9 Challenges Throughout the Product Lifecycle in Manufacturing

The product lifecycle is the journey that a product takes over its life in the market from introducing it, to mainstream success, to ending it. As a product manager, it’s important to lead the organization through each phase so the product is successful in the market for the longest time possible. 

What is a Product Lifecycle?
There’s this ramp-up in sales when you introduce a new product that builds excitement in your organization. To gain market success, the product has to move from initial excitement to widespread market acceptance, which is considered its maturity state. Once the product has hit a mature stage, the revenue is widespread, predictable, and success may last years. At some point, the product loses relevance to competitors, or even better, you release a newer product that obsoletes it. This is marked by a drop in sales until the product is discontinued. 

It’s easy to understand the product lifecycle framework, but there are challenges manufacturers face at each stage. Here are the top 9 challenges I see when working with manufacturers.

1. Every Product Is Introduced the Same Way
You may be launching an innovative product that is different from anything seen before or you may be improving a product that already exists with added benefits. Introducing an innovative product will be different than an incremental product. Here’s how:

• Innovative products require early adopters and innovators who love being the first to use new products. These customers are important to learn how the product works in their application, but they won’t help you scale the product. Existing customers may be hesitant to try innovative products because they view it as risky with all the kinks not worked out yet.
• Incremental products rely on existing customers to see the benefits of your new product and transition to it. They already trust your products, so this improvement is a natural step for them to be effective. 

2. No Go-to-Market Strategy
This is the plan to introduce and sell new products to customers effectively. Each product probably needs a customized go-to-market strategy based on the customer need, the competitive landscape and other factors.

3. Not Understanding The Impact To Legacy Products
Introducing new products is exciting, but don’t forget about the impact on existing products. The last thing you want to do is confuse customers and not have a clear portfolio with clear differentiation across all products.

4. False Belief That You Are Scaling
Just because a product is officially on the market doesn’t mean it is gaining market traction. Growing sales also doesn’t mean the product has reached a point of scaling up. A 10% growth year over year may be nice, but if your market share is 5% you are not winning. Look at your market share compared to competitors to understand your ranking. The goal is to become the market leader. You know you are in the scaling phase when you see market share rise dramatically.

5. Same Marketing Communication Is Used
This is where testimonials of customers can provide a lot of value. Hearing from peers is a great way to show adoption and success in the market. Latch on to large customers that influence medium and small customers. They want to emulate larger customers so write case studies, have live events with customers and promote key testimonials wherever and whenever possible.

6. Lack Of Seeing Customer Needs Changing
By now, your competitors have noticed your market leadership so they will counter with their own product. Staying close to customers to understand their changing needs and how they feel about competitors is important to stay relevant. Build a closer relationship with customers and reinforce the value of your company and products. 

7. No Product Replacement Is in the Pipeline
This is the perfect time to start planning for new products that will ultimately replace this one. Customers want to see that your company is staying relevant in the market. If you wait too long, you might find yourself behind the competition and playing catch up. 

8. Products May Be Reflections of People Who Can’t Let Go
Deciding to stop delivering a product is never easy, but it is necessary to operate an effective business, maintain profitability and scale the business even further. There is an emotional attachment to the product that makes it feel tough–even personal for some. To help offset emotions, use data to confirm that it is time to end the product. 

9. Lack of Planning That Results in High Inventory
A product may not have the sales it used to, so it is important to work with the manufacturer to adjust inventory levels. If you don’t, you may find that there is so much inventory that the product is forced to stay in the market beyond its effectiveness, which can cause a business crisis. 

As the product manager, your role is to see market success and longevity with new products. By overcoming these challenges, you are on your way to leading the organization through the product life cycles of the portfolio. 

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Posted in Growing as a Product Manager  | Tagged Product Life Cycle, Metrics, Leadership

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