Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning pdf ebook

Introduction stage 
The product is launched into the market and generally sales are slow to pick up because 
customers and distribution have to be found and convinced. If the product is new to the 
world (as was the first iPad) it will face little or no competition and the company will have 
a pioneer advantage and appeal to innovators. If it is an addition (such as the Samsung 
Edge in the smartphone market) it will be targeted at a new segment and fit the ‘ideal’ of 
that segment better than alternative solutions. The key question here has to do with how 
quickly competitors will launch a variant. This is normally the stage for build strategies 
(see Chapter 10 ). 
Investment costs are likely to be very high prior to launch. The Airbus A380 is a good 
case in point (see Figure 3.9 ).
Figure 3.8 
The 
product life cycle
Pre-launch
Introduction
Growth
Maturity
Decline
Loss
Profit
Sales
Time
Sales &
profit
Launch

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THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
Growth stage
The growth stage is characterised by a rapid increase in sales as the product starts to attract 
different types of customers and repeat purchases may start (see Figure 3.9). Critically, it is 
at this stage that competitors assess the product’s market and profit potential and decide on 
their competitive moves. They may decide to modify or improve their current offerings, or 
enter the market with their own new products (for example, Microsoft Zunes as the ‘iPod 
killer’). If not, they may use the other elements of the mix to detract attention from the 
product, such as an advertising campaign or a price promotion. It is possible that defensive 
attacks may be required to prevent the curve from flattening.
Maturity stage
At this stage, the rate of growth slows down significantly. This stage tends to last longer 
than the previous ones and is probably the most challenging one. It is a fact of life for most 
marketers that the markets they have to deal with are mature! This is a stage of severe 
Airbus A380’s 
development costs 
were €11bn!
Source: Susanne 
Baumgarten/Vario images 
GmbH & Co.KG/Alamy 
Stock Photo.