We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as “regular” coffee, and it took several years to gain general acceptance (introduction stage). At one point, though, instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity, and many brands were introduced (stage of rapid growth). After a while, people became attached to a certain brand and at this time sales leveled off (stage of maturity). Sales went into a slight decline when freeze-dried coffees were introduced (stage of decline).
The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this: different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies. The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not decline. One strategy is called market modification. It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections. Did you know, for example, that the backpacks that so many students carry today were originally designed for the military?
Market modification also means searching for increased usage among present customers or going for a different market, such as senior citizens. A marketer may re-position the product to appeal to new market sections.
Another product extension strategy is called product modification. It involves changing product quality, features, or style to attract new users or more usage from present users. American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to recapture world markets. Note, also, how auto manufacturers once changed styles dramatically from year to year to keep demand from falling.
1. According to the passage, when people grow fond of one particular brand of a product, its sales will .
A. decrease gradually C. improve enormously
B. become unstable D. remain at the same level
2. The first paragraph tells us that a new product is .
A. usually introduced to satisfy different tastes C. often more expensive than old ones
B. often inferior to old ones at first D. not easily accepted by the public
3. Marketers need to know which of the four stages a product is in so as to .
A. work out marketing policies C. promote its production
B. increase its popularity D. speed up its life cycle
4. The author mentions the example of “backpacks” (Para. 2) to show the importance of .
A. increasing usage among students C. pleasing the young as well as the old
B. exploring new market sections D. serving both military and civil needs
5. In order to recover their share of the world market, U.S. auto makers are .
A. improving product quality C. re-positioning their product in the market
B. modernizing product style D. increasing product features
参考答案：D D A B A
译文：
通过观察速溶咖啡的引进，我们可以理解产品生命周期的过程。速溶咖啡刚出现时，大多数人对它没有像“常规的”咖啡那样喜欢，好几年后人们才普遍接受 (引进阶段)。然而，速溶咖啡曾一度名声鹊起，而且出现许多品牌 (快速发展阶段)。不久之后，人们只喜欢一种品牌，销售额平稳下来[成熟阶段。当冻干咖啡出现后，速溶咖啡销售略有衰退[衰退阶段]。
产品生命周期对商人的重要性在于产品生命周期的不同阶段要求不同的策略。其目的就是延长产品生命周期，使销售和利润不衰减。一种策略就叫做市场调整。它意味着销售经理寻找新用户和新的市场份额。例如：你是否知道这么多的学生现在所背的背包原是为军人设计的？
市场调整还意味着在现在顾客中寻找新增加的用途或者开辟另外一个市场，例如老人市场。商人可以重新定位产品来吸引新的市场份额。
另外一个产品扩展策略叫做产品调整。这包括改进产品质量、外观或式样以吸引用户或现有用户使用产品的新用途。美国汽车制造商把提高质量作为重新占领世界市场的一种方法。还要注意到，汽车制造商年复一年地改变式样以保持需求不下降。
