PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE | MARKETING MANAGMENT| L-7|

The product life cycle is the course of the life of a product. It begins when the product is in development and ends after the product has been removed from the market.

Whether you’re looking through your parent’s old VHS tapes or shopping for a new smartphone, you’re participating in and experiencing different stages of the product life cycle, or PLC.

When a product enters the market, often unbeknownst to the consumer, it has a life cycle that carries it from being new and useful to eventually being retired out of circulation in the market. This process happens continually, as products move from their development and introduction stages all the way through maturity to their decline and eventual retirement. 

But how does the product life cycle actually work, and how can analyzing it help companies optimize their businesses? 

What Is the Product Life Cycle?

The product life cycle is the process a product goes through from when it is first introduced into the market until it declines or is removed from the market. The life cycle has four stages—introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. 

While some products may remain in a prolonged maturity state for some time, all products eventually phase out of the market due to several factors including saturation, increased competition, decreased demand, and dropping sales.

Companies use PLC analysis (the process of examining their product’s life cycle) to create strategies to sustain their product’s longevity or change it to meet market demand or adapt with/to developing technologies.