Product Life Cycle
Donald Morgan
Product Life Cycle
A new product goes through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. It is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix.
Introduction
Stage 1
Stage where you are trying to build product awareness and develop a market for the product.The company begins to establish the brand and quality level of its product. Profits are also the lowest because most of the money is spent on marketing.
Stage 2: Growth
In the growth stage, the company tries to build brand preference and increase market share. Product quality is maintained and additional features and support services may be added. The company is getting the most profit because more and more people are becoming aware of the product.
Stage 3: Maturity
At maturity, the strong growth in sales diminishes. Competition starts to appear with similar products. The primary objective at this point is to defend market share while maximizing profit.
Stage 4: Decline
In this stage sales have declined and the company has a few choices at this point.
- Quit selling the product and get rid of it.
- Change the product with new features or find new uses
- Keep making the product but not as much and keep for loyal customers