Product Life Cycle

MM 2711 – Introduction to Marketing

Team Members

Balduin Metz

Chan Wing Yee 09174543d

Christian Beshold

Kwok Jo Ho

Mark 07865182d

IntroductionProduct life cycleGolf mk 6

Product life cycle of mk 6IntroductionGrowthMaturityDecline

Conclusion

Manufactured by VolkswagenIntroduced for sale in UK in Jan 2009Improved 20% in productivity

More aerodynamic helping fuel efficiencyQuieter

Allow to choose different modesNormalComfortsports

Characteristics:• 1st stage of the product life cycle• Only a few products are launched • Low profits• Few competitors

Marketing effort:• Inform and educate customer• Increase the market share• Increase the number of distribution channel

Product• Introduce a product that may

impact the market• Lack of competitors • Product performance may not

be the best• No other similar product in

market

Place• Only few distribution channels• Number of distribution channels increases

rapidly

Price• Usually under market expectation• Slightly adjusted in response to customer

Promotion• Inform customers of the new product • Use product to build up brand image• Increase the numbers of distribution channel can

be a kind of promotion• Normal ways – Magazine, TV commercial,

website…etc• Not aim at boosting sales

Characteristics:• Demand and Sales volume increase significantly• Profitability begins to increase• Public awareness raised• Competitors start to enter the market

Marketing effort:• Gain market share• Boost sales

Product

• Increasing interior and exterior varieties (textiles, colours)

• New variants for segmentation of the markete.g. sport versions like Golf GTI and R32

• Differentiation to competitors through technology BlueMotion, Safety

Price• Maintained at a high level if demand is high or

reduce to capture additional customers • New versions highly priced

Place• Car dealerships• Extending the sales to different countries• E-Commerce (Car Configurator)

Promotion• TV Commercials• Magazines, Newspapers• Free test drives• Billboards

Characteristics:• Most profitable stage• Costs are lowered as a result of production volumes

increasing, experience curve effects and lowering advertising expenditures

• Sales volume peaks and market saturation is reached• Many competitors

Marketing effort:• Defend market share through differentiation• Maintain brand loyalty

Product• Offer full product line• New car body variants like Golf Estate or Golf Plus for

families or travelling salespersons• Provide highest variety of interior and exterior

options to give the customer the opportunity to customize his car

Price• Decrease in prices for the original golf through competition• Special (financial) offers to obtain market share for the

original golf• High prices for new car body variants golf plus and golf estate

Place• B2B and B2C • Maximum outlets and car dealerships• Extend sales to driving schools or car rental companies• Incentives for retailers to hold market share

Promotion• Reminder oriented advertisement for the

original golf• Strong advertisement for the new variants• Promotional campaigns for the whole “golf

family” to build brand loyalty

Characteristics:• Last stage of the product life cycle• Profits continue to fall• Discontinued product

Marketing effort:• Reduce expenses• Milk the brand

Product• Reduce product line• Only produce the popular type

Price• Lower down the price• Some discount

Place• Close up some retailer shops. Can be sold in other

manufacturers' retailer shops.• Online shop to reduce cost

Promotion• Get a new one by returning the old one• Some meaningful gift• Limited items from the company• No adds on TV or newspaper. Only in the retailer

shops

Modify product characteristics in maturity stage stimulate sales

Quality improvementsEnginesSafety measures

Feature improvementsDifferent modes: normal, sport, comfort,

Style improvementsDifferent colors, designs

http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/motorhead/2007/12/

http://www.thatsoftwareguy.com/zencart_discount_preview.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyvNIU6t6T8http://www.docstoc.com/docs/22483699/

PRODUCT-LIFE-CYCLEhttp://www.volkswagen.com/vwcms/

master_public/virtualmaster/en2/models/golf_start.html

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~renglish/370/notes/chapt11/life_cycle_01.gif