FINAL PROJECT

NAMES:
WAJEEHA SIDDIQUI (2173072)

SANA TARIQ (217

MUHAMMAD SAQIB (217
OSMOND RAYMOND (217

SUBMITTED TO:
MA’AM AMBER JAVAID

SUBJECT:
ADVERTISING
TOPIC:
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
 Acknowledgement

This Project is dedicated to our Parents and Instructor who were always there to support
us throughout this academic course.
We would like to thank Almighty Allah who blessed us with such wisdom and intellect
that we are able to cope with the demands of this project and course.
Special thanks to our instructor Ma’am Amber Javaid who always motivated us to work
hard throughout the session not only in her respective course but in all courses. It has
really been an honor to study under her supervision.
Contents
PROUCT LIFE CYCLE (PLC)............................................................................................................................3
DEFINITION..............................................................................................................................................3
What Is a Product Life Cycle?..................................................................................................................3
How Product Life Cycles Work?...................................................................................................................3
SIGNIFICANCE:.........................................................................................................................................3
STAGES:.......................................................................................................................................................3
INTODUCTION:............................................................................................................................................4
Marketing and Promotions:.....................................................................................................................4
Strategies:................................................................................................................................................5
During the introduction stage, you should aim to...................................................................................5
Aspects of marketing and sales...............................................................................................................5
GROWTH:....................................................................................................................................................5
Strategies:................................................................................................................................................6
MATURITY:..................................................................................................................................................6
Strategies.................................................................................................................................................7
DECLINE:......................................................................................................................................................8
Strategies.................................................................................................................................................8
OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................................................................9
Product Positioning.................................................................................................................................9
Increasing Market Share..........................................................................................................................9
Improving Sales and Maximizing Profits..................................................................................................9
Prolonging Life Cycle..............................................................................................................................10
 PROUCT LIFE CYCLE (PLC)

DEFINITION:
The product life-cycle (PLC) refers to the different stages a product goes through
from introduction to withdrawal.

What Is a Product Life Cycle?

Products, like people, have life cycles. The product life cycle is broken into four
stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. This concept is used by management
and by marketing professionals as a factor in deciding when it is appropriate to increase
advertising, reduce prices, expand to new markets, or redesign packaging.

How Product Life Cycles Work?

A product begins with an idea, and within the confines of modern business, it isn't
likely to go further until it undergoes research and development and is found to
be feasible and potentially profitable. At that point, the product is produced, marketed,
and rolled out.

SIGNIFICANCE:
The product life cycle is an integral process in management of any product and
revolves around the introduction, growth, and maturity and decline stages. For emerging
businesses, the cycle concept is an ideal tool that enables marketers to forecast future
sales and plan new marketing strategies. The marketer’s marketing objectives depend
mostly on where the product is in its life cycle. For example, in the introduction phase,
companies focus on introducing their products to the market. In the growth stage,
however, they focus on sales and pursue efforts to distinguish their products from those
of competitors.

STAGES:
1. Introduction
2. Growth
3. Maturity
4. Decline
INTODUCTION:
Once a product has been developed, the first stage is its introduction stage. In this stage,
the product is being released into the market. When a new product is released, it is often a
high-stakes time in the product's life cycle - although it does not necessarily make or
break the product's eventual success. 

During this stage, marketing and promotion are at a high - and the company often invests
the most in promoting the product and getting it into the hands of consumers.

The company is first able to get a sense of how consumers respond to the product, if they
like it and how successful it may be. However, it is also often a heavy-spending period
for the company with no guarantee that the product will pay for itself through sales. 

Costs are generally very high and there is typically little competition. The principle goals
of the introduction stage are to build demand for the product and get it into the hands of
consumers, hoping to later cash in on its growing popularity. 

Promotions in introductory stage:

(i) Advertisement and publicity of the product —’Money back’ guarantee may be
offered to stimulate the people try the product.
(ii) Attractive gifts to customers.
(iii) ‘Price off’ as an introductory offer, i.e., introducing the product at a discount to
attract the people.
(iv) Attractive discount to dealers.
 (v) Higher price of product to earn greater profit during the initial stages i.e.,
skimming the cream pricing policy. If there is competition in the market, the
firm may fix lower price to penetrate the market.

Strategies:
 rapid skimming - launching the product at a high price and high promotional level
 slow skimming - launching the product at a high price and low promotional level
 rapid penetration - launching the product at a low price with significant promotion
 slow penetration - launching the product at a low price and minimal promotion

During the introduction stage, you should aim to:

 Establish a clear brand identity

 Connect with the right partners to promote your product
 Set up consumer tests, or provide samples or trials to key target markets
 Price the product or service as high as you believe you can sell it, and to reflect the
quality level you are providing.

Aspects of marketing and sales

 Raising product awareness through advertising / word of mouth.
 Offering the product at discount – penetration pricing to tempt customers to try the
product.
 Target early adopters and influential market leaders. For example, firms may offer
free product reviews to influential bloggers in the market.
 Firms need to find willing suppliers who are willing to stock.
 This phase will not be profitable because costs are high, but revenue relatively
low.

GROWTH:
By the growth stage, consumers are already taking to the product and increasingly buying
it. The product concept is proven and is becoming more popular - and sales are
increasing.

Other companies become aware of the product and its space in the market, which is
beginning to draw attention and increasingly pull in revenue. If competition for the
product is especially high, the company may still heavily invest in advertising and
promotion of the product to beat out competitors. As a result of the product growing, the
market itself tends to expand. The product in the growth stage is typically tweaked to
improve functions and features.
As the market expands, more competition often drives prices down to make the specific
products competitive. However, sales are usually increasing in volume and generating
revenue. Marketing in this stage is aimed at increasing the product's market share.

In growth stage companies,

(i) Advertisement and publicity of the product.

(ii) Incentive schemes may be offered to stimulate more people to try the product.

(iii) New versions of the product are introduced to cater to the requirements of different
types of customers.

(iv) Channels of distribution are strengthened so that the product is easily available
wherever required.

(v) Brand image of the product is created through promotional activities.

(vi) The price of product is competitive.

(vii) There is greater emphasis on customer service.

Strategies:
Marketing strategies used in the growth stage mainly aim to increase profits. Some of
the common strategies are:

 improving product quality

 adding new product features or support services to grow your market share
 enter new markets segments
 keep pricing as high as is reasonable to keep demand and profits high
 increase distribution channels to cope with growing demand
 shifting marketing messages from product awareness to product preference
 Skimming product prices if your profits are too low.

Growth stage is when you should see rapidly rising sales, profits and your market share.
Your strategies should seek to maximize these opportunities.

MATURITY:
When a product reaches maturity, its sales tend to slow or even stop - signaling a largely
saturated market. At this point, sales can even start to drop. Pricing at this stage can tend
to get competitive, signaling margin shrinking as prices begin falling due to the weight of
outside pressures like competition or lower demand. Marketing at this point is targeted
at fending off competition, and companies will often develop new or altered products to
reach different market segments.

Given the highly saturated market, it is typically in the maturity stage of a product that
less successful competitors are pushed out of competition - often called the "shake-out
point." 

In this stage, saturation is reached and sales volume is maxed out. Companies often begin
innovating to maintain or increase their market share, changing or developing their
product to meet with new demographics or developing technologies. 

When your sales peak, your product will enter the maturity stage. This often means that
your market will be saturated and you may find that you need to change your marketing
tactics to prolong the life cycle of your product. 

It may last a long time or a short time depending on the product. For some brands, the
maturity stage is very drawn out, like Coca-Cola.

In order to lengthen the period of maturity stage, the following are the guidelines:

(i) Product may be differentiated from the competitive products and brand image may be
strengthened further.

(ii) The warranty period may be extended. For instance, some manufactures of TVs have
introduced the concept of life time warranty.

(iii) Reusable packaging may be introduced.

(iv) New markets may be developed.

(v) New uses of the product may be developed.

Strategies:

 Common strategies that can help during this stage fall under one of two categories:

 market modification - this includes entering new market segments, redefining

target markets, winning over competitor’s customers, converting non-users
 product modification - for example, adjusting or improving your product’s
features, quality, pricing and differentiating it from other products in the marking
DECLINE:
Although companies will generally attempt to keep the product alive in the maturity stage
as long as possible, decline for every product is inevitable.

In the decline stage, product sales drop significantly and consumer behavior changes as
there is less demand for the product. The company's product loses more and more market
share, and competition tends to cause sales to deteriorate.

Marketing in the decline stage is often minimal or targeted at already loyal customers,
and prices are reduced. 

Eventually, the product will be retired out of the market unless it is able to redesign itself
to remain relevant or in-demand. For example, products like typewriters, telegrams and
muskets are deep in their decline stages (and in fact are almost or completely retired from
the market). 

During the end stages of the product, you will see declining sales and profits. This can
be caused by changes in consumer preferences, technological advances and alternatives
on the market

To avoid sharp decline in sales, the following are the preventions:

(i) New features may be added to the product and its packaging may be made more
attractive.

(ii) Economy packs or models may be introduced to revive the market.

(iii) Promotion of the product may be done on a selective basis to reduce the distribution
costs.

Strategies:

 At this stage, you will have to decide what strategies to take. If you want to save money,
you can:

 reduce your promotional expenditure on the products

 reduce the number of distribution outlets that sell them
 implement price cuts to get the customers to buy the product
 fin another use for the product
 maintain the product and wait for competitors to withdraw from the market first
 harvest the product or service before discontinuing it
Another option is for your business to discontinue the product from your offering. You
may choose to:

 sell the brand to another business

 significantly reduce the price to get rid of all the inventory

Many businesses find that the best strategy is to modify their product in the maturity
stage to avoid entering the decline stage.

OBJECTIVES:

Product life cycle objectives are crucial, because they provide basic knowledge that can
help business owners make profitable decisions about the kind of marketing objective to
employ. These objectives help marketers take proactive steps rather than launch reactive
measures to deal with market pressures. Products pass through several distinct stages, and
the objectives change as products move through each of these phases .

Product Positioning
At the introduction stage of the product life cycle, companies often seek to enhance
brand awareness as a way of improving the product's position in the market, which
involves creating a market for the products. Companies that succeed at this stage
often undertake market research to identify suitable markets for their products.
They advertise through various media channels, tools and platforms, including
social networking websites, video-sharing websites and blogs, all of which can
effectively help companies reach the desired target market.

Increasing Market Share

A successful marketing plan can guarantee improvements in the market share. To
understand whether there is a real improvement in a product's market share,
companies compare the percentage of sales volume to that of the competitors in the
same product category. During this growth stage, the focus is mainly on reaching
as many customers as possible. To succeed, companies use additional promotional
and distribution resources to squeeze enough profits from the stable markets they
enjoy. For example, in some cases, a company might lower the price of its products
to steer customers away from other manufactures in the same category.

Improving Sales and Maximizing Profits

As products move from the growth stage to the maturity phase, the primary motive
is improving sales to maximize profits. Even though demand for products at this
moment may naturally level off, the companies may spend less on advertising and
promotion. This is because when products reach the maturity phase, the company’s
brand awareness is already well-established in the marketplace. Instead of focusing
on increasing market share, the primary objective at this stage is to maintain the
current market share. This objective can be achieved by use of promotional
strategies geared toward customer loyalty among the existing users.

Prolonging Life Cycle

At the final stage of a product's life cycle, product sales begin to decline.
Companies, therefore, focus on reaping profits for as long as possible. It is at this
time, when the product's popularity begins declining, that companies make
decisions regarding the ultimate fate of their product. Companies may decide to
lower product prices to maintain market share for as long as possible. Other
companies may decide to discontinue the product by developing replacement
products. Making proper decisions throughout the product's entire life cycle can
naturally ensure a long life for the product.