Promotion and the Product Life Cycle

 

Promotion and the Product Life Cycle

Promotion and the Product Life Cycle

Promotion as it relates to a sale or sales of products are techniques that companies and organizations used (in the short term) to maintain customers and attract new ones and to gain revenue rapidly. Organizations and firms may use sales promotion at any point in a product’s life cycle (early or late in the process), and throughout the product entire or complete life cycle. Product life cycle includes four stages of development; they are introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. This paper will discuss the factors that can affect the launch of a product or service and; the differences in a product launch in the U.S. (domestic market) and an international market.

Product Life Cycle

The stages of the product life cycle are Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Introduction is a period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. Profits are nonexistent because of the heavy expenses of product introduction. Growth is a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement. Maturity is a slowdown in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Profits stabilize or decline because of increased competition. Finally, decline means sales show a downward drift and profits erode. (Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L. 2016).

Measure the Marketing Activities

I will measure (what metrics will be used to determine success or failure) the marketing activities by using marketing metrics and key performance indicators (KPI) which are: Returning Visitor Metric, First Visitor Metric, and Brand Awareness Metric. With Returning Visitor Metric, this helps me to track what happens when someone returns to the website multiple times. This metric allows me (as a business marketer), to see how effective the company is in building and retaining an audience online or an online audience. This metric also provides information about average browse rate (pages per session) and average time on site for returning visits. (“Returning Visitor Metric, n.d.”). First Visitor Metric gives an indication and tracks how people are finding the website, such as organic search or social media, and how engaged they are with the website. This metric is important as it allows marketers to understand, at a glance, which traffic sources are driving high quality traffic. (“First Visitor Metric, n.d.”). The Brand Awareness Metric tracks how the brand is performing on social and on branded search. This metric is designed for a digital marketer looking to capture changes to online brand awareness over time. (“Brand Awareness Metric, n.d.”).

Media Methods. The two types of media methods would be (printed method) the local newspaper, and (digital method), Instagram. I would advertise in the most popular local newspaper. The reason is the early adopters who read the newspaper, will see my product (on brochures and in the classified ads). Finally, newspapers have been responsible for credible and in-depth reporting on local, regional, national and global issues every day and therefore it is a trusted media source. With Instagram, I will use it to upload pictures of my product and brand and give a description of each. I will share stories of my product and brand in the hope of driving positive business results. Share the photos of my product on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, Pinterest, and LinkedIn (just to name a few).

Elements of the Product and Promotion List-Integrated Market Communication. Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept that ensures all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together. At its most basic level, Integrated Marketing Communications or IMC means integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work together in harmony. For example, ‘Promotion’ is one of the ‘Ps’ in the marketing mix and it has its own mix of communications tools. All of these communications tools work better if they work together in harmony rather than in isolation. Their sum is greater than their parts, providing they speak consistently with one voice all the time, every time. This is enhanced when integration goes beyond just the basic communications tools. (“Integrated Market Communications, n.d.”).

Push and Pull. A push strategy uses the manufacturer’s sales force, trade promotion money, or other means to induce intermediaries to carry, promote, and sell the product to end users. This strategy is particularly appropriate when there is low brand loyalty in a category, brand choice is made in the store, the product is an impulse item, and product benefits are well understood. In a pull strategy the manufacturer uses advertising, promotion, and other forms of communication to persuade consumers to demand the product from intermediaries, thus inducing the intermediaries to order it. This strategy is particularly appropriate when there is high brand loyalty and high involvement in the category, when consumers are able to perceive differences between brands, and when they choose the brand before they go to the store. (Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L. 2016).

Direct Marketing. Direct marketing is the use of consumer-direct (CD) channels to reach and deliver goods and services to customers without using marketing middlemen. There are several benefit s to Direct Marketing ; one benefit of direct marketing in particular is that direct marketing can reach prospects at the moment they want a solicitation and therefore be noticed by more highly interested prospects. It lets marketers test alternate media and messages to find the most cost-effective approach. Direct marketing also makes the company’s offer and strategy less visible to competitors. (Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L. 2016).

References

Klipfolio. (n.d). Brand Awareness Metric. Retrieved from https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/kpi-examples/digital-marketing/brand-awareness-metric

Klipfolio. (n.d.). First Visit Metric. Retrieved from https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/kpi-examples/digital-marketing/first-visit-metric

Klipfolio. (n.d.). Returning Visitor Metric. Retrieved from https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/kpi-examples/digital-marketing/returning-visitor-metric

Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall

MMC Learning. (n.d.). Integrated Market Communications. Retrieved from http://multimediamarketing.com/mkc/marketingcommunications/