Product Decisions

The Product Life Cycle

The product life cycle is the series of stages that a product goes through over its lifetime. Not all products last forever. They start somewhere and most products and services experience a fall in sales after a certain period of time. The stages of the product life cycle are:

Research and development

Research and development is the stage before a product has actually been made.
Businesses will invest in researching a certain area of the market and if they discover a business opportunity, they may then take the time and resources to develop a product or service that fits a gap in the market.
- A pharmaceutical company may invest into researching a certain disease to see if there is a drug that might help cure it.

Introduction

The introduction is the stage where a business introduces or launches the new product (or service) to the market.
Marketing and advertising are important in this stage of the product life cycle because a business needs to find a way to let consumers know what the product is and that the product exists.

Growth

Successful products often undergo a period of growth as more and more customers discover and buy the product.
In the early days, just after introduction, the rate of growth tends to increase.

Maturity

At this stage, the number of new customers buying the product has slowed down and the market for the product can be considered mature.
But sales of the product are still rising, just less quickly than before (they are rising at a decreasing rate).
- People grow a lot less between the ages of 13 and 18 when compared to age 1 and 6.

Saturation

At this stage, the sales of the product have reached its peak and no longer increase but remain steady.
Essentially all consumers who want the product or service have bought or acquired it.

Decline

Changes in fashion, consumer tastes/preferences, technological advances and new competition offering similar products can all mean that the demand for a product begins to fall.

The Boston Matrix

The choice of marketing mix may depend on a product’s location in the Boston Matrix.

The Boston Matrix

Types of product in the Boston Matrix

A dog product has a low market share and is in a market of low growth, for example DVD and CD discs.
A cash cow product has a high market share and is in a market of low growth, for example Apple TV products.
A star product has a high market share and is in a market of high growth, for example new iPhone smartphones.
A question mark product has a low market share and is in a market of high growth.

Factors influencing decisions on the marketing mix

The business’ marketing objectives may affect decisions made about the marketing mix.
The target market may affect decisions made about the marketing mix.
The presence and size of competitors may affect decisions made about the marketing mix.
The type of product may affect decisions made about the marketing mix, for example whether the product is a convenience good.

1Business Organisation & Environment

1.1Introduction to Business Management

1.1.1Why Businesses Exist & Sectors

1.2Types of Organisation

1.2.1Sole Traders

1.2.2Limited Liability

1.2.3Non-Profit

1.2.4Franchising

1.2.5End of Topic Test - Franchising

1.3Organisational Objectives

1.3.1External Environments

1.3.2Business Mission & Corporate Objective

1.3.3Mission, Corporate Objectives & Strategy

1.3.4SWOT Analysis

1.3.5End of Topic Test - SWOT Analysis

1.4Stakeholders

1.4.1Stakeholders

1.5External Environment

1.5.1Social & Technological Environment

1.5.2Lifestyle & Technological Environment

1.5.3Corporate Social Responsibility

1.5.4Economic Environment

1.5.5Political & Legal Change

1.6Growth & Evolution

1.6.1Growth & Retrenchment

1.6.2Challenges of Growth

1.6.3Growth Models

1.6.4End of Topic Test - Diseconomies of Scale

1.6.5Internationalisation

1.6.6Sourcing Resources & Entering Markets

1.6.7End of Topic Test - Internationalisation

1.6.8Managing Internationalisation

1.6.9Impact of Internationalisation

1.7HL Only: Organisational Planning Tools

1.7.1Organisational Planning Tools

2Human Resource Management

2.1Functions & Evolution of Human Resource Management

2.1.1Setting Human Resource Objectives

2.1.2Human Resource Management

2.1.3Labour Turnover & Retention

2.1.4Labour Productivity

2.2Organisational Structure

2.2.1Organisational Structures

2.3Leadership & Management

2.3.1Managers

2.3.2Management Theories

2.3.3End of Topic Test - Management

2.4Motivation

2.4.1Motivating & Engaging Employees

2.4.2Taylor's Theory

2.4.3Maslow's Theory

2.4.4Herzberg's Theory

2.4.5Different Incentives

2.4.6Evaluating Incentives

2.5Organisational (Corporate) Culture

2.5.1Managing Organisational Culture

2.5.2Organisational Structures

2.6HL Only: Industrial/Employee Relations

2.6.1Improving Employer-Employee Relations

2.6.2Case Study - The Winter of Discontent

3Finance & Accounts

3.1Sources of Finance

3.1.1Internal Sources of Finance

3.1.2External Sources of Finance

3.1.3Factors for Financing

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Debt

3.2Costs & Revenues

3.2.1Costs & Revenues

3.3Break-Even Analysis

3.3.1Profit

3.3.2Break-Even Analysis

3.4Profitability & Liquidity Ratio Analysis

3.4.1Profitability Analysis

3.5Cash Flow

3.5.1Cash Flow

3.5.2Solutions to Cash Flow Problems

3.5.3Improving Cash Flow & Profits

3.6HL Only: Investment Appraisal

3.6.1Investment Appraisal

3.7HL Only: Budgets

3.7.1Cash-Flow & Budgets

4Marketing

4.1The Role of Marketing

4.1.1Setting Marketing Objectives

4.1.2Market Calculations

4.2Marketing Planning

4.2.1Marketing Mix

4.2.2Segmentation

4.2.3Niche & Mass Markets

4.3Market Research

4.3.1Market Research

4.3.2Market Mapping

4.3.3Methods of Market Research

4.4The 4 Ps

4.4.1Product Decisions

4.4.2Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming

4.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration

4.4.4End of Topic Test - Pricing & Competition

4.4.5Promotional Decisions

4.4.6Promotional Decisions 2

4.4.7Promotional Decisions 3

4.4.8Digital Marketing

4.4.9Evaluating Digital Marketing

4.4.10Case Study - The Marketing Mix & Promotion

4.4.11Place & Distribution

4.5HL Only: The Extended Marketing Mix

4.5.1The Extended Marketing Mix

4.6HL Only: International Marketing

4.6.1International Marketing

4.7E-Commerce

4.7.1E-Commerce

5Operations Management

5.1The Role of Operations Management

5.1.1Setting Operational Objectives

5.2Production Methods

5.2.1Production Processes Overview

5.2.2Production Processes

5.2.3Production Efficiency

5.2.4Technology & Production

5.3HL Only: Lean Prodution & Quality Management

5.3.1Importance of Quality

5.3.2Measuring & Identifying Quality

5.3.3Total Quality Management

5.3.4Evaluating Total Quality Management

5.3.5Case Study - Toyota Production System

5.4HL Only: Production Planning

5.4.1Capacity

5.4.2Productivity & Efficiency

5.4.3Technology & Efficiency

5.4.4Improving the Supply Chain

5.4.5Inventory

5.4.6Outsourcing

5.5HL Only: Research & Development

5.5.1Organisational Planning Tools

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