The Product
Specification:
2.1 The Marketing Mix – Product • product portfolio/mix • product life cycle |
Candidates should understand how and why businesses might broaden and balance their product portfolio as they grow.
Candidates should understand that the demand for a product or service might change over time. They should be aware of the various stages of the product life cycle: development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Candidates should be aware of the methods that a company might adopt to extend the life of a product in its decline phase, and the impact these strategies might have on other aspects of the business. |
Using The Marketing Mix - Product
Learning Objectives:
- To understand why businesses have different products in their portfolio (D-E)
- To analyse a given business's product portfolio (B-C)
- To evaluate whether a business should introduce or remove products within its portfolio (A*-A)
- To understand why businesses have different products in their portfolio (D-E)
- To analyse a given business's product portfolio (B-C)
- To evaluate whether a business should introduce or remove products within its portfolio (A*-A)
Starter Activity: Marketing Crossword Recap
marketing_crossword.doc | |
File Size: | 94 kb |
File Type: | doc |
What do you think a product portfolio is?
What is Heinz's product portfolio?
Why do you think they have so many brands?
How do you think we analyse a business's product portfolio?
What is Heinz's product portfolio?
Why do you think they have so many brands?
How do you think we analyse a business's product portfolio?
A 'portfolio' is a collection, so a product portfolio analysis looks at a firm's collection of products in order to decide what to do next. A good way of doing this is using the Boston Matrix. This model looks at products in terms of their share of the market and the growth of that market.
What do you think the following products are?
Sony MP3 Player Apple iPad Dell Laptop Cadbury's Dairy Milk |
Honda Electric Car
Pot Noodle M&S Suit Carling Lager Dyson Hoover GTA V |
boston_matrix_worksheet.ppt | |
File Size: | 185 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
All businesses want a balanced portfolio - a mixture of products (not dogs!). Cash cow finance can be used to promote and develop stars and question marks. Problems arise if a business has too many cash cows and its needs to be thinking about the future. Too many question marks is a big risk and can cost a lot of money to promote.
Question: In your opinion, what should Sony do with their MiniDisc players?
Product Lifestyle and Extension Strategies
Lesson Objectives:
- To understand that a particular product can go through certain stages in its life cycle (D-E)
- To understand the different methods business can use to extend the life of a product (D-E)
- To analyse and evaluate the impact to a business of extending the life of a particular product (A*-C)
- To understand that a particular product can go through certain stages in its life cycle (D-E)
- To understand the different methods business can use to extend the life of a product (D-E)
- To analyse and evaluate the impact to a business of extending the life of a particular product (A*-C)
Starter Activity: What is your life cycle from birth to death? What different stages do you go through in life?
Product portfolio analysis looks at all of a business's products to take an overview of how things are going. Managers also need to track the progress of each individual product over time, monitoring sales from the launch until a decision is made to stop production.
The product life cycle model describes the typical stages a product goes through during its life. Each product is likely to go through 5 main stages.
The product life cycle model describes the typical stages a product goes through during its life. Each product is likely to go through 5 main stages.
product_life_cycle_worksheet.doc | |
File Size: | 557 kb |
File Type: | doc |
The length of time it takes for the life cycle to move from development to decline can vary massively from product to product.
Can you think of any products:
The marketing mix changes at different stages of the product life cycle. E.g. During launch stage you make customers aware your product exists, over time your promotion makes customers aware of why you are better than your competition and then eventually you lower prices to keep sales growing.
Can you think of any products:
- That spend years in development?
- That decline within weeks?
- That are around for many years?
The marketing mix changes at different stages of the product life cycle. E.g. During launch stage you make customers aware your product exists, over time your promotion makes customers aware of why you are better than your competition and then eventually you lower prices to keep sales growing.
- If you were developing a cure for the flu, how would you make sure people bought it?
- If you had released an energy efficient electric car, how would you promote it?
- If you had produced a phone everyone wanted 2 years ago, how would you ensure people still bought it?
Plenary: Why do you think Lucozade is so successful?