Marketing Strategy

• what are the five stages of the product life cycle?

  • development
  • introduction
  • growth
  • maturity
  • decline
• explain the development stage of the product life cycle

  • focus is on designing and developing the product
  • the business usually incurs high costs for research and development, market research and product testing
• explain the introduction stage of the product life cycle

  • begins when the product is launched
  • characterised by slow sales growth as the product is still new and unknown to most consumers
• explain the growth stage of the product life cycle

  • the product enters this stage when sales begin to increase rapidly
  • business focus shifts to building market share and increasing production to meet the growing demand
• explain the maturity stage of the product life cycle

  • sales growth slows as the product reaches its peak in terms of market penetration
• explain the decline stage of the product life cycle

  • sales begin to decline as the product is replaced by newer products
  • business focus shifts to managing the product's decline and reducing costs
• what are extension strategies designed to do?

  • boost sales and maintain profitability for a product that has reached the decline stage of the cycle
• what are the two types of extension strategy?

  • product related
  • promotion related
• what is a product related extension strategy and give an example?

  • involves changing or modifying the product to make it more appealing to customers
  • eg product improvements / line extensions / repositioning
• what is a promotion related extension strategy and give an example?

  • involves changing the marketing and promotion of the product
  • eg changes to advertising / price promotions / sales promotions (loyalty programme)
• what is the purpose of the boston matrix?

  to help a business to analyse their product portfolio and make strategic decisions
• what are the four components of the boston matrix?

  star

  cash cow

  question marks

  dogs
• name the component of the boston matrix: high market share, high market growth

  star
• name the component of the boston matrix: high market share, low market growth

  cash cows
• name the component of the boston matrix: low market share, high market growth

  question marks
• name the component of the boston matrix: low market share, low market growth

  dogs
• what is a business to business market

  focuses on selling products to other businesses - emphasis is on building relationships with other businesses and demonstrating how your product can help them be more successful
• what is a business to consumer market

  marketing focuses on selling directly to consumers - emphasis is on building brand loyalty and creating a positive customer experience
• give three examples of how businesses can develop customer loyalty

  • customer service
  • loyalty cards
  • saver schemes