This is a costly affair for a business as investments have been made in the product and in the promotion around the product. Some products remain stuck as a Question mark and become Dogs at an early stage.
The route to Dog should be postponed for as long as possible. The most ideal development path of a product is that from Question mark to Star and Cash Cow. If this product is no longer of strategic importance to the company, this product will be divested. When a product is in the underdog position, it has a small market share in a mature market. The revenue from the Cash Cow is invested in other products. The product is a ‘milch cow’ and big money is made from this. The product will become more and more familiar. With targeted investments such as innovations and adjustments to the product, this lead in the market is maintained. The market share of the product grows like a ‘rising star’ in the growth market. It is still uncertain whether it can become a Star or a Cash Cow. Often it is concerns a product that is to be introduced and is unknown with a very small market share. It is still a big question (problem child / wild cat) what the product is going to do on the market. Figure 1 – BCG Matrix: the four quadrants 1.
