Assignment: Life Cycle Management Analysis
In this assignment, you practice using critical thinking skills. You analyze a case by conducting research, defining problems, and making recommendations. Remember to suspend personal bias and judgment while investigating the multiple stages of product strategies and life cycle management.
• Resource:Marketing: Real People, Real Choices
• Read the following: In recent times, a popular consumer electronics company, Apple® has released a high-demand product to the marketplace. The iPod® portable MP3 player and iTunes® interface allow the user to quickly and easily purchase, download, and listen to music. As with any new product in the marketplace, Apple® has taken steps to manage this product throughout its marketing life cycle.
• Write a 700- to 1,050- word paper analyzing how the company has managed each stage of the product life cycle of its popular MP3 player. Determine which stage of the life cycle the product is in currently. Defend why you feel the product is in the stage you identified. Your paper should include the following elements:
o A brief description of the product's objectives and marketing strategies
o An analysis of the introduction phase of the product
o An overview of how the company has managed or should manage the product through the growth stage
o A review of how the maturity stage has affected or will affect the product's sales, profits, pricing, and marketing communication
o A prediction of the product's decline in the marketplace
• Summarize your paper by answering the following questions: Do you agree or disagree with how each stage has been managed? What alternative approaches to life cycle management would you suggest?
• Include a recommendation for management of the next applicable stage of the product life cycle.
• Format your paper according to APA standards.
• Post your paper as an attachment.