Strategic Goal For The Product Lifecycle Phases

By Author: johnsmith
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There are a few seasonal markets that have a defined product lifecycle. Take for instance, a seasonal fruit which is found in abundance in a particular country. That fruit becomes an important product to be sold within the expiration date of the fruit. A popular fruit then uses a simple marketing strategy and gets placed in the right market for completion of the product lifecycle.

Let us take a product which has been developed by a team of research scientist and engineers while keeping in mind the available requirement for a particular product. The Project of developing the product goes through various stages of development from research gathering, brainstorming for a product, drawing a plan for the creation of the product, execution of the product production, Implementation of the product on a test ground, gathering feedback for improvisation and finally evaluating the product feasibility and success in introducing the product in the real market. The Project Management Institute conducts an impartial PMP Exam where the Project Managers are tested for their knowledge of Project Management covering even the placing of ...
... the product in the right market.

A Product Lifecycle phases follows a set route from development to decline. Generally a short term product would have all of these five phases. These phases are:-

1. Developing
In this phase the product intended for public consumption is first developed after a lot of market research done on the current existing need in the market. Once the product has crossed all the timelines in development and production, it is introduced into a trail market to garner the response to the product. If the product is able to hold water then it is ready for the real market. The popularity in the test market defines the course of the product at least initially during development.
Development Phase Goal: At this particular point of the Product Lifecycle Phase the goal become important in making the product known and while set out the exact testing period for the product.

2. Introducing
In this phase the product is introduced in the right market after evaluating the right audience for the product. The popularity among the test groups would give an inclining to what happens to be the best marketing strategy for the product. Once the product is place in the market it becomes essential that the product is well support with the right kind of marketing. The aim of the Project Manager would then be to make sure that the grand opening’s high spirit remains and strength with progression towards popularity. The PMI Institute evaluates the Project Managers in their experiential knowledge of the Project Management for individual project for inception to the finished product placed in the market.

Introducing Goal then would be to acquire a strong market position. Initially if there are few competitors selling the same product without any strong marketing strategy then an aggressive product selling method would result in acquiring a strong market position.

3. Growth
In this phase of the product lifecycle the Project Manager see the product slowly becoming popular among the customer and creating a prominent market position. At this point it becomes essential that more variety in the product are introduced to keep the market position. Essentially in a pre-defined product such as a perishable seasonal fruit there is no variety that can be introduced in the product. But what can be done is to change the various ad campaign that are run on the product.
Growth goal would be to maintain the market position for product and further build on it. The market position of product would have been acquired after much initial expenditure and the curve of product lifecycle appears to be rising at this point and providing positive outlook for the future of the product in the market.

4. Maturity
In this phase the product has reached its popularity level and the customers have embraced the product with enthusiasm. The initial uncertain acceptance of the product is now faced with more demand for the product. At this stage the Project Manager should ensure that the product quality is increased and maintained. As the product gets sold in the market more late blooming competitors begin to appear. Then it becomes a cutthroat market ground where each competitor tries to aggressively market their product.
Maturity goal then become the need to defend market position from competitors and improve the product. The Project Manager should ensure that the product in order to be current and on par with its competitors, to be innovative and useful for the customers.

5. Decline
In this phase the product might have shown signs of losing popularity and over familiarity which results in making the product lose grounds with the customer due to any number unexpected reason. At this stage the Project Manager cash-in on the existing dwindling popularity of the product and get the most of out of the sales by ensuring different types of discount offers. Alternatively, in the case of seasonal fruit it might be that the post-harvesting season has come to an end resulting in no more fruits for marketing. In such a case, the decline was predicted and the right preparation could be done for the last batch of seasonal fruit. But in cases where the decline of product does not have fixed or discernable reason the Project Manager has to see that the product profits are gathered until it the product no longer sells. It is the responsibility of the Project Manager to remove the product from the market.

Decline goal then become the act of making the most of the current selling of the product which making all the remaining profits from product. Then the product is given a sound farewell and the lifecycle of the product has come to an end.

During each of these product’s lifecycle phases the strategic goal for the product defines the market rules. When the Project Manager involved in the project, has to make sure that the product lifecycle is properly followed with the right goal attitude. Getting a PMI Certification proves that the Project Manager is capable of handling a Seasonal Project with the right managerial flair.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) also covers about market based Product Lifecycle which Project Manager is responsible for in the course of their Project Management.