Mar 2011

MAR 2011 Pg 248 HW

2. The product life cycle describes the stages a very new product idea goes through from beginning to end. The product life cycle is divided into 4 major stages 1. Market introduction 2. Market growth 3. Market maturity 4. Sales. The product life cycle is concerned with the new types or categories of products in the market, not just what happens to an individual brand.

|INTRODUCTION |GROWTH |MATURITY |DECLINE |

| | | | |

I-Pod’s/MP3’s CD’s (compact disc) Cassettes Vinyl records

|E-conferencing |E-mail |Faxes |Handwritten letters |

I chose the above examples because I wanted to give examples of how something such as simple as a handwritten letter has evolved to something as advanced as E-conferencing. A vinyl record was large in comparison to our modern day I-Pod that not only plays your music but stores it, along with videos and your own personal pictures. Modern technology has certainly enriched our lives in numerous ways.

7. A new product that is a new in any way for the company concerned. There are 5 stages to the new product development process.

Idea generation- Ideas from customers and users, Marketing research, Competitors

Screening- Strengths and weaknesses, Fit with objectives, Market trends

Idea evaluation- Concept testing, Reaction from customers

Development- R&D, Develop model or service prototype, Test marketing mix

Commercialization- Finalize product and marketing plan, Start production and marketing, Final ROI estimate

A new product that everyone is talking about is the Apple I-Pad. The concept of the tablet PC is not new, but the...