Product Life Cycle Flashcards
The definition of the product life cycle?
The product life cycle is the amount of time a product goes from being introduced until it’s taken off the shelf.
What are the four stages in the product life cycle?
Launch
Growth
Maturity
Decline
What happens in the launch stage in the PLC?
Advertising needs to be implemented at the correct time.
The product has just been put on the market for customers to purchase.
Little to no competition as it is also the first time competitors have seen the new product.
What happens in the growth stage in the PLC?
This is when a product establishes itself on the market and begins to sell.
There is an increase in production and expansion in it’s availability.
This is the stage where the designers could use customer feedback to Improve the functionality of the product.
What happens in the maturity stage in the PLC?
This stage is the most profitable one.
The sales volume is Maxed out, where it sells the most.
Competition is at it’s highest , as rival companies have had time to create products that compete against this one with additional features.
Sales level stabilises.
What happens in the decline stage in a PLC?
This is where the product may lose market share because of the increased competition.
Product sales will begin to drop due to market saturation.
However, if a company wants to revamp the product, then they will launch the same product with minor adjustments or they will discontinue the product and start fresh.
What are the advantages of PLC?
It allows the marketers to better understand how each product sits in the company’s portfolio - being able to shift resources depending on their stage.
Positive impact on economic growth
Competitive advantage
Helps determine when to discontinue a product
What are the disadvantages of a PLC?
Forecast reliability- actual performance may differ from prediction.
Prospective planned obsolescence- wasting time, products and funds + insufficient use of development resources.
