Extending Existing Products

Extension Strategies

To try to prevent or delay (postpone) a product (or service) from reaching the stage where sales start to decline, businesses can try different extension strategies.

Update packaging or rebranding

Updating packaging can help to keep a product fresh in consumers’ minds. This is a common way that businesses try to keep consumers’ interest in a product.
- For example, Coca Cola have put people’s names and the names of places on their bottles of Coca Cola and Diet Coke.
- In 2002, British Airways spent £60m rebranding its brand and products. It changed the logos on its planes and changed the business’ strapline.

Adding more/different features

Adding more or different features can keep people interested.
- The FIFA video game was first released in 1993. Every year, EA Sports update the game to have better new features. This can attract new customers and help keep existing customers.
- Chocolate manufacturers often do this to increase sales. Wispa was a successful product, so Cadbury launched Wispa Gold (which contained caramel).

Changing the target market

Businesses can target new markets in an attempt to keep demand (and sales) high. Businesses can enter the same market in a different country or target a different age range in the same country.
- In 2014, the sports brand, UnderArmour won a Marketer of the Year award for its “I will what I want” campaign targeted at women.

Advertising

Heavily advertising a product can help to keep the demand for a product high. New advertising campaigns can also help to change the product image slightly and attract different customers.
Lots of companies pay £3.5m for a 30 second advert that is shown on US TV during the Superbowl. These adverts can reach an audience of over 110m people. In the UK at peak times (7pm - 9pm), a 30 second advert usually costs between £10,000 and £30,000.

1Business Activity & Influences on Business

1.1Business Objectives

1.1.1Business Aims

1.1.2Business Objectives

1.1.3Business Objectives Change Over Time

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Business Aims

1.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Profit

1.2Types of Organisations

1.2.1Sole Traders & Partnerships

1.2.2Limited Companies

1.2.3Limited Liability

1.2.4Unlimited vs Limited Liability

1.2.5Not For Profit & Franchises

1.2.6Multinational Companies

1.2.7End of Topic Test - Business Ownership

1.2.8Application Questions - Business Ownership

1.2.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - Company vs Business

1.2.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - Owners vs Shareholders

1.3Classification of Businesses

1.3.1Sectors

1.4Decisions on Location

1.4.1Location

1.5Business & the International Economy

1.5.1Globalisation

1.5.2Exchange Rates

1.6Government Objectives & Policy

1.6.1Government Objectives

1.6.2The Government & Business Activity

1.6.3Interest Rates

1.6.4Interest Rates - Calculations

1.6.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Recessions

1.7External Factors

1.7.1External Factors

1.8What Makes a Business Successful?

1.8.1Measuring Success

1.8.2Reasons for Failure

2People in Business

2.1Internal & External Communication

2.1.1Communication

2.2Recruitment & Selection Process

2.2.1Types of Employment

2.2.2Recruitment Stages

2.2.3Effective Recruitment

2.2.4Legal Controls Over Employment

2.2.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Internal Recruitment

2.3Training

2.3.1Training

2.4Motivation & Rewards

2.4.1Motivation in the Workplace

2.4.2Financial & Non-Financial Methods

2.4.3End of Topic Test - The Workforce

2.4.4Application Questions - The Workforce

2.4.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Money

2.5Organisation Structures

2.5.1Organisational Structures

2.5.2Centralised vs. Decentralised Structures

2.5.3Tall & Flat Organisations

2.5.4Functional Areas Within a Business

2.5.5End of Topic Test - Org Structure

3Business Finance

3.1Sources of Finance

3.1.1Internal & External Sources of Finance

3.1.2Factors Affecting Sources of Finance

3.2Cash Flow Forecasting

3.2.1Cash Flow

3.2.2Consequences of Cash Flow Problems

3.2.3Cash Flow - Calculations

3.2.4Solutions to Cash Flow Problems

3.2.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Cash Flow

3.3Cost & Break-Even Analysis

3.3.1Costs, Revenue & Profit

3.3.2Profit, Average Unit Cost & Interest

3.3.3Costs - Calculations

3.3.4Revenue - Calculations

3.3.5Break-Even Analysis

3.3.6Profit & Losses - Calculations

3.3.7End of Topic Test - Finance

3.3.8Grade 9 - Finance

3.3.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - Fixed Costs

3.3.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - Break-even

3.4Financial Documents

3.4.1Financial Statements

3.4.2Income Statement

3.4.3Understanding Business Performance

3.5Account Analysis

3.5.1Business Calculations

3.5.2Gross Profit - Calculations

3.5.3Net Profit - Calculations

3.5.4Business Calculations 2

3.5.5Business Calculations 3

3.5.6Liquidity

4Marketing

4.1Market Research

4.1.1Market Research

4.1.2Forms of Market Research

4.2The Market

4.2.1Customer Needs

4.2.2Satisfying Customer Needs

4.2.3Market

4.2.4The Competitive Environment

4.2.5Market Segmentation

4.2.6Market Mapping - Price vs Quality

4.2.7End of Topic Test - Marketing

4.2.8Application Questions - Marketing

4.2.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - Competition

4.3The Marketing Mix

5Business Operations

5.1Economies & Diseconomies of Scale

5.1.1Economies of Scale

5.1.2Diagnostic Misconceptions - Economies of Scale

5.2Production

5.2.1Production Processes

5.2.2Flow and Batch Production

5.2.3Production Efficiency

5.2.4Technology & Production

5.2.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - JIT vs JIC

5.3Factors of Production

5.3.1Factors of Production

5.4Quality

5.4.1Importance of Quality

5.4.2Identifying Quality

5.4.3Total Quality Management

5.4.4End of Topic Test - Operational Decisions

Jump to other topics