Product Life Cycle(PLC)

A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. This sequence is known as the product life cycle and is associated with changes in the marketing situation.

Introduction

This stage of the cycle could be the most expensive for a company launching a new product. The size of the market for the product is small, which means sales are low. On the other hand, the cost of research and development,

consumer testing, and the marketing needed to launch the product can be very high.

E.g- 3D TVs

Growth

The growth stage is typically characterized by a strong growth in sales and profits, and because the company can start to benefit from economies of scale in production, the profit margins, as well as the overall amount of profit, will increase.

E.g- Blueray discs/DVR

Maturity

During the maturity stage, the product is established and the aim for the manufacturer is

now to maintain the market share they have built up. This is probably the most competitive time for most products and businesses need to invest wisely in any marketing they undertake.

E.g- DVDs

Decline

Eventually, the market for a product will start to shrink, and this is what’s known as the decline stage. This shrinkage could be due to the market becoming saturated (i.e. all the customers who will buy the product have already purchased it), or because the consumers are switching to a different type of product.

E.g- Video Cassette

Sourcs: http://bit.do/dFiEv