Summary of Principles of Marketing Module 8 Lecture 1

00:00:00 - 00:35:00

This lecture discusses the principles of marketing, including the four stages of a product's life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Strategies for each stage vary, depending on the product and the market. In the introduction stage, for example, basic products often have a limited life, and frequent changes are required to keep customers interested. At the growth stage, prices may fall as competition becomes more efficient, and promotion may be reduced to retain loyal customers. At maturity, prices may stabilize as competition becomes more fierce, and the product may be phased out altogether. The lecture also discusses distribution, pricing, and sales promotion.

• 00:00:00 In this lecture, Dr. Shoma Gupta discusses the product life cycle and its impact on marketing strategies. The product life cycle is a cycle through which products go through from introduction to withdrawal or eventual demise. The stages of the product life cycle are growth, maturity, and decline, and each poses different challenges and opportunities for marketers. Product life cycle management is necessary to improve the performance of a product at different stages of its life cycle.
• 00:05:00 The marketer must understand the product life cycle curve in order to make strategic decisions about marketing strategies. The typical product life cycle curve has four stages, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline, with sales volume and profit margins low during the introduction stage.
• 00:10:00 At the introduction stage, a new product faces high costs, limited sales, and potential losses. Strategies for introducing a product successfully include heavy expenditure on sales promotion, money back guarantee, and attractive gift as an intro. Competition increases during this stage, and prices may fall as competitors enter the market. The product lifecycle curve shows that the product is in a growth stage, and profits are greater than at the introduction stage.
• 00:15:00 In this lecture, the professor discusses the principles of marketing during the growth stage. He notes that the marketer will face increased competition and increased costs, but that profits will be high due to large scale production and rapid sales turnover. The professor also discusses the features of growth stage strategies, noting that the aim is to increase demand and create a brand image. Strategies which may be adopted during this stage include advertising and publicity, price competition, customer service enhancements, and developing new versions of the product to satisfy different customer needs. The professor notes that the third stage of the product life cycle curve, maturity, is when the growth rate becomes stable and the marketer reaches a higher position, but the growth potential is lower. After this stage, only the decline is possible.
• 00:20:00 During the decline stage of a product's life cycle, costs increase and sales and profits decline. Strategies to prevent decline from happening include introducing new products, reducing costs, and promo spending.
• 00:25:00 The video teaches about the different stages of a product's lifecycle and how to market a product at each stage. It explains that, in the decline stage, sales are declining, but the company still wants the product to survive for a longer period of time. Strategies to be adopted at this stage are new features and repositioning, in order to try to prolong the stage and add new features to keep the customers stuck to the product. If it is certain that the product has to go, the company may clear out the stocks by any means, including offering heavy discounts.
• 00:30:00 This lecture discusses the principles of marketing, including the four stages of a product's life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Strategies for each stage vary, depending on the product and the market. In the introduction stage, for example, basic products often have a limited life, and frequent changes are required to keep customers interested. At the growth stage, prices may fall as competition becomes more efficient, and promotion may be reduced to retain loyal customers. At maturity, prices may stabilize as competition becomes more fierce, and the product may be phased out altogether. The lecture also discusses distribution, pricing, and sales promotion.
• 00:35:00 This lecture discusses ways to reduce prices, increase aggressive promotion, change the package and brand/label, and improve the products.