[SOLVED] Product Life Cycle and Cost Recovery Performance

Product Life Cycle and Cost Recovery Performance. The work is to be 6 pages with three to five sources, with in-text citations and a reference page. The product life cycle consists of 4 phases. The first is the introduction stage when a product is launched into the market to address the consumers’ unsatisfied needs. The main tool for the competition is the Unique Selling Proposition of the product and prices are usually set low. However, pricing depends on the type of product. If the product is a technological one, market skimming price strategy would be used in order to exploit as much profit from the initial market as possible. After the introduction, the product starts to grow in the market until it reaches the maturity point and finally declines. Thus, businesses should start doing research and development to improve their existing products or develop new products in the markets in order to extend the lifecycle. This may be done through Brand Revitalization or Revamping of the whole Brand which would involve Repositioning it in the market through a different USP. Therefore, businesses should manage and monitor their products carefully so as to determine at what stage of its life the product stands in order to develop its strategies accordingly (Kotler et al, (2009).The very first stage of the product life cycle, that is the introduction (development) stage, substantial costs are incurred on research and development backed by continuous market research to gauge where the brand positioning is going. Product development costs and test runs in the market means exorbitant. The business tests the market by making prototypes and making the sample of potential customers experience the product before it is launched. There are no profits made in this stage as the product launch costs, trial runs and costs of marketing activities (such as brand activation, Below the Line Activities, Trade Marketing Initiatives, Above the Line advertisement) are incurred to launch the product.