Question

your thoughts please on the Marketing trade-offs in your views and analysis of the launch of new product launches while still promoting the existing product lines. What are your concerns with your Marketing plans to carry these two new and old product promotions at the same time? Share your pros and cons of your approach selecting the best alternatives even though they may not be perfect.

Answer 1

New product launch is a common strategy followed by many companies in order to obtain and maintain the success of the firm and be relevant to the consumers. There are numerous pro and cons involved with new product launches as discussed below, The Pros are:-

• A new product launch might bring in a better brand image if it is a new product also called as New-to-the-world products( discontinuous innovation) not present in the market and meets the expectations of the customers.
• New product need not always be a brand extension and can be a part of the existing product lines further helping the company in a particular product category.
• Product launches help in repositioning the product to gain higher market share by promoting it to a new category of customers who are the new TG now.
• Relaunches of existing products help in providing value and better performance in comparison to current products
• They might also help in diversification of the business, for example, a fruit juice company can venture into dairy products like flavored milk, yogurts etc

The cons involved include

• Cannibalization of existing products and decline in market share of existing products.
• If the launched product falls below customer expectations it might hamper the overall brand reputation
• Might require huge initial expenses in the form of R&D impacting the budget allocation for the existing brands which might prove to be counterproductive.