Product Life Cycle
The Product Life Cycle
Product life cycle is made based on the biological life cycle. Most projects goes through similar stages on the path from origin to completion. Johnson (2012) stated that product life cycle (PLC) is a trend whereby a brand new and original product become out-of-date and gradually obsolete (Johnson, 2012). There are four major phases in the project life cycle as shown in Figure 1 (refer to Appendix). These major phases are introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage and decline stage.
The product life cycle starts with the introduction stage. During this stage, marketing strategies change from time to time to meet market demand in relation to its competition, pricing, distribution, promotion and market information to ensure that marketers can maintain profitable product mixes. As mentioned by Pride et al. (2007), “the introduction stage of the product life cycle begins at a product’s first appearance in the marketplace” (p. 205). In other words, the sales are at zero point and profits are negative because the customers have not known about the product. In a typical profit versus time graph for a product life cycle, the shape resembles the letter “s”. Profits are below zero point because the revenues are low and the manufacturer generally must cover large expenses for product development, promotion and distribution. Introduction stage commonly starts with promoting the new products (Pride et al., 2007, p. 205). Potential buyers should be given details about the new product’s features, uses and advantages. To achieve this, the seller should have adequate amount of resource, technological knowledge and marketing know-how to launch the product successfully. Giving free samples, gain visibility through media appearances are among the most popular ways of advertising products. Considerable research and development fee might have been paid to get the product to introduction phase (Marketing – Products – Product life cycle, 2012). The
Product life cycle is made based on the biological life cycle. Most projects goes through similar stages on the path from origin to completion. Johnson (2012) stated that product life cycle (PLC) is a trend whereby a brand new and original product become out-of-date and gradually obsolete (Johnson, 2012). There are four major phases in the project life cycle as shown in Figure 1 (refer to Appendix). These major phases are introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage and decline stage.
The product life cycle starts with the introduction stage. During this stage, marketing strategies change from time to time to meet market demand in relation to its competition, pricing, distribution, promotion and market information to ensure that marketers can maintain profitable product mixes. As mentioned by Pride et al. (2007), “the introduction stage of the product life cycle begins at a product’s first appearance in the marketplace” (p. 205). In other words, the sales are at zero point and profits are negative because the customers have not known about the product. In a typical profit versus time graph for a product life cycle, the shape resembles the letter “s”. Profits are below zero point because the revenues are low and the manufacturer generally must cover large expenses for product development, promotion and distribution. Introduction stage commonly starts with promoting the new products (Pride et al., 2007, p. 205). Potential buyers should be given details about the new product’s features, uses and advantages. To achieve this, the seller should have adequate amount of resource, technological knowledge and marketing know-how to launch the product successfully. Giving free samples, gain visibility through media appearances are among the most popular ways of advertising products. Considerable research and development fee might have been paid to get the product to introduction phase (Marketing – Products – Product life cycle, 2012). The
References: Johnson, P. (2012). Product life cycle theory. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/product-life-cycle-theory.html Karl, E Komninos, I. (2002). Product life cycle management. Retrieved from http://www.urenio.org/tools/en/Product_Life_Cycle_Management.pdf Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G Marketing – products – product life cycle. Retrieved July 17, 2012, from http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/products_lifecycle.asp. Pride W., Elliott G., Rundle-Thiele S., Waller D., Paladino A., & Ferrell O. (2007). Marketing Core Concepts & Applications Asia-Pacific edition (2nd ed.). Milton Qld: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. Solomon, M. R., Marshall, G. W., & Stuart, E. W. (2011). Marketing: Real people real choice (7th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education. The product life cycle. (n.d). Retrieved July 11, 2012, from http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-plc.html# The product life cycle