The Product Life Cycle
The Merchandise Roller Coaster
What is it?
The product life cycle is a series of 4 stages that determine the life cycle of a product.
THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
This chart determines exactly where your product lies as time passes. It consists of the Introduction, the beginnings of a product's life, the Growth, which consists of the uphill rise and struggle to fame, Maturity, which represents the prime of the product, and Decline, which shows the age of the now decaying product, which needs to either be altered or taken away.
EVERYDAY ITEMS
Your everyday household objects follow this chart as a guideline for companies to make important decisions.
FOOD PRODUCTS
Food products make a great example of items that move in and out of popularity. Some new catsup on the market would probably struggle in the introduction stage compared to Heinz which lies in maturity.
IMPORTANT?
Yep, It Sure Is!
The product life cycle gives companies the power to determine what they should do with their product. In order to effectively run a business, you must know when to expand, contract, and alter products to either prolong or end a product's life cycle for the good of a company.