¶ … Marketing
When a product enters the maturity stage of its lifecycle, competition takes on certain traits. It becomes more intense, as the industry is now a zero sum game. Competitors often enter at this stage to try to take market share from the leader. This results mainly in price competition.
There are several strategies appropriate at this stage. The first is differentiation. The industry leader, in order to maintain price levels, needs to show the consumer they their product is demonstrably superior to the imitator. Another strategy is feature diversification, where new features are introduced to the core product in an attempt to provide the consumer with an additional benefit. Cost- and price-cutting is also a strategy employed. This is sometimes viewed as inevitable because of the price competition and viable because at this stage profit levels are relatively high. A fourth strategic option is saturation, where the leading company adds lines of accessory products and subtle variations in an attempt to build a barrier to entry for competitors and shore up whatever market share is still to be won.
The market mix consists of product, price, place, and promotion. Differentiation is a promotion strategy - a new way of selling the product to the marketplace. Feature diversification is a mix of product and promotion. Minor additions or changes to the product are heavily promoted. Price-cutting is a price strategy. Saturation is a combination of product, place, and promotion. New products are added to the mix, sold in more places, and more heavily promoted.
The first strategy I would employ to defend a dominant position in a mature market is differentiation. This strategy, if successful, will discourage newcomers from thinking they can win more than nominal market share. It will also preserve margins and maintain the strength of the brand, which price-cutting will not do. Furthermore, unlike saturation or feature diversification, it does not require any investment in new product development, making it a more cost-effective option.
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