The Business Environment: Product Discontinuation

Product Discontinuation
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Introduction
The business environment is quite dynamic and in some of the case it tends to be unpredictable. This therefore requires that companies have strategies to make sure that they are able to survive the different seasons associated with the business environment. When developing a product, there are a number of stages that are associated with the lifecycle of the same. From the time, the product is conceptualized to the time it is pulled off the market. for each of the stage, the company has to develop strategies where the product cycle is managed to the benefit of the stakeholders. While the rest of the stages also have significance to the stake holders, one of the most difficult decisions that the management has to make is the discontinuation. This is relative to the fact that, the product in question is an extension of the company and values that it represents in the market. Every other product is an extension of the company (Gaynor, 2010). As such, they are a representation of the objectives, culture and concepts of the company. There are a lot of investments that go into introducing a product in the market and even maintain it relative to the competition. As such, discontinuation of a product is a difficult decision not just for the company but also in reference to the fact that, the customers have gotten used to the same. All the parties have to be given enough time to adjust and let go off the products. This involves the end of life cycle management strategies, which are crucial to make sure that, even after the phase out, the company is also going to capitalize on the same. At the same time, the process should help the company to better focus on the remaining products (Saaksvuori & Immonen, 2004). The amount of resources that go into a product are immense, and this should be directed towards the establishment of competitive advantage for the company. The end of the life process of a product is one that requires the managers to have the right skills to establish the start and the end. The paper establishes the elements of the decision making in reference to the management when it comes to phasing out a product (Bartels, 2012).
Product Cycle
Like a child, products also happen to have cycles where they grow over time and at one point they are mature enough within the market and the company products. They shift from being needy to being the revenue generators for the company. After which they then shift back to being the needy products at the company and they need the support of the rest of the company products. As such, managers have to be in a position to develop and follow through with any products as they come to their level of maturity, after which they have to keep supporting the products in the market with strategic interventions. There are four stages of a product cycle along which the managers have to work with the rest of the team at the company to see through the product (Stark, 2011). These steps include the, conception, growth, maturity and decline. In the earlier stages of the product the estimates on the costs of the various aspects of the product may be overly bigger than what is then implemented within the cycle of the product. Tis is relative to the fact that most of these aspects are then adjusted to match the industry standards the needs of the customers, resources, trends in the market and the company goals and objectives. As such, the costs tend to shift within the life cycle sometimes coming down and in some of the cases they come up.
Introduction
At the first stage of conception of a product, the main parameters of the same are defined and established. This is with reference to aspects such as the customer needs, market characteristics, design of the product and the functional elements of the same. This is a phase that is associated with heavy investments in the advertising and promotional activities. Ideally, the management will be focusing on the elements of creating awareness for the products in question and seek selling to the early adopters. These is a group of consumers that likes to own the cutting-edge products that are new in the market. they are high risk takers and will not wait for the rest of the consumers in the market to buy and review the products (Stark, 2011). As far as they like the products, they are going to invest in them and have a firsthand experience of their functionality as promised by the manufacturer. In most of the cases, the products at this stage will have a high price range as the management plans to recoup the costs of the product as quickly as possible, while growing towards the breakeven mark. This is a common trend among the high-end products. Where the products are placed low in the pricing range, this is a strategy that is geared towards the element of helping more customers to take up the product. The lower prices are designed to attract more customers and encourage most of them to take risk with the product in its earlier stages. This then moves into the growth stage as the management focus on growing the product (Stark, 2011).
Growth
The growth phase is the second and it entails the management decisions to focus the promotional activities on to expanding the market of the product in question. This is after the company has had enough tests with the prototype. At this stage, the management may also try out with a number of designs which they can introduce to establish the customers are going to react differently. The growth element associated with the product at this stage is mainly associated with an expansion in demographics and/or geographical. At the same time, the management may also decide to expand the product family, through the introduction of a few other variants as mentioned above. This is mainly in reference to trying to capture even a wider market than the initial one (Stark, 2011). However, it is crucial to note that, the expansion groundwork is usually laid out in the first stage, where the designs of possible variants are established and the only aspect that remains is the generation of the prototypes for testing.
Maturity
The maturity stage is third in line when it comes to the product cycle. At this stage, the company has started to gainfully reap profits from the product venture along with the some of the variants if any (Kumar & Krob, 2005). At the point, the management may continually include changes to be made to the product relative to the demands of the customers and the resources available. Trends tend to set the terms for the products, however there are a host of other determinants such as the skills available to the company and even the legal system in place (Stark, 2011). The latter is one of the most dynamic and as such, companies are forced to forge their aspirations for the market relative to the guidelines laid out in the legal system. what may be legal today may suddenly change in the following months forcing the company to make adjustments. Given the product at this stage has largely established itself among the competitors the cost incurred relative to marketing is considerably lower than in the earlier stages.
Decline
The decline stage is the last on the cycle and this largely involves the management identifying and implementing the decisions to withdraw support for a certain product that they have in the market. it is important to note that this is a stage that takes on a process element, relative to the fact that, there are substages within. The managers have to have the right skills to identify the products that need to be pulled off the market. this means that, there must be some element of monitoring involved (Matsumoto, Masui, Fukushige & Kondoh, 2016). When the management has established through product analysis, internal and external analysis, that the product is not as profitable among other factors; the decision is then made to withdraw support for the product. This does not happen overnight as there are quite a number of aspects to consider such letting the customers know among other stakeholders that the product will no longer be developed at the company (Stark, 2011). This has to be through the official channels to maintain the element of authentic communications for the stakeholders. For example, while the social media is a powerful tool, it is important to note that, an official statement should be published on the company official page and then linked to the official social media pages (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Press releases are also a common approach that companies can use especially where the market value of the company way significant. There are a number of important decisions than have to be made at this stage such as when to stop the production, sales, designs, support, advertising and marketing among others. The difficulty involved also relates to...