Chapter 16 Chapter 15 Product Strategy and Management

Product strategy is the primary and basic element of marketing mix and the basis of price strategy, distribution strategy and promotion strategy.With the rapid development of high-tech in contemporary society and the accelerated speed of product replacement, the success or failure of an enterprise is more and more related to whether the enterprise can produce products that can meet the needs of consumers. Product marketing has become the foundation of corporate marketing.Therefore, product marketing planning should not be limited to a certain product produced, but should start from the definition of the above products, start with product development, use positioning, combination and brand as means, and consider the product life cycle for comprehensive planning.

The so-called marketing mix is ​​the optimal combination of various specific strategies in the marketing process to produce a comprehensive effect of coordinated operations in order to achieve the strategic goal of the enterprise, that is, the enterprise controls various strategies according to the needs of the target market. The optimal combination and comprehensive application of marketing factors (quality, packaging, service, price, channel, advertisement, etc.) make them coordinate and cooperate, maximize strengths and avoid weaknesses, and give full play to comprehensive advantages. 1. Factors affecting the marketing mix

There are two types of factors that affect enterprise marketing: one is the opportunities and threats brought by the external environment of the enterprise, which are difficult for the enterprise to change; the other is that the enterprise itself can be controlled through decision-making.Generally speaking, the marketing mix refers to the following four factors that can be controlled by the enterprise itself: (1) Product strategy.Product strategy includes decision-making content such as product development, product planning, product design, and delivery date.The influencing factors include product characteristics, quality, appearance, accessories, brand, trademark, packaging, guarantee, service, etc.

(2) Price strategy.The price strategy includes determining the pricing target, formulating product price principles and techniques, etc.Its influencing factors include distribution channels, regional distribution, types of middlemen, transportation methods, storage conditions, etc. (3) Promotion strategy.Promotion strategy refers to how to promote customers to buy goods in order to achieve increased sales strategy.Its influencing factors include advertising, personal selling, publicity, business promotion, public relations, etc. (4) distribution strategy.The distribution strategy is the strategy of the way and means to make the goods reach the consumers smoothly.Its influencing factors include payment method, credit terms, basic price, discount, wholesale price, retail price, etc.

The combination of the above four aspects of strategy is collectively referred to as the marketing mix strategy.The basic idea of ​​the marketing mix strategy is: start with formulating product strategy, formulate price, promotion and distribution channel strategy at the same time, and combine them into an overall strategy, so as to achieve the right commodity, right price, and right promotion method, and deliver the product to the right market. purpose of the location.The success or failure of business operations depends to a large extent on the selection of these combined strategies and their comprehensive application effects.

Since the English prefixes of these four marketing methods are all P, they are often referred to as "4P" combination, and marketing mix is ​​the optimal combination of these four basic methods. 2. Characteristics of marketing mix (1) Marketing mix refers to the combination of various factors that the enterprise can control.There are many factors affecting market activities, which can be roughly divided into two categories: controllable factors and non-controllable factors.Controllable factors refer to the marketing means adopted by the enterprise to meet the needs of the target market for different marketing environments in order to achieve the marketing goals.Non-controllable factors, that is, market environment, refer to the external environment that the enterprise cannot completely control or cannot control at all.

(2) Marketing factors are a dynamic combination.In the actual marketing process, the marketing mix is ​​not only affected and restricted by the enterprise's own resource conditions and goals, but also affected and restricted by the external marketing environment of the enterprise, especially the macro environment.As a social force, macro environment includes population environment, economic environment, technological environment, natural environment, political environment, legal environment, social environment, cultural environment, etc.These social forces are difficult for enterprises to control, and they will cause many environmental threats and opportunities for enterprises.Therefore, enterprises must closely monitor the trend of the macro environment, adjust their marketing mix in time, and do everything possible to adapt their marketing mix to the external environment. This is the key to whether an enterprise can take the initiative in the market, succeed and develop.

(3) Marketing factors are a multi-level combination.The four major marketing strategies are a large combination, and various marketing strategies contain many specific marketing factors, which form four smaller system combinations or sub-combinations. If among the many specific factors contained in each marketing strategy Choose four factors, and there will be a total of 16 factors, forming four subcombinations.Around the target market, the company's marketing activities will form an open system.Enterprises can choose the best combination from various combinations to adapt to the external environment and the requirements of the target market.

(4) Overall synergy of the marketing mix.Enterprises must accurately analyze and judge the specific marketing environment, enterprise resources and characteristics of target market demand in order to formulate the best marketing mix.Therefore, the role of the best marketing mix is ​​by no means the simple sum of the four marketing elements of product, price, channel, and promotion, that is, 4Ps≠P+P+P+P, but to make them produce an overall synergy .Just like the important prescriptions prescribed by traditional Chinese medicine, the four kinds of herbal medicines have different potencies and different therapeutic effects, and the diseases they treat are also different, and the combined treatment of these four kinds of traditional Chinese medicines has a greater effect than each of the original medicines. sum of effects.The same is true for the marketing mix, only the best combination of them can produce an overall synergy.It is in this sense that the marketing mix is ​​an art and skill of management.

(5) The marketing mix must have sufficient adaptability.Marketing mix is ​​a controllable element of enterprise marketing management. Generally speaking, enterprises have sufficient decision-making power.For example, enterprises can choose to determine product structure according to market demand, formulate competitive prices, and choose the most appropriate sales channels and promotional media.However, enterprises do not formulate marketing mix in a vacuum. With the changes of market competition, customer demand characteristics and external environment, the marketing mix must be corrected and adjusted at any time to keep it competitive.In short, the marketing mix must have sufficient adaptability and sensitive adaptability to the external environment.

The understanding of products is constantly deepening and developing.At the beginning, people often pay attention to the material properties of products, that is, their different use values. With the rapid development of science and technology, the continuous progress of society, the increasingly personalized characteristics of consumer demand, and the deepening of market competition As a result, the connotation and extension of the product are also constantly expanding.This definition seems too simple. Marketing scientists put forward a new definition of products from the perspective of marketing, and define products with modern concepts. Products refer to paying attention to, obtaining, using or consuming to satisfy certain desires and needs. And everything that is offered to the market (Philip Kotler).This definition is broader, thus giving marketers a wider scope.Tangible items such as TV sets, cosmetics, and furniture can no longer cover products with modern concepts. The connotation of products has expanded from tangible items to services (such as beauty, consultation), personnel (such as sports, movie stars, etc.), places (such as Guilin, Vienna, etc.) ), organizations (such as consumer protection associations) and concepts (such as environmental protection, public morality awareness), etc.; the extension of products is also from its core products (such as basic functions) to general products (such as the basic form of products), expected products (such as expected product attributes and conditions), additional products (such as additional benefits and services) and potential products (such as future developments of products) expansion. (1) Core products.That is, the basic utility and benefits of products provided to consumers are the essential things that products provide to customers, and they are also the benefits and services that consumers really want to buy.Consumers buy a product not to own the product entity, but to obtain utility and benefits that can satisfy their own needs.For example, consumers buy washing machines not to own the article itself, but to clean clothes conveniently, labor-saving and time-saving.The core product is the most basic content that consumers pursue, and it is also what they really want to buy. (2) Form products.Form products refer to the appearance of products displayed in front of consumers, mainly including a series of indicators such as product design, brand, trademark, packaging, decoration, color, etc., which are the external manifestations of the core part of the product.Good product performance needs to be expressed through corresponding product forms.When people buy goods, in addition to considering the benefits that the product can bring to themselves, they also have to choose their appearance. When the form of the product is coordinated, it will bring a psychological feeling to the buyer. Satisfaction, and prompt him to quickly take the purchase behavior.With the development of the economy and the improvement of people's consumption level, people pay more and more attention to the form of products. Therefore, enterprises must not ignore the shaping of product form. (3) Expected products.Expected product is a series of attributes and characteristics closely related to the product that consumers expect to obtain when purchasing the product.These are the attributes and characteristics that products should have to meet the most basic requirements of customers. For example, hotel guests expect clean beds, bath shampoo, bath towels, cloakroom services, etc. Since most hotels can meet the general expectations of tourists, Therefore, when tourists choose hotels with roughly the same grade conditions, they usually do not choose which hotel can provide the expected products, but which hotel is nearby and convenient. (4) Additional product layer.Additional products, also known as extended products, refer to all the additional services and benefits that customers get when they purchase tangible products. In fact, they are the promises or additional conditions that the supplier makes to consumers during the transaction.Specifically, it includes quality assurance, commercial credit, and sales services (such as door-to-door delivery, installation and commissioning, after-sales "three guarantees", use training, supply of spare parts, etc.).The concept of additional products comes from people's in-depth understanding of market needs.Because the buyer's purpose is to satisfy a need, they want everything related to satisfying that need.American marketing scholar Theodore Levitt once pointed out: "The new competition does not occur in what products each company's factory produces, but in what additional benefits its products can provide." Therefore, companies must provide good additional benefits. Products, it is necessary to establish a guarantee system, such as the establishment of user files, the formulation of various service standards and the management of trainers for service personnel. (5) Potential product layer.Potential products indicate all the possible additions and changes of the product. This level is a deformation and extension of additional products, indicating the value that the possible evolution of the product will bring to customers.Potential products are the most important factor in attracting customers to buy non-necessities and non-desires.For example, when people buy insurance products, they do not get immediate benefits at the time of purchase, but a promise, that is, reasonable benefits that can be realized in the future. The continuous expansion of the product extension of modern enterprises is due to the complexity of consumer demand and the fierce competition.Under the condition that the core functions of the products converge, whoever can meet the needs of consumers' complex interest integration faster, more and better will be able to own consumers, occupy the market, and gain a competitive advantage.Constantly expanding the extension of products has become the focus of modern enterprise product competition. Consumers' expectations for products increasingly include the comprehensive value of the services they can provide, the quality of enterprise personnel and the overall image of the enterprise.At present, the product competition of enterprises in developed countries is mostly concentrated at the level of additional products, while the product competition of enterprises in developing countries is mainly concentrated at the level of expected products.If the core benefits of the products are the same, but the services provided by the additional products are different, consumers may regard them as two different products, thus resulting in two completely different sales situations. Product mix is ​​an important part of enterprise marketing decision-making, and the determination of product mix determines the future development of the enterprise to a large extent.The quality of the product mix, to some extent, determines the success or failure of the enterprise. Product mix refers to the organic composition of all commodities manufactured or operated by an enterprise, and is the structure of all commodities produced and sold by an enterprise.With the development of contemporary society, on the one hand, enterprises must obtain greater economic benefits through mass production, and on the other hand, due to changes in the market and consumer demand, they must develop a variety of products to adapt to the diversification of consumer demand.How to match and combine products in production and distribution has become an important issue that enterprises must face in their business decisions. The characteristics of the product portfolio can be analyzed from the following dimensions: (1) Product line.A product line refers to a group of closely related products, which have the same function, are sold to the same customer group, and are sold through the same channel, and the price varies within a certain range.With the definition of the product line as a basis, the width of the product mix can be defined. The width of the product mix refers to the number of product lines owned by the company.For example, Procter & Gamble's product portfolio has a width of 7, which includes product lines such as detergent, toothpaste, bar soap, diapers, paper towels, mouthwash, and toilet paper. (2) Product items.Product items refer to products of different models, specifications, styles, textures, colors or brands under the same product line or product series.For example, a department store deals in gold and silver jewelry, cosmetics, clothing, shoes and hats, household appliances, food, cultural and educational supplies, etc. The major categories are product lines, and the specific brands and varieties included in each major category are product items. (3) Breadth of product portfolio.The breadth of the product mix, also known as the width of the product mix, refers to the number of product lines produced and operated by the enterprise.Large and medium-sized diversified enterprise groups have a wider product portfolio, while specialized enterprises and franchised stores produce and operate fewer product categories and a narrower product portfolio. (4) The length of the product mix.The total number of product items in each product line is called the length of the product line. Of course, if a company has multiple product lines, the lengths of all product lines can be added up to obtain the total length of the company’s product portfolio, which can be divided by The average product line length of the company can be obtained by width. (5) Depth of product mix.The depth of product mix refers to the number of product items contained in each product brand in each product line produced and operated by the enterprise.The number of product brands contained in each product line of an enterprise is often not equal, and each product brand has different varieties, specifications, models, and designs of product items.For example, Liangmianzhen toothpaste has a variety of tastes and fragrances, which constitute the depth of Liangmianzhen toothpaste, while Crest toothpaste has three specifications and two formulas, and the depth of Crest toothpaste is 6. (6) The correlation degree of product mix.The degree to which the products of different product lines produced and operated by an enterprise are closely related to each other in terms of end use, production conditions, distribution channels or other aspects. This correlation is called correlation. The four dimensions of the product portfolio provide the basis for the company to determine its product strategy.A company can develop its business in four ways: a company can add new product lines to expand the breadth of its product portfolio; it can also extend its existing product lines to become a company with a more complete product line; Increase the variety of each product to increase the depth of the product portfolio; it can also make the product line more or less relevant, open up new areas or shrink areas. The product portfolio strategy is the basis for making other decisions. After the product portfolio is determined, the enterprise's investment portfolio, pricing distribution channels, promotion strategies and the allocation of various resources are basically determined.The choice of product portfolio by an enterprise is neither blindly pursuing width, depth, length, nor the more specialized the better, but based on accurate market research and comprehensive consideration of market demand, competition situation, external environment, enterprise's own strength and marketing goals , Follow the principles that are conducive to promoting sales and increasing total profits, make correct decisions, and act cautiously.Common product mix strategies include the following six: (1) All-round comprehensive combination.That is, the enterprise produces and operates multiple product lines, each of which has multiple product items, the width and depth of the product items are relatively large, and the degree of correlation between each product line can be loose or tight.The characteristic of this strategy is to strive to provide as many customers as possible with a variety of products they need, to meet their needs as much as possible, so as to occupy a relatively broad market.Only enterprises with huge scale, strong strength and abundant resources can do it.For example, Procter & Gamble in the United States has multiple product lines such as detergent, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, deodorant, lotion, baby diapers, and beverages, all of which are daily necessities. The correlation between each product line is Strong, but China's Lenovo Group now not only produces computers, but also mobile phones, and enters the real estate industry, and the correlation between various product lines is weak. (2) Market professional combination.That is to say, a company takes a specific market as its target market, and provides multiple product lines and multiple product items for consumer groups in this market to meet their various needs.This kind of combination strategy is characterized by large breadth and depth, but less correlation, and can fully understand the various needs of the company's target customers, with the purpose of fully and firmly occupying the company's target market.This combination strategy is still suitable for large-scale enterprises. For example, Goldlion mainly produces suits, ties, leather goods, tie clips, perfumes and other supplies for successful men. (3) Professional combination of product series.That is, the enterprise produces several product items in a few product lines with strong interrelationships to meet the different needs of different consumers for these types of products.The characteristic of this combination strategy is that the width and depth are small and closely related, the technical requirements of the products are close, and the degree of production specialization is high, which is conducive to extending technical advantages and improving production efficiency.For example, Kelon Company has been committed to the production of refrigeration products, and only has a few product lines such as air conditioners and refrigerators. The product items of each product line are relatively limited, and the production volume is relatively large. (4) Concentrated combination of product series.That is, the enterprise concentrates various resources to produce several product items in a single product line in order to more effectively meet the needs of a certain part of consumers for this type of product.The combination strategy is characterized by the smallest width, slightly larger depth, close correlation, and relatively concentrated products and target markets, which is conducive to the company's better occupation of the market.This is a combination strategy often adopted by small and medium-sized enterprises.For example, Galanz only produced microwave ovens in the early days of its business and its designs and varieties were relatively limited. (5) Professional combination of special products.That is, enterprises rely on their own special technology and production conditions to produce products that can meet certain special needs.This combination strategy is characterized by small width, depth, and length, target customers have special needs, and production is highly targeted and purposeful.In many cases, products are customized according to the special individual needs of customers.For example, an enterprise specializes in the production of artificial limbs, wheelchairs, and rehabilitation equipment for disabled people. (6) Single product mix.That is, the enterprise only produces one or a limited number of product items to adapt and meet a single market demand.This combination strategy is characterized by simplified product lines, simple production process, and mass production, which is conducive to improving labor efficiency and reducing costs; it is also easy to keep improving in technology, which is conducive to improving product quality and grade.However, because the production and operation of a single product enterprise is too dependent on the product, it has poor adaptability to market demand and has a high risk. The status of product mix is ​​directly related to the sales and profit level of the enterprise. The company must conduct systematic and objective analysis and evaluation of the product mix and the development and impact on future sales and profit levels, and decide whether to add or delete certain product lines or Product line decisions are made to achieve product mix optimization.Commonly used product mix analysis methods mainly include the following. 1. Analysis of product situation The product situation analysis method was first proposed by the American marketing scholar Durak. He divided the existing products of the enterprise into six levels, and then analyzed and studied the potential of each level of products in the future sales growth, so as to determine the adjustment of the current product mix. The six levels of products and related strategies divided by Durak are: (1) For the current main products, the strategy is to stabilize the market position and increase corporate profits. (2) The main product in the future, its strategy is to serve as the focus of enterprise investment and protection to promote its development and growth. (3) Due to the decline in market demand and sales of the main products in the past, the strategy is to either improve the product, such as multi-functional development in order to make a comeback, or to eliminate it. (4) Products that need to be improved should be improved according to market demand and changes in competitors' products, and strive to become today's or tomorrow's main products. (5) For products that need to be maintained, continue to operate, maintain the market, and strive to create more profits. (6) Products that have lost their market should be converted or eliminated immediately, so as to concentrate enterprise resources to produce products with high operating profits or promising products. After the enterprise judges the "situation" of all product items in the product portfolio, it decides to eliminate, retain and develop each item.The analysis of products should be combined with the research on the economic life cycle of products. 2. Product line sales and profit analysis Product line sales and profit analysis is to analyze and evaluate the sales and profit levels provided by different product items on the current product line, and make adjustment decisions for product lines based on this. 3. Analysis of profit growth target Profit growth target analysis is a method to analyze and evaluate the profit growth structure of the company's existing product portfolio in combination with the company's profit growth target.If the current product mix of the enterprise cannot effectively achieve the profit target of the enterprise, scientific adjustments must be made to optimize the product mix to ensure the realization of the profit target of the enterprise. After analyzing and evaluating the current product mix of the enterprise, and finding out the existing problems, it is necessary to take corresponding measures to adjust the product mix to achieve the best combination state. Generally speaking, the product adjustment strategies are as follows. 1. Expansion strategy Expansion strategies include extending the width and length of the product portfolio.The former is to add one or several product lines to the original product portfolio to expand the business scope of the enterprise; the latter is to add new product items to the original product line and develop a series of products. This strategy is often considered when companies predict that the sales and profitability of existing product lines will decline in the next few years.This strategy can make full use of the human resources and other resources of the enterprise, tap the potential, disperse the risk, and enhance the competitiveness.Of course, the expansion strategy will often disperse the energy of the operator, increase management difficulties, sometimes increase the marginal cost, and even affect the reputation of the original product due to the quality and function of the new product. 2. Scale-down strategy The reduction strategy is that the enterprise removes those product lines or product items with low profit from the product portfolio, and concentrates on those product lines and product items with the most profit. The reduction strategy can enable enterprises to concentrate on improving the quality of a few products, reduce costs, delete products that are not worth the loss, and improve economic benefits.Of course, if the company loses part of the market, it will also increase the risk of the company. 3. Product extension strategy The products of each enterprise have its specific market positioning. For example, in the car market in mainland my country, "Buick", "Audi" and "Passat" are positioned in the mid-to-high-end car market, "Santana" is positioned in the mid-range market, and "Xiali" is positioned in the mid-range market. ", "Alto" and so on are positioned in the low-end market.The product extension strategy refers to changing the market positioning of the company's original products in whole or in part.The specific methods include downward extension, upward extension, and two-way extension. (1) Extend downward.Downward extension means that the enterprise originally produced high-end products and then increased low-end products.Companies can consider implementing this strategy in the following situations: □High-end products are threatened by competitors in the market, and the sales growth rate of the company's products in this market tends to be slow. In order to maintain sales, occupy and open up the market, expand the product line, increase product items, and increase middle and low-end products. □The company's high-end products have encountered tough competitors, and it can gain room for maneuver by entering the middle and low-end product market. □Enterprises enter the high-end product market, establish a high-quality brand image, and expand their reputation. The purpose of producing middle and low-end products can enrich product varieties, increase designs, and expand the market. □Fill the vacancy in the market and resist competitors entering the middle and low-end product market to compete with the enterprise. The advantage of the downward extension strategy is obvious, that is, it can save the promotion cost of the new brand, and it can also make the new product free-ride on the reputation of the original brand, and be recognized by consumers quickly.Enterprises can also make full use of various resources.But there are also risks.Because the introduction of low-end products in the high-end product line will easily affect and damage the image of the company and the original brand products, lower the grade of the original products, and may also stimulate companies that originally produced low-end products to enter the high-end product market, prompting competition. (2) Extend upward.Upward extension means that the enterprise originally produced low-end products, but later decided to increase high-end products.Companies can consider implementing this strategy in the following situations: □Raise the market image of the product. □The market demand for high-end products has increased, and high-end products have a wide market and high profit margins. □Competitors in the high-end product market are relatively weak and can replace them. □The strength of the enterprise increases, and it hopes to develop various products of high, medium and low grades. Upward extension may also bring risks: First, it may cause competitors who originally produced high-end products to adopt a downward extension strategy, thereby increasing their own competitive pressure.Second, the market may lack confidence in the company's ability to produce high-end products.The third is that the original production, sales and other links do not have enough skills and experience in this area. (3) Two-way extension.It used to produce and operate mid-range products, but now it extends to high-end and low-end products at the same time. On the one hand, it increases high-end products, and on the other hand, it increases low-end products to expand the market position. The life cycle of a product is a time representation of the process of a product's emergence, development and decline in the market.This shows that the product has a limited life, and the sales of the product go through different stages, and the profit of each stage of the product is high or low, which poses different challenges to the seller, which inevitably requires different marketing in different stages Strategy. The product life cycle refers to the whole process of a product going through growth, maturity and decline stages from being put on the market until it is eliminated by the market.A typical product life cycle curve is S-shaped, as shown in Figure 15-3.The curve can be divided into five stages: introduction period, growth period, maturity period and decline period. 1. Introduction period During the introduction phase of the product life cycle, companies launch new products using a comprehensive marketing plan.Businesses go through various stages of product development, including idea evaluation, developing product prototypes, and market testing.The product may be a completely innovative product, such as MP3, U disk, or it may be a new product category created due to popularity and unique features, such as digital camera. Brand new products generally have few direct competitors.However, if the product has a good prospect, many companies will quickly enter the industry.Since consumers are not familiar with innovative products or their features, the appeal of corporate promotional activities is mainly to stimulate market demand for the entire product category, not just for a certain brand.The introduction period is the most risky and costly stage, because this stage needs to invest a lot of money to develop the market and let as many consumers as possible accept the product.Many new products die at this stage before enough consumers buy them. 2. Growth period In the growth stage, sales volume and profit increase rapidly.Competitors start to enter the market, and if the prospects for profitability are particularly good, a swarm of competitors is attracted.In the final stage of growth, profits start to decline due to intense competition. Even if the company strives to increase sales, the market share and price will gradually decline at this stage.Prices for high-tech products, such as microprocessors, will fall sharply even as the industry continues to grow. 3. Maturity period In the early stages of maturity, sales volumes continue to grow, but the rate of growth gradually slows down.When sales are no longer growing, profits for both manufacturers and intermediaries begin to decline, mainly due to intense price competition. In order to achieve product differentiation, some companies expand their product lines to add new products, while others are committed to new and improved products.For other products that follow market-leading brands, this stage is the most stressful.In the later stage of maturity, manufacturers with high cost or no differentiation advantage and low profit will choose to withdraw from the market because they do not have enough consumers or profit. 4. Recession period A recession is a period of increasing downward trend in sales and declining profits.For most products, decline periods are inevitable because: (1) The market develops a better or cheaper product to fill the same need.Microprocessors have made the dream come true for many alternative products, such as handheld computers (replacing calculators) and video game consoles (which pushed board games into decline). (2) Product demand disappears, mostly due to the success of alternative products on the market.When cassettes and CDs replaced records, there was no need for a turntable. (3) If everyone is tired of a certain product (such as a style of clothing), the product will disappear in the market. If it is difficult to increase sales or profits again, most competitors will exit the market during the recession.However, there are still some companies that can develop products that are conducive to market demand and maintain a certain degree of success in the recession. Not all products exhibit an S-shaped product life cycle.For example, sales of electric knives rose rapidly when they were first introduced, then stabilized or “frozen” at that level.This level of rigidity is maintained because of the interchange of late adopters' first purchases with early adopters. If the uses of a product are discovered one after another, its product life cycle presents a "fan-shaped" feature.Nylon sales, for example, show this characteristic, as many new uses—parachutes, socks, shirts, carpets—are discovered one after the other. The concept of product life cycle can be used to describe the characteristics of different stages of the life cycle and the competitive marketing strategies that enterprises may adopt. New uses and new features of products, and open up new market segments, so as to extend the entire life cycle of products. 1. Marketing strategy in the introduction period The characteristics of this stage are as follows: First of all, from the product point of view, the product has been successfully developed initially and has been put on the market. The structure and process of the product have not yet been fully finalized, and the product still needs to be further improved. At this time, it cannot be mass-produced. In addition, the cost of sales promotion is high and the cost of the product is high. , Only a small number of innovators can accept this product, so the sales volume is small, the growth rate is slow, the profit margin is low, and even the loss.The sales channels are narrow and not stable enough, and the competition is not yet fierce. It is likely that only a few companies sell this product and may even be exclusive. Secondly, from the perspective of consumers, when a product appears in the market with a brand-new image, only a few consumers who seek novelty and difference are usually the first to buy it.For most consumers, they know very little about the relevant information of this product, so they are only interested in this new product, and hope to continue to know and know it.Before they get more sufficient information about the product, they generally will not buy rashly. Based on the above characteristics, enterprises generally adopt the following strategies during the introduction period: (1) Focus on solving the problems that people do not know or are not familiar with the products, and do everything possible to make people familiar, so that the products they operate can stand firm.One is that the product at this time is not yet firmly established, and a large number of advertisements must be made to expand the publicity of the product and establish product reputation.Second, for an enterprise, to establish a long-term image, proper advertising is very important at this time. (2) Using the method of auxiliary development, use the company's brand-name products or other companies' brand-name products to promote the social acceptance of new products. (3) A trial method can be adopted.This approach is more common abroad.Recently, enterprises in our country have also begun to adopt this method, and some enterprises have achieved great success as a result. (4) Increase discounts for wholesale, retail or other types of follow-up distribution companies to stimulate the enthusiasm of middlemen and make middlemen work harder to sell. 2. Marketing strategy in growth period This is the period when the product opens up the market, and it is also the period when the market needs to develop rapidly.The characteristics of this period are that the products have been basically finalized after trial sales and improvements, and new products have begun to be transferred to mass production.The vast number of consumers and users have begun to accept new products quickly, and the demand has increased. In addition, the distribution channels have been dredged, and the sales volume has increased rapidly. Mass production has reduced the production cost of unit products, and mass sales have reduced the ratio of promotional expenses to sales. , thus bringing higher profits, high profits are bound to attract more and more competitors to influx, making the competition increasingly fierce. The marketing strategy that should be adopted at this stage should be: (1)提高产品质量，并改进产品的性能、色彩、式样及包装等，增强产品的竞争力。 (2)广告宣传要从介绍产品转为宣传产品特色，树立产品形象，争取创立名牌，使消费者产生偏爱。 (3)努力开拓新市场，深入了解消费者需求，进一步进行市场细分，争取更多的消费者。 (4)在扩大生产的基础上，对价格较高的产品应选择适当时机降低价格，以应付竞争对手的进入。如前期价格较低的产品，也可以适当提高产品价格，以提高产品的市场形象。 3.成熟期的营销策略 这是产品畅销的全盛时期，这时消费者对产品已产生了信赖感，并形成了消费习惯，产品的产量和销量最大，利润最高。消费者对产品的式样、花色、品种、规格的挑选性增加，同行业之间的竞争也达到高潮，市场开始出现饱和，销售量增长速度减慢。 这一阶段的营销策略有以下几种： (1)千方百计稳定目标市场，让原有的消费者继续消费该产品，提高消费者对本品牌的忠诚度，主要采取稳定目标市场的策略。 (2)增加产品的系列，使产品多样化，增加花色、规格、档次、扩大目标市场，最少也要维持原市场占有率，改变广告宣传的重点和服务措施。 (3)要重点宣传企业的信誉。这时的广告宣传和试销阶段的情况不同，不能单纯介绍某种产品。这时市场上同类产品很多，再做那样的宣传稍有失误便会替别人花了广告费。同时还要加强售后服务工作。 (4)研制第二代产品，为原有产品的消亡做好准备，这是这一时期企业应当具有的远见。一旦这个产品一蹶不振，马上有新的产品问世。 (5)改变原有的营销手段，如调整产品价格、改变产品包装、加强售后服务、扩展销售网点、增加广告费用和推销人员等。 4.衰退期的营销策略 这一时期是产品将被市场淘汰，生命周期即将结束的时期。产品销售增长量和利润急剧下降，产品库存开始积压，竞争者相继退出市场。 这一阶段采取什么策略呢？一个比较普遍的办法就是转移，撤出现有市场，有经验的营销人员总结了三个字：“撤”、“转”、“攻”。 “撤”：“甩卖”是“撤”的一种，“撤”还要讲究方法和策略。 “转”：包含几层意思：一是转移目标市场，其中包括地域上的“转”。大城市没销路转向中小城市、城镇乃至乡村，有时一种产品在某地区已经无人问津了，但转到另一个地区可能顾客盈门。二是转移产品的用途，实际上是寻找和开发产品的新用途。 “攻”：指的是在撤出旧市场的同时，推出新产品。在这一阶段推出新产品已经属于比较迟了，因为此时企业现金流量不多，不比成熟期有不断的现金流入，因此进行新产品的开发对企业来讲，显得仓促而且往往会力不从心，但如能成功推出新产品，也是摆脱旧产品衰退期一个好方法。 经典市场营销理论往往认为，一个产品的市场的演进要经过四个阶段：出现、成长、成熟和衰退。在市场的成熟阶段，每个市场的进入者都极力争取某个位置，直到全部的细分市场都被竞争者占领并提供服务。事实上，他们继续发展和互相侵入对方的细分市场，在此过程中减少了彼此的利润，市场发展缓慢并分裂为越来越多的细分市场。 但对于产品生命周期理论，营销者既应尊重产品发展的客观规律，又应超越它的限制，充分发挥自身的想象力，于不可能处发现可能，在产品市场重新发现机会。成功企业的成功营销策划，往往具有这类特点。 例如，中国的洗发水市场几乎被宝洁公司与联合利华公司的几大品牌瓜分殆尽，而且从功能上看，护发、乌发、去头屑、防脱发一应俱全，使其他各大厂商都感到无计可施，创新空间十分狭小，即使有一些新概念(比如果酸护发)也因与现有功能差异不大而无功而返。因此按传统观点来看，洗发水市场已进入成熟阶段，市场份额变化不大，利润额处于稳定水平。但是宝洁公司不囿于常规，积极拓展产品的生命周期，赋予产品新的用途与生命力，公司宣布1999年10月在中国大连首推其全新产品“飘柔定型洗发露”，这一新产品突破原有的洗发概念，将洗发和定型融为一体，产品还未上市就使得消费者希望不已。 为什么在其他公司已经觉得市场进入成熟期，无文章可做时，宝洁公司却能无视似乎铁律的产品生命周期理论，而创出一片新的天地呢？事实上，对产品周期的考虑不应仅从产品的物理特性或产品的技术特征出发，而应从产品的根本目的出发。一件产品归根结底是要满足顾客的内在需要，产品只是满足需要的一种工具，因此对产品的周期的考虑不能局限于产品的技术周期，而应从需求的高度来考虑产品的周期，拿洗发水来说，企业不应局限于创造“洗发水”，而应视为对“使头发更加健康美丽”这一需求的满足。宝洁公司正是这样看待产品，从而克服了其他厂商的营销局限和市场盲区。 一个公司一旦细分了市场，选择了它的目标顾客群，确定了所希望的市场位置，它就准备开发和推出希望能够成功的合适的产品。特定产品的开发不仅是研究与开发部门的事情，营销部门在这其中也应该发挥重要的作用，参与新产品开发的每一步骤。 为了便于对新产品进行分析研究，可以从多个角度对它进行分类。 1.按新产品所在的地域特征分类 (1)国际新产品。即指在世界范围内首次研制成功并生产销售的产品。 (2)国内新产品。即指在国外已经试制成功，但国内尚属首次生产和销售的产品。 (3)地区或企业新产品。即指在国内其他地区或企业已经生产，但本地区或本企业首次生产和销售的产品。 2.按产品研究开发过程分类 (1)全新产品。即是指应用新原理、新技术、新材料，具有新结构、新功能的产品。该新产品在全世界首先开发，能开创全新的市场。它占新产品的比例为10%左右。 (2)改进型新产品。即指在原有老产品的基础上进行改进，使产品在结构、功能、品质、花色、款式及包装上具有新的特点和新的突破，改进后的新产品，其结构更加合理，功能更加齐全，品质更加优质，能更多地满足消费者不断变化的需要。它占新产品的26%左右。 (3)模仿型新产品。即指企业对国内外市场上已有的产品进行模仿生产，成为本企业的新产品。模仿型新产品约占新产品的20%左右。 (4)形成系列型新产品。即指在原有的产品大类中开发出新的品种、花色、规格等，从而与企业原有产品形成系列，扩大产品的目标市场。该类型新产品占新产品的26%左右。 (5)降低成本型新产品。即指以较低的成本提供同样性能的新产品，主要是指企业利用新科技，改进生产工艺或提高生产效率，削减原产品的成本，但保持原有功能不变的新产品。这种新产品的比重为11%左右。 (6)重新定位型新产品。即指企业的老产品进入新的市场而被称为该市场的新产品。这类新产品约占全部新产品的7%左右。 3.按新产品的开发方式分类 (1)独立开发新产品。即指从用户所需要的产品功能出发，探索能够满足功能需求的原理和结构，结合新技术、新材料的研究独立开发制造的产品。 (2)技术引进新产品。即指避开自身开发能力较弱的难点，直接引进市场上已有的成熟技术制造的产品。 (3)混合开发的新产品。即指新产品的开发过程中，既有独立开发的部分，又有直接引进的部分，将两者有机结合在一起而制造出的新产品。 新产品开发战略的类型是根据新产品战略的维度组合而成，产品的竞争领域、新产品开发的目标及实现目标的措施是新产品战略的三个维度。对各维度及维度的诸要素组合便形成各种新产品开发战略。几种典型的新产品开发战略如下。 1.领先策略 这种策略就是在激烈的产品竞争中采用新的原理、新技术、新结构优先开发出全新产品，从而捷足先登，领略市场上的无限风光。这类产品的开发多属于发明创造范围，采用这种策略，投资数额大，科学研究工作量大，新产品实验时间长。故而采用此种策略的企业往往须有一支人员素质高、实力雄厚的科研队伍，这支队伍可为企业提供外界不具备的科学技术成果，具有更快、更强的开发新技术和运用新技术开发新产品的能力。实施该新产品战略的企业须具备领先的技术、巨大的资金实力、强有力的营销运作能力，中小企业显然不适合运用此新产品开发战略。 日本索尼公司素有“先驱者”的美称，总是率先推出新产品以领导电器发展的新潮流，如随身听等产品改变了多少人的业余生活，它之所以能够做到这一点，不仅仅由于其拥有一支高水平、高素质的科学研究队伍和一流的实验设备，也源于公司的价值观：索尼公司是开拓者，永远向着那未知的世界探索，朝气蓬勃，充满青春气息。 要做到领先，就应能够领导市场，而不是跟随市场，企业应该注意研究消费者的心理，注意分析、预测市场趋势，才能抢先一步研制生产新产品，激起消费者的消费欲望，引导市场走向。 柯达公司在发明自动式照相机后，敏锐地捕捉到胶卷的巨大商机，公开宣布放弃柯达照相机的专利，随着许多厂商纷纷仿造这种被称为“傻瓜”的相机，对胶卷的需求量剧增，柯达胶卷很快就席卷了全球。 2.紧跟策略 紧跟战略是指企业紧跟本行业实力强大的竞争者，迅速仿制竞争者已成功上市的新产品，来维持企业的生存和发展。厂商紧跟既定技术的先驱者，以求用较少的投资得到成熟的定型技术，然后利用其特有的市场或价格方面的优势，在竞争中对早期开发者的商业地位进行侵蚀。采用这类策略的厂商往往针对市场已有的产品，进行仿制或进行局部的改进和创新，但基本原理和结构是仿制的。 许多中小企业在发展之初常采用该新产品开发战略。该战略的特点是：产品的战略竞争领域是由竞争对手所选定的产品或产品的最终用途，本企业无法也无须选定；企业新产品开发的目标是维持或提高市场占有率；仿制新产品的创新程度不高；产品进入市场的时机选择具有灵活性；开发方式多为自主开发或委托开发；紧跟战略的研究开发费用小，但市场营销风险相对要大。实施该新产品战略的关键，首先，是紧跟要及时，全面、快速和准确地获得竞争者有关新产品开发的信息是仿制新产品开发战略成功的前提；其次，对竞争者的新产品进行模仿式改进会使其新产品更具竞争力；强有力的市场营销运作是该战略的保障。 松下电器公司就是一家专门模仿他人产品的公司，松下电器公司拥有20多个技术先进的研究室，这些研究室不仅设备精良，而且研究人员不乏电器行业的精英，但是松下电器公司的老板却很少让他们做领头羊，开发研制新产品。而是命令他们专门分析同行业竞争对手的产品，从中发现不足或缺点，寻找改进的办法，努力使自己产品的质量和功能在竞争对手已有产品的基础上更加完善。 3.补缺策略 任何一个企业都不可能满足市场的所有需求，因此在市场上总存在着未被满足的需求，这就为厂商留下了一定的发展空间。这就要求企业对市场上现有的产品以及消费者的需求进行详细的分析，从中发现尚未被占领的市场。这种策略可以用日本电脑公司的创始人佐木明的一句话来概括：用并不比别人高明的技术去开发别人还没有注意到的社会需要。 日本泡泡糖市场原来大部分为劳特公司所占领，但江崎通过周密细致的调查发现，成年人泡泡糖的潜在市场很大，而且消费需求呈多样化趋势。而劳特公司一直将重点放在儿童泡泡糖市场上，其花色品种及其目标顾客群都比较单一。 江崎根据这一特点，研制出了功能性泡泡糖，并根据市场细分原理对产，对产品开发创新，先后研制生产了具有不同功能、适应于不同目标顾客群的新产品，投放市场后，一举获得了成功。 1.成功开发的新产品特征 新产品开发的风险是很大的。如果不进行周密的计划，产品开发将归于失败，但一般来说成功开发新产品都具有以下特征： (1)相对优点突出，新产品相对于市场原有的产品来说具有独特的长处，如性能好、质量高、使用方便、携带容易或价格低廉等。 (2)适应性强，新产品必须适应人们的消费习惯和人们对产品的观念。如试制幼教系统用电子琴，就要使产品适用此系统使用者的使用习惯和产品观念。 (3)利于保护环境，新产品属节能型，或对原材料的消耗很低，或者有利于保护环境，对“三废”、“三害”能有效消除。 (4)时代感强，新产品能体现时代精神，培植和引发新的需求，形成新的市场。 (5)多功能化，使新产品具有多种用途，既方便购买者的使用，又能提高购买者的购买兴趣。 (6)人体工程化，对生活消费品要更多地考虑这一点。 (7)简易化，尽量在结构和使用方法上使使用者方便和容易维修。 (8)微型化、轻便化，在保障质量的前提下使产品的体积变小、重量变轻，便于移动。 以上几方面是对企业发展新产品的要求，也标明了今后新产品的发展趋向。 2.成功开发新产品的保证 对于企业来说，新产品开发成功的最根本保证主要要做好两个方面： 首先，必须进行细致的市场调查。一项调查表明，相比于竞争者有更高优势的产品成功率为98%，较占优势者有58%的成功率，稍占优势者为18%成功率。可见，一项新产品的开发必须首先仔细地界定和估计目标市场、产品要求和利益，这就需要进行深入细致的市场调查。 其次，要有可靠有效的组织保证。公司在处理新产品开发中有以下几种方法： (1)把新产品开发工作交给它们的产品经理。这种制度存在缺陷，因为产品经理们很少有时间考虑新产品；同时，他们也缺乏开发新产品所需的专有技能和知识。 (2)在公司内部设有属产品经理领导的新产品经理职位。一方面，这个职位使得开发新产品的功能专业化；另一方面，新产品经理的工作局限于他们的产品市场范围的产品改进和产品线的扩展。 (3)组建一个高层管理委员会负责审核新产品。 (4)常设一个新产品部，该部的主管拥有实权并与高层管理当局密切联系。其主要职责包括产生和筛选新构思，指挥和协调研究开发工作，进行实地试销和商品化。 例如，3M公司把新产品开发的主要工作指派给新产品试验组。新产品试验组由各业务部门的人员组成，负责把一种特定产品或服务投入市场。他们暂时解除其他职务，制定预算、时间期限与“战斗任务”。 为了加快新产品的开发，许多公司采用了小组导向的方法，并称之为同时并进的产品开发。这种组织架构保证了产品开发要求与开发、工程、制造、采购和营销等各部门的人一开始就密切配合。 1.新产品构想的产生 新产品的构想是在企业战略基础上开发的。也有人称为创意或设想。新产品构想的主要来源有购买者(包括消费者和工业用户)、专家、批发商、零售商、竞争者、企业的营销人员及各级决策人员。 企业对以上人员的工作有： (1)寻找构想，设法从环境中发掘好的关于产品的构想，如从消费者对现有产品的意见中发现，从专家的新的科技成果中寻找，也可以从竞争对手企业的产品上思索。 (2)激励构想，设法鼓励企业内部工作人员产生和发展新构想，在这项工作中，不可忽视营销人员的作用，因其经常与顾客打交道，了解顾客对产品的喜恶，往往能产生出新的构想。 (3)增修构想，将收集到的、汇集好的构想送到企业内部有关部门，征求修正和补充意见，以完善最初构想。 在收集构想过程中，怎样才能最有效地发掘出构想需要一定的方法。可用的方法有如下几种： (1)特点罗列法，把某一产品的特点列出，然后逐一推敲，以便找寻出另一组特点的组合来对本产品进行改进。 (2)硬性结合法，将不同产品项目排列出来，通过自由联想，考虑不同的产品的关系，进而组合成新的产品的构想。 (3)多因素分析法，将存在的几个重要因素提出来，考虑每一个变化的可能性，在这几种因素的基础上，试验其改进的可能性。 (4)头脑风暴法，可采用几个人一组的方法(6~10人最宜)，将问题告诉大家，任他们对所遇问题发表看法，这样一个想法会激起另一个新的构想的产生。 2.开发概念 产品设想是指企业准备推向市场的可能产品，这种作为企业希望提供给消费者的可能产品的构思必须要经过反复的筛选，优选出好的构思进一步开发，及时剔除那些不能达到预期经营目标或虽能达到目标而企业力所不及的、不经济的产品构思。产品构思的筛选，一是要防止误舍，即对好的构思没有认真分析，轻率放弃；二要防止误用，对不好的构思错误地估计该产品的发展前景，轻率采纳。 要科学地进行构思的筛选，就应该根据企业内部和外部的具体条件进行全面的衡量。美国企业界普遍采用一种评估新产品构思的方法，该方法首先将决定新产品成功的因素细分成七个方面，对这七个方面的重要性给予不同的权数，然后针对每种构思对其在这七个方面的表现进行评分，加权之后得到每种构思的总得分，从而得到对构思的量的评价。这七个方面分别为： (1)企业策略与目标。 (2)营销技术与经验。 (3)财务状况。 (4)分销渠道。 (5)生产能力。 (6)科研与开发能力。 (7)供应能力。 经过筛选后的新产品构思还必须经过具体化，形成比较完整的产品概念。产品的概念应该能够明确、清晰地表达产品策划的意图。所谓的产品概念，是指用有意义的消费术语表达精心的构思。消费者不会去购买产品构思，他们要买的是产品概念。一个产品构思可以通过不同的具体化转化成几种产品概念。营销者选用何种产品概念，就必须对有不同偏好的细分市场的规模进行研究。 3.财务分析 这主要是测算、估计新产品的销售量，成本与利润，以及投资收益率等，判断它是否符合企业的目标，这对企业决策十分重要。 有的企业在这阶段就初步拟定了营销组合策略的方案，如产品的结构，目标市场，消费者购买行为及新产品的市场定位；产品的定价，销售渠道策略，短期的销售量的预计及销售费用的预