A product life cycle can simply be defined as the period in which a product or commodity enters the market to the period it gets sold out. It is simply the life span of the market...
A product can always enter the market without the knowlege of the right consumers. The life span of the product starts immediately it enters the market. Therefore, when the right consumers don't get prior information of a product, the product can start to wear out or deteriorate, thereby taking the product to decline or retire.
Stages of product life cycle
There are four stages of product life cycle.
- Introduction stage,
- Growth stage,
- Maturity stage,
- Decline stage.
Introduction stage
This is the stage in which the product is being released into the market. At this stage, the company spends more on advertising to create awareness for the product. There is no guarantee that the product will make a success in the market at this stage. This is one of the stages of product life cycle.
Growth stage
This is the stage of product life cycle where the product get high sales and prominence in the market. More companies get attracted by the high sales and then there will be a bigger market for the product. More competition tends to set in which will eventually lead to a lower price of the market.
Maturity stage
At this stage of product life cycle, the sales of the product begin to drop due to the high competition. Companies will try to devise new means to offset the competition in the market. This stage is also called the 'shake off point' because the less successful competitors will be forced out of the market.
Decline stage
This is an inevitable stage of product life cycle, because all products will definately get to decline. This is where the sales of the product decline significantly and lesser demand of the product due to the changes in consumer behavior.
Products are often retired from the market except they are able to develop or rebrand themselves to remain relevant in the market.
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