The steps involved in developing new offerings
Firstly, the marketing analysis has to be conducted to evaluate the current demands and desires of the customers to assure the product’s necessity and competitiveness in the market (Ribbens 24). In turn, the potential ideas of a new product based on the analysis have to be introduced. It could be said that testing of the product can be considered as the next step since it will help determine and measure the efficiency of the product in the market after mass production (Ribbens 96).
In turn, the ability of the marketing strategy has to be defined to be able to deliver a sophisticated message to the customers and avoid marketing failure. In the end, the evaluation and analysis testing have to be conducted to depict the potential areas for improvement while considered the individual preferences of the consumers and finding the compromise to provide a relevant price to quality ratio.
The stages of the product life cycle
The product life cycle is an essential part of the functioning of each product, project, or service while portraying the fluctuations in products’ revenues and demands (Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor 360). The introduction stage is the first phase of the product’s functioning in the market, and it is characterized by the start of manufacturing and creating the initial customer’s base (Hansen, Mowen and Guan 389).
In turn, the growth stage is characterized by the rapid increase in sales due to the rising popularity (Hansen, Mowen, and Guan 389). The maturity stage is portrayed by the slow increase in sales, as the awareness of the product is high, but it lacks the attraction of the new customers (Hansen, Mowen and Guan 389). Lastly, the decline stage is determined by the substantial decrease in sales and might be considered as a potential cause of the loss of the market share.
The difference between price skimming and penetration pricing
Price skimming implies using higher prices than the competitors to assure the ability to cover the expenses associated with product development and innovation (Ferrell and Hartline 246). In turn, products such as computers and technological gadgets have to have unique features, which have to be actively depicted in the advertisements (Ferrell and Hartline 246). In this instance, it could be said that Apple utilizes a price skimming strategy, as the prices remain high, and the product has exceptional features associated with innovation and design.
In turn, the penetration pricing strategy emphasizes the opposite perception while maintaining the pricing as low as possible to maximize the sales at the introduction stage (Zou, Kim, and Cavusgul 269).
In this case, it is targeted at the sales increase by introducing low and optimizing profits from volumes while utilizing special offers and sales promotions (Zou, Kim, and Cavusgul 269). The products aimed at an extended market segment, including cars and other sorts of products, can be considered as the primary aspects. As for Hyundai, it actively applies a penetration pricing strategy to enter the markets and stimulate the growth of sales (Czinkota and Ronkainen 556).
Strategies to extend the maturity stage of the products
Markers have a tendency to utilize various marketing techniques to increase sales during the maturity stage. One of the approaches is to introduce alternative ways of usage of the product (Pride and Ferrel 327). Additionally, the unusual features of the products can be emphasized in the advertisements to draw the attention of the new users (Pride and Ferrel 327). Lastly, various promotion tools can be used to increase sales, as the discounts are often viewed as the possibilities to purchase high-quality products for the low price (Pride and Ferrel 327).
Works Cited
Czinkota, Michael and Ilkka Ronkainen. International Marketing, Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2007. Print.
Ferrell, Oliver, and Michael Hartline. Marketing Strategy, Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Hansen, Don, Maryanne Mowen and Liming Guan. Cost Management: Accounting and Control, Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Pride, William and Oliver Ferrel. Marketing 2016, Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2016. Print.
Pride, William, Robert Hughes and Jack Kapoor. Business, Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
Ribbens, Jack. Simultaneous Engineering for New Product Development: Manufacturing Applications, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2001. Print.
Zou, Shaoming, Daekwan Kim and Tamer Cavusgul. Export Marketing Strategy: Tactics and Skills That Work, New York: Business Expert Press, 2009. Print.