BUS 5112 Marketing Management - Written Assignement Unit 4 PDF

Preview

Summary

Product Life Cycle:
Electric and Petrol-Powered Cars...

Description

BUS 5112 Marketing Management – Written Assignment Unit 4

Product Life Cycle: Electric and Petrol-Powered Cars

By Emmanuel C. Chijioke UoPeople

Introduction: There are products that are made for specific time of the year, there are others that get replaced by newer versions, there are some that just simply runout their course. Either way, most products don’t last forever. The period from when a product is introduced to customers in the market to when it is removed, is referred to as the product cycle. Products, like people, have life cycles. A product begins with an idea, and within the confines of modern business, it isn't likely to go further until it undergoes research and development (R&D) and is found to be feasible and potentially profitable. At that point, the product is produced, marketed, and rolled out (Kopp, 2020). There are four generally accepted stages in the life cycle of a product namely: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Motor vehicles has come a long way but all through its journey it has always been powered by either fossil fuels or electric. Recently electric vehicles are becoming mainstream with brand giant Tesla rising to be the largest car manufacturing company on earth by revenue in 2021 (CMP, 2021). Other brands have followed the trend by releasing an electric vehicle. For this article, I will consider the German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz and two of their products The Mercedes Benz GLC and EQC.

Mercedes Benz GLC: The brand Mercedes Benz is a staple name in the automotive world, one of the finest and easily recognizable luxury brands in the world. Every car they produce is equated with luxury, comfort, reliability and technologically advanced. It is no different with their compact SUV the GLC based on their compact Sedan the C Class. The GLC has been successful for years and is not showing any sign of slowing down. Launched in 2008, it was initially called GLK until 2016 it became the GLK. Since its initial launch it has sold hundreds of thousands of units in the US alone. from 2016 till that, it has recorded way over 100,000 sales within the US, safe to say this is an established product. Because of the years the product has spent in the market, its success globally, recorded high number of sales, and its continuous improvement, I believe this brand is at its maturity stage in the product life cycle.

Mercedes Benz EQC: Launched in 2019, under the Mercedes EQ variant which is their all-electric lineup. The car though has been on sale previously in parts of Europe, it only started selling in the US this year 2021. It is a new product, an electric vehicle based upon the GLC, let’s just say it is the electric version of the GLC, Mercedes Electric compact SUV. It has sold some good numbers as a new product, but nothing compared to its diesel and petrol counterparts. From its not too limited time the product has been in market, its launched date, OK sales and being in a new segment, it is a relatively new product that have passed through its introduction stage. I believe it is at its Growth stage in the product life cycle.

How The Products Affect Company Marketing Strategies: Because of their different stages, different marketing strategies are employed in order to maintain success of the product. For the GLC: Two major marketing strategies for products at the maturity stage of PLC, are Market and Product Modification: The manufacturers are successfully carried these out by selling this product in basically every country where it permitted and constant upgrades. Every year the car is modified for a new year mode, after about 4-5years they carryout a full facelift to keep the product ever fresh in the market.

For the EQC: The competition for electric vehicles on constant rise and the market is expanding during this growth stage, the manufacturers are moving away from a strategy of cultivating demand to one of market entrenchment, i.e., struggle for brand acceptance and market share. Their strategy involves one of persuading consumers and constantly reminding them about the product’s benefits which are luxury and sustainability, ensuring convenience of purchase by maximizing distributive outlets, manipulating price to keep the product competitive, and reinforcing the Mercedes brand image associated with the product.

Mercedes Benz have to carry out various forms of marketing strategy, individually tailored to suit the different product as they progress in the stages of the product life cycle.

Suggestions and Recommendations: Electric cars are fast becoming a norm, in fact they are regarded as the future, a path to humanity move it sustainability. There is no doubt that soon also everyone would be required to drive only electric cars. It may sound all good but there is a problem and that is the fact that these cars come at a premium price and the Mercedes EQS is not different. I recommend a 10% price reduction so more buyers can afford it, which equals more sales and overall success of the product. I have no recommendation for the GLC because I have checked, and Mercedes has literally done everything there is to keep the brand in market. From price reduction, different engine sizes and fuel types, even hybrid versions, offered in different colors classes, mortgages are accessible for purchase of this car etc. They have worked hard for this.

Conclusion: Understanding the life cycle of a product is crucial to the success of a product in the market. Each stage is associated with changes in the product's marketing position and various marketing strategies in each stage can be used to prolong the life cycle of a product.

Product manufactures should employ the study of PLC in their businesses to assist them in making major decisions especially when it comes to their product.

Reference:

Carol M. Kopp (Dec 27, 2020) Product Life Cycle From Investopedia: www.investopedia.com/terms/p/product-life-cycle.asp CMP (Dec 8, 2021) Largest Automaker by Market Capitalization From Companies Market Cap: https://companiesmarketcap.com/automakers/largest-automakers-by-market-cap/ IEdu Note (Dec 8, 2021) Product Life Cycle from iEduNote: www.iedunote.com/productlife-cycle...