Rating of a product against various stages of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) depends on the characteristics and amount of revenue that a product generates over a specified monitory period. This essay forms an analysis of a ‘universal charger’ as a product category that covers a wide range of brands such as the solar-powered charger, mobile/travel charger among others. People mainly use them in charging mobile devices like the cell phones, cameras, music players, lap and palm-top computers.
Currently, the world smartest and most portable devices are on the increase due to demand. They form part of everyday lifestyle. People want to be in a position where they are able to communicate from different locations. Their dependence on the portable gadgets becomes painful when the batteries power runs out. Currying various charger cords for each of these devices (mobile phones, cameras, music players, and computers) is cumbersome.
It becomes worse when one must have access to electric power. The universal charger mainly caters for a person who travels widely and has to curry along multiple power cords and connectors for all the gadgets. Sometimes one has to curry the power converters to cater for different voltage requirements and plugging configurations due to difference of standards among countries. The universal power supplier is in growth stage and is an all-in-one product that caters for voltage differences and the different types of connectors.
The universal charger is in the growth stage of the PLC. Globally, majority of people can afford and own the hand held or mobile devices. People prefer to have a main travel charger that can cater for various mobile appliances especially the mobile phones. When accessing remote areas the chargers are supportive due to the solar-powered choices.
Overall, current usage rate is an indication that the product enjoying a constant growth rate but has not reached the peak. Thus is because most potential users have not known how to operate or manage the product while majority are not aware of the product existence. There is prospective increase on sales if clients become aware of the benefits the product provides.
Marketers still face the challenge of bringing attention to the niche market, especially the constant travellers and those in rural setting especially in the developing countries. These additional market segments will cause increase of sales to catapult the product to maturity level of PLC. The product has already proven to be a success and new customers show interest of carrying along the trend.
The product faces little or no competitive challenges and thus has stable prices and low promotional costs. On the other hand, the marketers need extra promotion strategies to encourage customers and affirm the goodness of the product. The product manufacturers and marketers anticipate major competing products in the near future market. This calls for more growth-related strategies and resources to convince consumers on efficiency and quality in comparison to other upcoming products.
One of the key aspects that are a clear indication that the product is in the growth stage of the PLC is the objective to gain and maintain customers’ preferences during marketing. There is also the aim to boost sales through improvements on the packaging designs. Different packaging designs are mostly strategies meant to capture attention of the potential buyers.
The option also enhances the product quality and presents it as a new and advancing product in the market. The prices of the products are equally set at a low and affordable level to capture attention of willing customers and increase consumer base.
The products are in support of already existing electronic devices such as mobile phones or personal computers. This means that most of the electronic stores especially the major distributors have the discounting mechanisms, where they discount mobile devices with free universal chargers.
This is a strategy of enhancing sales of the electronic products, as well as making the new product known to the consumers. The marketing strategy also promotes growth of the product because retailers also bring out some interest on the product. Diverse promotional strategies such as increase in advertisements and various plans to augment preference provide support to products in the growth stage of the PLC.
The technology is new and the supplies have to provide additional pamphlets with extra instructions of usage, and in some cases, vendors need to give verbal explanations when selling the product as a marketing strategy.
The charger equally gets growth and support through new products launch campaigns in various consumer outlets and promotional drives for technological improvements. The product manufactures pose different designs and options to cater a variety of the cords and power supplier connectors that cater for the required voltage level, depending on the type of device.
The universal charger still faces probable transformations to cater for wider variety of devices and incorporate the new and advancing ones. These requirements mean that the products must develop further to cater for the specific client’s needs.