Unit 3 Discussion Board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Unit 3 Discussion Board - Essay Example Every product goes through a particular life cycle and the strategy that must be applied will differ in each instance. For instance, during the early stages, company strategy must focus upon achieving competitiveness through judicious pricing, heavy marketing and expenses on R&D. During the later declining stage of the product life cycle, the emphasis is on broadening the product line and avoiding price cuts.(Wasson, 1974). On the basis of a product’s market share and growth based upon its life cycle, the BCG places the product portfolio of a Company into four different quadrants of a matrix, with the relative market share of the product ranked along the X axis and product growth ranked along the Y axis. Businesses in each quadrant will have significantly different tendencies to consume or generate cash. The appliances division of my Company has been placed in the upper right quadrant of the matrix, which represents the wildcat or question mark. This suggests that the division has a negative cash flow, requiring â€Å"large cash inputs that it cannot generate itself.† (Henderson, 1979, p166). Wildcat ventures are often fledgling operations and offer the promise of future generation of revenue. The major aspect to be addressed in the case of the appliances division is thus market share. Since the products may typically have a low market share because they are not well known, the recommended strategy would be to introduce a competitive price for the product as compared to similar products already in the market. It is also recommended that an aggressive advertising and promotional campaign is implemented, in order to increase sales of the product and improve its market share. In the event the market share of the product does not improve, then it may turn into a â€Å"dog† or become unproductive, and before that happens it is better to sell off the products or close up the division. Woo and Cooper (1980) have points