Product Life Cycle
Skill Set: Pricing
TOPIC OR UNIT OF STUDY
Product life cycle
CONTENT STANDARD(S) AND OBJECTIVE(S)
Students will
 compute the selling price of a product or service. (e.g., break-even point, markup, and
markdown)
 determine how products are priced at different stages of the product life cycle.
 determine how legal and ethical considerations affect price.
INTRODUCTION
During the product life cycle (introduction, growth, maturity, decline) the price of a product will
fluctuate along the way. Individually review the link to product life cycle here:
http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/
In groups of 3 to 4, identify a famous product (different from any other group’s choice of product) and
where it is in the product life cycle. Explain the current and what factors are influencing the product’s
current price. Using the class blog, report your product choice, where you believe the product is in its
life cycle and factors that are currently influencing its price. Reply thoughtfully to at least one other
group’s post (not your own).
In an email to the instructor compute the selling price of a products based on the information found in
the three pricing situations provided. (8 questions total).
In the class blog, individually respond on how legal and ethical considerations affect price, based on this
question: “How should you price if your product is a life-saving drug?”. Respond thoughtfully to at least
one peer (more than I agree).
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What pricing considerations must be considered at different stages of a product in its product life cycle?
INTEGRATION OF ACADEMICS, TECHNOLOGY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Academics: Upon completion of activities, students will meet the above referenced CSOs.
Technology: Students will use the Internet to research pricing considerations and post findings/opinions
to the class blog and email.
Entrepreneurship: Students will evaluate a variety of factors that businesses must consider when
pricing their products.
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IN PLANNING PROCESS
Students will work in teams to choose a product to determine its placement in the product life cycle and
the considerations that affect the product’s current price. Students will individually post blogs on ethical
and legal considerations to take into consideration when pricing products given a specific example.
TASK(S)
Day 1:
Students will:
 Individually review the link to product life cycle here:
http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/
 In groups of 3 to 4, identify a famous product (different from any other group’s choice of
product) and where it is in the product life cycle. Research the current price and what factors
are influencing the product’s current price.
Page 1 of 4


Using the class blog, report your product choice, where you believe the product is in its life cycle
and factors that are currently influencing its price.
Reply thoughtfully to at least one other group’s post (not your own). (Rubric provided).
Day 2:
Students will:
 Individually, submit an email to the instructor computing the selling price of products based on
the information found in the three pricing situations provided. (8 questions total).
Day 3:
Students will:
 Review their mathematical responses to the computations of selling prices (break-even, markup and markdown).
 In the class blog, individually respond on how legal and ethical considerations affect price, based
on this question: “How should you price if your product is a life-saving drug?”. (3 sentence min.)
 Respond thoughtfully to at least one peers (more than I agree). (Rubric provided).
RESOURCES
Internet
Marketing textbook
TECHNOLOGY USE
Internet – product life cycle information, class blog, email
EVALUATION
Students will post their understanding of product life cycle and ethical/legal considerations price
considerations in the class blog. Rubrics provided. (Teacher will review misunderstood concepts).
Students will submit to the instructor calculations based on 3 different pricing situations. (Review of
these calculations with entire class).
TIMELINE
3 class periods at 45 minutes each
CONCLUSION
Do I understand the major considerations that must go into pricing a product correctly?
Page 2 of 4
Product pricing flexibility (break-even, mark-up, markdown)
(16 points possible – 2 pts per question)
Pricing Situation 1:
A store purchase price (wholesale) of an item is $100
1) Suppose a store marks up an item by 25%. What is the stores selling price (retail)?
2) After two weeks the store places this item on sale, 25% off. Does the store break even, make
money or lose money?
3) What would the discount rate need to be in order for the store to break even?
4) What would the price be if the store discounted the items first (25% off) and then added the
markup (25% increase)?
Pricing Situation 2:
At Old Navy’s a sweater ticket price is $68.00. The store marks down the sweater by 30%. The store
has a blowout sale of all discounted items by taking off another 20% off the lowest price.
You happen to have a coupon that takes off another 15% off at the register.
5) How much is this sweater selling for (before taxes)?
6) If the store sold the retail garment 240% above their cost, does Old Navy still make a profit on
this sweater?
7) What if the discount was 70% off the $68. How much would the sweater cost?
Pricing Situation 3:
A computer is marked up by 120%. After a while the computer is placed on sale for 40% off then
two weeks later another 25% is discounted.
8) What is the percentage profit/loss of this computer?
Page 3 of 4
Class blog rubric
10 points possible
Category
Credit
No credit
(0 points)
Original blog post
Post follows instructions
provided by the instructor.
(4 – 8 points)
Thoughtfully and respectfully
responded to at least one
other classmate
(more than I agree).
(1 point)
No more than 1 obvious
grammar and/or spelling
error(s) in the response.
(1 point)
No or limited response.
Response
Grammar/Spelling
No response to other peer or
little more than I agree and/or
disrespectfully presented.
Multiple grammatical or
spelling errors.
Page 4 of 4