The life cycle of a product depends on its market share, growth and comparative performance. A product's life cycle begins with research and development, as the company attempts to recognize and fill a niche in the market. After a product has been designed according to the parameters recommended by market research, it is launched into the market, during which time it usually enjoys a certain amount of commercial success. The product's success continues to burgeon until competitors clutter the market with similar products. The market becomes saturated, the original product starts to lose its market position and sales begin to dwindle. The company must then decide whether to revive the product or to remove it from the market.
Kellogg's Nutri-Grain breakfast bar began its life cycle as an innovative product that captured a high percent of the market but eventually ran into trouble from competition. At first, the company was able to develop new flavors and packaging formats to keep the brand fresh without having to allocate new resources to production machinery or equipment. However, when other brands from Kellogg and rival manufacturers flooded the market with products with similar characteristics to Nutri-Grain, sales declined and Nutri-Grain's market share fell drastically despite the overall growing market.
Instead of pulling the Nutri-Grain brand off the shelves, those in charge of its development chose to generate an extension strategy. The strategy could have focused either on product diversification or development, and since diversification carries more risk, the company opted to alter the product to meet the market demands. In order to develop the product further, the company reconstructed the brand image based on the fundamental features that made the brand unique. Developers also redesigned the brand's packaging to highlight the target concepts which were thought to draw the most consumer attention.
Q1. The author uses the words usually and certain to emphasize that
(A) most products only enjoy a modest measure of commercial success
(B) the life cycle, as it is described in the first paragraph, is not universal
(C) one cannot predict whether a product will be successful or not
(D) companies that employ market research enjoy more success than those which do not
(E) the author's knowledge of product life cycles is limited
Q2. What can be inferred from the passage about product diversification?
A - It involves creating various versions of the same product.
B - It requires more investment than product development.
C - It does not necessitate a fundamental change in the product.
D - It is less prone to failure than product development.
E - Although riskier, it can provide greater long-term benefits than product development.
Q3. The relationship between a product's launch and the product life cycle is most similar to
A - mixing dough and making bread
B - a steering wheel and a car
C - graduating from high school and getting a Bachelor's degree
D - a production line and a factory
E - death and a fatal illness
Q4. What does the passage suggest occurs after competition clutters the market with similar products?
A - Competing products force the original product's removal from the market.
B - Sales of both the original product and the competition's product decrease.
C - Enough room remains in the market for a competitor to enter and make a profit.
D - The company's profits decrease.
E - Sales of other companies' product increase and sales of the original product decrease.
Kellogg's Nutri-Grain breakfast bar began its life cycle as an innovative product that captured a high percent of the market but eventually ran into trouble from competition. At first, the company was able to develop new flavors and packaging formats to keep the brand fresh without having to allocate new resources to production machinery or equipment. However, when other brands from Kellogg and rival manufacturers flooded the market with products with similar characteristics to Nutri-Grain, sales declined and Nutri-Grain's market share fell drastically despite the overall growing market.
Instead of pulling the Nutri-Grain brand off the shelves, those in charge of its development chose to generate an extension strategy. The strategy could have focused either on product diversification or development, and since diversification carries more risk, the company opted to alter the product to meet the market demands. In order to develop the product further, the company reconstructed the brand image based on the fundamental features that made the brand unique. Developers also redesigned the brand's packaging to highlight the target concepts which were thought to draw the most consumer attention.
Q1. The author uses the words usually and certain to emphasize that
(A) most products only enjoy a modest measure of commercial success
(B) the life cycle, as it is described in the first paragraph, is not universal
(C) one cannot predict whether a product will be successful or not
(D) companies that employ market research enjoy more success than those which do not
(E) the author's knowledge of product life cycles is limited
Q2. What can be inferred from the passage about product diversification?
A - It involves creating various versions of the same product.
B - It requires more investment than product development.
C - It does not necessitate a fundamental change in the product.
D - It is less prone to failure than product development.
E - Although riskier, it can provide greater long-term benefits than product development.
Q3. The relationship between a product's launch and the product life cycle is most similar to
A - mixing dough and making bread
B - a steering wheel and a car
C - graduating from high school and getting a Bachelor's degree
D - a production line and a factory
E - death and a fatal illness
Q4. What does the passage suggest occurs after competition clutters the market with similar products?
A - Competing products force the original product's removal from the market.
B - Sales of both the original product and the competition's product decrease.
C - Enough room remains in the market for a competitor to enter and make a profit.
D - The company's profits decrease.
E - Sales of other companies' product increase and sales of the original product decrease.
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