Blog: Mkt624 Assignment No. 2 Solution

Assignment Question

The Case: 

You have incorporated your company in 1995. Within few years, your detergent with brand name “Happy-Wash”  has gained huge success due to its unique “soft on hands” and “stain-removing” formula. Slowly and gradually the market has matured as the rival brands have also included the same features and are doing quite well. You still hold a well established position in the market and your brand loyalty is still there but it needs to be maintained and developed further in order to avoid your brand from getting lost in the strong clutter of competitor’s brands. To avoid the brand from falling into the haunting depths of decline stage, you need to make certain adjustment toprolong or extend the maturity stage of your brand life cycle. 

There are many products that enter the decline stage and are then cycled back in to the growth stage through strong promotion, repositioning or many other growth strategies. You also have many options through which you can prolong the maturity stage and keep on reaping the benefits of your established brand instead of letting it die effortlessly. You will have to incorporate changes in the design of your product portfolio to regain your business growth. 

The Requirement: 

Discuss and analyze the possible strategies that you can use to prolong and extend the maturity stage of your brand?


Solution:


Maturity Stage

The maturity stage is the most profitable. While sales continue to increase into this stage, they do so at a slower pace. Because brand awareness is strong, advertising expenditures will be reduced. Competition may result in decreased market share and/or prices. The competing products may be very similar at this point, increasing the difficulty of differentiating the product. The firm places effort into encouraging competitors' customers to switch, increasing usage per customer, and converting non-users into customers. Sales promotions may be offered to encourage retailers to give the product more shelf space over competing products.

During the maturity stage, the primary goal is to maintain market share and extend the product life cycle. Marketing mix decisions may include:

·         Product - Modifications are made and features are added in order to differentiate the product from competing products that may have been introduced.

·         Price - Possible price reductions in response to competition while avoiding a price war.

·         Distribution - New distribution channels and incentives to resellers in order to avoid losing shelf space.

·         Promotion - Emphasis on differentiation and building of brand loyalty. Incentives to get competitors' customers to switch.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


The maturity stage is the very help full to the company because the maturity stage is the most profitable. While sales continue to increase into this stage. Because brand awareness is strong, advertising expenditures will be reduced. Competition may result in decreased market share and/or prices.
During the maturity stage, the primary goal is to maintain market share and extend the product life cycle. Those strategies that use to prolong and extend the maturity stage of your brand:-

• Evaluating the performance 
• Extending the target market 
• Improving the communion 
• Research finding the customer
• Extending your point of the difference 
• Marketing mix decisions:
1. Product
2. Price 
3. Distribution 
4. Advertising 
5. Sales promotion