This chapter provides a description of the background of the study, statement of the problem, justification of the study, research questions, the scope of the study, and limitations of the study. There are various steps involved that include an introduction or coming up with the business idea, growth maturity, and eventually, a decline of the business. The paper also focuses on the product life cycle providing a detailed picture of individual products about profits and sales. The product life cycle also helps in understanding the pricing, promotion, and distribution of products.
The various forms manufactured or engaged in business developing products for users are aware of the product strategies they would put in place to increase sales and attain maximum profits. Under the product strategy, the decisions on packaging, branding, labeling, and different core elements for maximum consumer satisfaction are given key priorities. Product strategy entails the manner through which the firm involves marketing components to ensure it has achieved its objectives.
The strategies are as follows. The product item is the individual item that the firm intends to manufacture and sell. The product line is the combination of two related items, defining them generally. Product mixes consist of the total combinations of the firms’ product line in their ownership. Product mix constituency is the similarity of product lines or how closely the product lines are related.
Under the development stage, a plan is sketched for packaging, branding, promotion, and pricing. After the evaluation of the components depending on the business idea, it may be discarded or passed to the next stage for further evaluation. This is done to ensure that should it meet its maturity then it can be deemed to be availed in the markets as finished products. It also poses a challenge to the small business owners since they are required to develop a prototype for their products which is time-consuming and expensive to bear.
The last test to be carried out is product testing. Under laboratory testing, if the product passes the legal requirements, it has to be marketed and be transformed into a reality so as the firm’s customers may adopt it and use it for the firm to generate income from the product. The firm manufacturing the product must also ensure the product is correctly labeled. This helps to market the product and the firm. It also educates the customers on the correct usage of the product. It also ensures that consumers are aware of how to dispose of it safely. The laws concerning the labeling should be followed to the latter, such as federal trade requirements to keep the consumers safe and ensure their well-being is safeguarded.
Customer relationship management simply means the involvement of technology to automate, organize, and synchronize customer services, sales, and marketing as a model for effective management of interactions with the current and future customers of the company. Customer relationship management is primarily referred to as a mindset since it helps in sales, marketing, and promotion. The two main building blocks for a successful CRM project are the CRM vision and the CRM strategy. The CRM vision requires the management to state and define the set objectives and what the enterprise targets from the customers are.
This involves the core values, brand values, differentiating, and prepositioning of the CRM. Whereas the CRM engages in target, inquiry, problem management, retain, win back which form the customer’s life cycle. It tries to answer the questions; how do we create customer awareness, how to find valuable customers to value them, how to develop customer loyalty, and how to retain and win back customers of value.
Due to the constant technological advancement you find, social media play a major role in creating awareness of the customers of sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn giving them feedback on how to improve their services.
In conclusion, the above discussion highlights the various stages of product development and the procedures to be followed during the development stages.