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• As consumers, we buy millions of products every year. And just

like us, these products have a life cycle. Older, long-established
products eventually become less popular, while in contrast, the
demand for new, more modern goods usually increases quite
rapidly after they are launched.
• Because most companies understand the different product life cycle
stages, and that the productsPrethey sell all have a limited lifespan,
the majority of them will invest heavily in new product
development in order to make sure that their businesses continue to
grow.

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• The product life cycle has 4 very clearly defined stages, each
with its own characteristics that mean different things for
business that are trying to manage the life cycle of their
particular products –

- Introduction Pre
- Growth
- Maturity
- Decline

• In certain cases, there is a stage before Introduction, which is

called as Development and another stage before Decline,
which is called Saturation as below –
Development – Introduction – Growth – Maturity – Saturation – Decline
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• Introduction Stage - This stage of the cycle could be the most
expensive for a company launching a new product. The size
of the market for the product is small, which means sales are
low, although they will be increasing. On the other hand, the
cost of things like research and development, consumer
testing, and the marketingPreneeded to launch the product can
be very high, especially if it’s a competitive sector.

• Growth Stage – The growth stage is typically characterized

by a strong growth in sales and profits, and because the
company can start to benefit from economies of scale in
production, the profit margins, as well as the overall amount
of profit, will increase. This makes it possible for businesses
to invest more money in the promotional activity to
maximize the potential of this growth stage.
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• Maturity Stage – During the maturity stage, the product is
established and the aim for the manufacturer is now to maintain the
market share they have built up. This is probably the most
competitive time for most products and businesses need to invest
wisely in any marketing they undertake. They also need to consider
any product modifications or improvements to the production
process which might give themPre a competitive advantage.

• Decline Stage – Eventually, the market for a product will start to

shrink, and this is what’s known as the decline stage. This
shrinkage could be due to the market becoming saturated (i.e. all
the customers who will buy the product have already purchased it),
or because the consumers are switching to a different type of
product. While this decline may be inevitable, it may still be
possible for companies to make some profit by switching to less-
expensive production methods and cheaper markets.
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• In recognition of new product development and the need to
withdraw products from the market once they have reached the end
of their profitable life, some believe that effective product life cycle
management is only possible when organizations consider these
two additional stages in the cycle.

Pre can have a life, it needs to be

• Development: Before a product
developed. A lot of manufacturers invest heavily in new product
development, which can be a process that takes a lot of time and
money, depending on the type of product and the market.
Development involves creating a product to sell, but companies
also need to gain an understanding of the market the product will
eventually be sold into. Only by creating a product that is in line
with what the market will want is a manufacturer going to be
successful; which is perhaps why some would argue that this is one
of the most important stages of the product life cycle.
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• Withdrawal / Saturation: During the Introduction and Growth
stages of the product life cycle, most manufacturers are focused on
increasing their profits by developing the market and improving
their sales. While some companies will also be able to reduce their
costs through economies of scale, it is during the Withdrawal stage
that cost management becomes even more important. This is a
Pre in the market and the inability of
result of saturation of the product
the company to sustain the product despite low costs.

• Once the decision is made and a product is withdrawn, all sales

stop. Therefore it’s important that manufacturers are prepared for
this eventuality and make the right decisions at the right time.
Having a plan in place to minimize their costs as they withdraw
from a market, or even developing a new product that can take
advantage of the established infrastructure and routes to market, is
essential.
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Pre

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• The Product Life Cycle Curve is a popular marketing model that
provides manufacturers with an understanding of how they can
expect their products to perform throughout their lifetime.
However, it isn’t without is critics, with some arguing that there are
a number of challenges with the well-recognized illustration of a
product’s lifespan, and companies need to take these into account
when using the model as partPreof their decision-making process.
• To understand the challenges of using the Product Life Cycle
Curve, it makes sense to look at it in a little more detail. The curve
is a simple illustration that plots sales against time, providing a
general picture of how a product is likely to perform through the
four product life cycle stages – rising through the Introduction and
Growth stages, before peaking in the Maturity stage, and eventually
falling off during the Decline stage. Adaptations of the model also
plot the level of profit as a second curve, which is often useful for
highlighting the considerable investment and negative profits that
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are made in the first stage of the cycle.
• As a model, the curve provides a good approximation of the sales
and profits that can be expected as products pass through the four
stages of the typical life cycle. However, there are a few things to
bear in mind when trying to apply the Product Life Cycle Curve in
the real world.
Unpredictability: While a product’s life may be limited, it is very
Pre
hard for manufacturers to predict exactly how long it is likely to be,
especially during the new product development phase. While most
manufacturers are very good at making the best decisions based on
the information they have, consumer demand can be unpredictable,
which means they don’t always get it right.
Change: The unpredictability of a products life span comes from the
fact that all the factors that influence the product life cycle are
constantly changing. For example, changes in the cost of production
or a fall in consumer demand due to the launch of alternative
products, could significantly alter the duration of the different
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product life cycle stages.
• The Curve is a Model: Critics of the product life cycle have claimed
that some manufacturers may place too much importance on the
suggestions the model makes, so that it eventually becomes self-
fulfilling. To illustrate the point, if a company uses the product life
cycle curve as a basis for its decisions, a decrease in sales may lead
them to believe their product is entering the Decline stage and
therefore spend less on promoting
Pre it, when the opposite strategy could
help them to capture more market share and actually increase sales
again.
• While the Product Life Cycle Curve needs to be applied with a certain
amount of care, and manufacturers are unlikely to rely solely on it’s
simple illustration to predict their sales and profits, it is still a useful
tool.
• With a general appreciation of the kind of challenges that will be faced
during each of the four stages, the model provides businesses and their
marketing departments with the opportunity to be plan ahead and be
better prepared to meet those challenges. 11
• The product life cycle model is a classic marketing tool which is used to
explain the four different stages most products pass through during their
limited lifetime. However, while the traditional stages of Introduction, Growth,
Maturity and Decline deal with a products life once it’s in the market, the
model often overlooks the equally important stages of getting a product to
market, and withdrawing it once it is no longer profitable.

• While traditionally there are fourPre

stages to the cycle, it makes a lot more sense
to include the ‘before and after’ stages of Development and Withdrawal, since
these can present manufacturers with just as many challenges as any of the
other phases. Even with the expanded six-stage illustration of the life cycle of a
product, the most important thing to understand is that it is still only a model.

• Life cycles will differ from product to product, and market to market, and an
increase in sales isn’t always an indication that the market is growing, just as a
fall in sales doesn’t necessarily mean a market is in decline. While it’s
important to appreciate products have a limited lifetime and acknowledge the
different stages of the product life cycle, the successful manufacturers are
typically the ones that don’t allow this model to be the sole source of
information that dictates their business strategy. 12
• Just about all manufactured products have a limited life, and during this
life they will pass through four product life cycle stages; Introduction,
Growth, Maturity and Decline. In each of these stages manufacturers
face a different set of challenges. Product life cycle management is the
application of different strategies to help meet these challenges and
ensure that, whatever stage of the cycle a product may be going through,
the manufacturer can maximizePre sales and profits for their product.

• Product Life Cycle Management - The answer requires more than just
product life cycle management software. To effectively manage the
product life cycle, organizations need to have a very strong focus on a
number of key business areas:

a. Development
b. Financing
c. Marketing
d. Manufacturing
e. Information 13
• To effectively manage the product life cycle, organizations need to
have a very strong focus on a number of key business areas:
• Development: Before a product can begin its life cycle, it needs to
be developed. Research and new product development is one of the
first and possibly most important phases of the manufacturing
process that companies will need to spend time and money on, in
Pre
order to make sure that the product is a success.
• Financing: Manufacturers will usually need significant funds in
order to launch a new product and sustain it through the
Introduction stage, but further investment through the Growth and
Maturity stages may be financed by the profits from sales. In the
Decline Stage, additional investment may be needed to adapt the
manufacturing process or move into new markets. Throughout the
life cycle of a product, companies need to consider the most
appropriate way to finance their costs in order to maximize profit
potential.
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• Marketing: During a product’s life, companies will need to adapt
their marketing and promotional activity depending on which stage
of the cycle the product is passing through. As the market develops
and matures, the consumers attitude to the product will change. So
the marketing and promotional activity that launches a new product
in the Introduction Stage, will need to be very different from the
Pre to protect market share during the
campaigns that will be designed
Maturity Stage.
• Manufacturing: The cost of manufacturing a product can change
during its life cycle. To begin with, new processes and equipment
mean costs are high, especially with a low sales volume. As the
market develops and production increases, costs will start to fall;
and when more efficient and cheaper methods of production are
found, these costs can fall even further. As well as focusing on
marketing to make more sales and profit, companies also need to
look at ways of reducing cost throughout the manufacturing
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process.
• Information: Whether it’s data about the potential market that will
make a new product viable, feedback about different marketing
campaigns to see which are most effective, or monitoring the
growth and eventual decline of the market in order to decide on the
most appropriate response, information is crucial to the success of
any product. Manufacturers that efficiently manage their products
along the product life cyclePre curve are usually those that have
developed the most effective information systems.

• Most manufacturers accept their products will have a limited life.

While there may not be much they can do to change that, by
focusing on the key business areas mentioned, product life cycle
management allows them to make sure that a product will be as
successful as possible during its life cycle stages, however long that
might be.

• https://productlifecyclestages.com/what-is-product-life-cycle-management/16
• Most consumers probably aren’t aware of the product life cycle
stages. Even though they make a conscious decision to switch from
one product to another, this is more due to personal taste or simply
wanting to have the latest and best, rather than an appreciation of
which stage of its life cycle a product may be going through.

• But if you look at the trendsPre

in key markets over the last couple of
decades, even just the last few years, consumer demand for
particular products can provide some very good product life cycle
examples.

• Product Life Cycle Examples - The traditional product life cycle

curve is broken up into four key stages. Products first go through
the Introduction stage, before passing into the Growth stage. Next
comes Maturity until eventually the product will enter the Decline
stage. These examples illustrate these stages for particular markets
in more detail. 17
• 3D Televisions: 3D may have been around for a few decades, but
only after considerable investment from broadcasters and
technology companies are 3D TVs available for the home,
providing a good example of a product that is in the Introduction
Stage.
• Blue Ray Players: With advanced technology delivering the very
best viewing experience, Blue PreRay equipment is currently enjoying
the steady increase in sales that’s typical of the Growth Stage.
• DVD Players: Introduced a number of years ago, manufacturers
that make DVDs, and the equipment needed to play them, have
established a strong market share. However, they still have to deal
with the challenges from other technologies that are characteristic
of the Maturity Stage.
• Video Recorders: While it is still possible to purchase VCRs this is
a product that is definitely in the Decline Stage, as it’s become
easier and cheaper for consumers to switch to the other, more
modern formats. 18
• Holographic Projection: Only recently introduced into the market,
holographic projection technology allows consumers to turn any flat
surface into a touchscreen interface. With a huge investment in
research and development, and high prices that will only appeal to
early adopters, this is another good example of the first stage of the
cycle.
• Tablet PCs: There are a growing
Pre number of tablet PCs for consumers
to choose from, as this product passes through the Growth stage of the
cycle and more competitors start to come into a market that really
developed after the launch of Apple’s iPad.
• Laptops: Laptop computers have been around for a number of years,
but more advanced components, as well as diverse features that appeal
to different segments of the market, will help to sustain this product as
it passes through the Maturity stage.
• Typewriters: Typewriters, and even electronic word processors, have
very limited functionality. With consumers demanding a lot more from
the electronic equipment they buy, typewriters are a product that is
passing through the final stage of the product life cycle. 19
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