards adopt the product but these are rarely a profitable customer group. • Such a decline may be the result of technological developments, changes in consumer purchasing behavior or significant increases in competition (porter, 1980; 1985; kotler et al., 1996; kotler and armstrong, 2004; grant, 2002).
PROBLEMS WITH PLC • In reality very few products follow such a prescriptive cycle. • The length of each stage varies enormously. • The decisions of marketers can change the stage. • It is not easy to tell which stage the product is in.
APPLICATIONS OF PLC • PLC determines revenue earned. • PLC analysis can be used both Proactively and Retrospectively. • Contributes to strategic marketing • planning. • It helps a firm to manage the risk of launching a new product more effectively. • May help the firm to identify when a product needs support, redesign, withdrawal, etc. • May help in forecasting and managing cash flow. • A survival tool for a product to compete in the industry.
Data sources for PLC analysis • When engaging in a PLC analysis, a researcher may benefit from using some of the following resources: • Annual reports • Academic and commercial marketing journals and magazines • News reports on the internet • Product report.