Product Lifecycle

What makes a product successful? You have a perfect idea but how do you go about showing customers the value in it? Products generally don't have an infinite life and like everything else have a defined lifecycle. This week in class we delved deeper into the innovation and lifecycle behind products.

In class we discussed five qualities that are generally seen as indicators of success for a product. They are as follows:

• Relative Advantage
• Compatibility with Existing Values and Practices
• Simplicity and Ease of Use
• Trialability
• Observable Results

This knowledge is important for groups to focus on and can help identify weaknesses that need to be addressed and provide opportunities to improve a product or behavior.

Another important part of increasing exposure to a product or innovation is peer to peer conversation. Peer networks are an effective and pivotal variable that needs to be understood in order to best position your product for success. I have personally made decisions about whether to try a given product or service based on word of mouth and other general conversations I've had with my peers.

One final key to understanding the product lifecycle is to understand the different user segments. The segments we discussed in class were innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. Innovators have the highest propensity to adopt a new product or trend followed by early adopters and the early majority. Laggards have the highest propensity to resist a new product/trend followed by the late majority. I would classify myself as part of the early majority. I tend to think practically about my decisions and won't act unless I have evidence of benefits provided. I also view myself as a cost sensitive, risk averse consumer who doesn't enjoy the complexity that some companies convey when advertising a product. I simply want to see how I will benefit from the use of the product.

Understanding the product lifecycle and the factors that contribute to the success of an innovation is essential to increasing the life of a product and our discussions in class this past week have done nothing but reaffirm my pre-existing beliefs..