Product Lifecycle

Appleton Greene & Co Global

Appleton Greene

Appleton Greene

Appleton Greene corporate training programs are all process-driven. They are used as vehicles to implement tangible business processes within clients’ organizations, together with training, support and facilitation during the use of these processes.


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Appleton Greene

Certified Learning Providers (CLP)

Appleton Greene accredited learning providers are responsible for developing and implementing standard and bespoke corporate training programs and for facilitating the implementation of business processes within clients’ organizations.


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Appleton Greene

Product Lifecycle

Most alert and thoughtful senior marketing executives are by now familiar with the concept of the product life cycle.

Even a handful of uniquely cosmopolitan and up-to-date corporate presidents have familiarized themselves with this tantalizing concept.
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Executive Summary

Product Lifecycle – Appleton Greene

Appleton Greene – Most alert and thoughtful senior marketing executives are by now familiar with the concept of the product life cycle. Even a handful of uniquely cosmopolitan and up-to-date corporate presidents have familiarized themselves with this tantalizing concept. The concept of the product life cycle is today at about the stage that the Copernican view of the universe was 300 years ago: a lot of people knew about it, but hardly anybody seemed to use it in any effective or productive way. Now that so many people know and in some fashion understand the product life cycle, it seems time to put it to work. The object of this article is to suggest some ways of using the concept effectively and of turning the knowledge of its existence into a managerial instrument of competitive power.

Most alert and thoughtful senior marketing executives are by now familiar with the concept of the product life cycle. Even a handful of uniquely cosmopolitan and up-to-date corporate presidents have familiarized themselves with this tantalizing concept. The concept of the product life cycle is today at about the stage that the Copernican view of the universe was 300 years ago: a lot of people knew about it, but hardly anybody seemed to use it in any effective or productive way. Now that so many people know and in some fashion understand the product life cycle, it seems time to put it to work. The object of this article is to suggest some ways of using the concept effectively and of turning the knowledge of its existence into a managerial instrument of competitive power.
Executive Summary

The 4 process stages

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Stage 1. Market Development This is when a new product is first brought to market, before there is a proved demand for it, and often before it has been fully proved out technically in all respects. Sales are low and creep along slowly. Stage 2. Market Growth Demand begins to accelerate and the size of the total market expands rapidly. It might also be called the “Takeoff Stage.” Stage 3. Market Maturity Demand levels off and grows, for the most part, only at the replacement and new family-formation rate. Stage 4. Market Decline The product begins to lose consumer appeal and sales drift downward, such as when buggy whips lost out with the advent of automobiles and when silk lost out to nylon.
Executive Summary

Growth and Profits

For companies interested in continued growth and profits, successful new product strategy should be viewed as a planned totality that looks ahead over some years. For its own good, new product strategy should try to predict in some measure the likelihood, character, and timing of competitive and market events. While prediction is always hazardous and seldom very accurate, it is undoubtedly far better than not trying to predict at all. In fact, every product strategy and every business decision inescapably involves making a prediction about the future, about the market, and about competitors. To be more systematically aware of the predictions one is making so that one acts on them in an offensive rather than a defensive or reactive fashion – this is the real virtue of preplanning for market stretching and product life extension. For companies interested in continued growth and profits, successful new product strategy should be viewed as a planned totality that looks ahead over some years. For its own good, new product strategy should try to predict in some measure the likelihood, character, and timing of competitive and market events. While prediction is always hazardous and seldom very accurate, it is undoubtedly far better than not trying to predict at all. In fact, every product strategy and every business decision inescapably involves making a prediction about the future, about the market, and about competitors. To be more systematically aware of the predictions one is making so that one acts on them in an offensive rather than a defensive or reactive fashion – this is the real virtue of preplanning for market stretching and product life extension.

Executive summary

The result

The result will be a product strategy-that includes some sort of plan for a timed sequence of conditional moves. Even before entering the market development stage, the originator should make a judgment regarding the probable length of the product’s normal life, taking into account the possibilities of expanding its uses and users. This judgment will also help determine many things – for example, whether to price the product on a skimming or a penetration basis, or what kind of relationship the company should develop with its resellers. The result will be a product strategy-that includes some sort of plan for a timed sequence of conditional moves. Even before entering the market development stage, the originator should make a judgment regarding the probable length of the product’s normal life, taking into account the possibilities of expanding its uses and users. This judgment will also help determine many things – for example, whether to price the product on a skimming or a penetration basis, or what kind of relationship the company should develop with its resellers.

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Personal Profile

Mr Lumb is a Certified Learning Provider (CLP) at Appleton Greene and he has experience in production, marketing and management. He has achieved a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt in Transactional Process Improvement.

He has industry experience within the following sectors: Technology; Electronics; Consumer Goods; Retail and Telecommunications.

He has had commercial experience within the following countries: United States of America, or more specifically within the following cities: San Francisco CA; San Diego CA; Denver CO; Austin TX and Boston MA.

His personal achievements include: Americas and EMEA regional business unit design and management for consumer technology products; global marketing management, strategic business planning and execution; global delivery of consumer and commercial technology products; new product category creation, multi-channel product lifecycle management and cross-functional organizational design and management.

His service skills incorporate: strategic planning; product planning; portfolio planning; product lifecycle; go-to-market and organizational effectiveness. 

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