THE Marketing Study Guide

Underpinning the pattern of sales in the product life cycle is how consumers adopt new products. Not all new products are successful, indeed, most new products will fail. For example, even Apple has its fair share of failed products.… Read more...

The PLC model can be utilized for portfolio analysis

Do we have an appropriate balance of existing products in a mature market, and are we investing in future new product opportunities by entering products into introduction and growth stage markets? … Read more...

A more limited competitor set

It is likely, in the introduction phase of the product life cycle, that there are limited numbers of competitors. At this stage of the PLC, the level of sales and profits in the market are … Read more...

Key marketing challenges in the introduction phase

One of the key marketing challenges in the introduction phase of the product life cycle (PLC) is to clearly communicate the advantages and benefits of the new product offering, relative to existing products … Read more...

Well-managed Product Portfolios

Having survived the significant competitive battle of the growth stage, firms are looking for stability and ongoing profitability and to leverage their “cash cows”. It is also likely, in most well-managed firms, that they have … Read more...

In the growth stage of the PLC there is a limited degree of customer loyalty. This is because most customers are “first-time consumers” and have no direct experience purchasing the product.

This means that in a growth market, it … Read more...

Growth phase follows the introduction phase

The growth phase follows a successful introduction stage. There is no guarantee that a new product will be successful – therefore, not all new products will have a growth phase.

However, provided that the … Read more...

Product reinvention to trigger a new growth phase

In a mature market, potentially entering the decline stage of the product life cycle, larger firms may be in a position to try and rethink the overall positioning of a product in … Read more...

Following the maturity stage of the PLC, many products at some point will enter the decline stage. The decline stage is a significant reduction in sales volumes. Typically this occurs for two main reasons:

1. There is a new product category

One of the key challenges for the firm during the introduction phase, given the important role of innovators, is the limited level of sales and likely negative profitability. This occurs because only a small proportion of consumers – the … Read more...

The introduction phase starts with innovators

Marketers of new products seeking to gain traction for their offering are reliant upon a category of consumers that are classified as “innovators”. Innovators are consumers that are far less influenced by word-of-mouth for … Read more...

How the market operates in the introduction stage of the PLC

• Sales are typically low
• Firms are losing money, due to low sales and high costs and the need to support the product
• There is generally a limited choice of

New-to-the-world products only

When we look at the product life cycle, we are generally considering products that are new to the marketplace. That is, these are products that are not normally purchased by consumers. We are not looking at products … Read more...

Product life cycle = stages of “life”

The product life cycle (PLC) is a very common concept across all marketing textbooks. From the words “life cycle”, you should see the connection between a product and a biological life. Just as … Read more...

Following the period of growth, a market will reach the maturity stage of its product life cycle. This means that there is limited growth – usually in line with the economy – left in the market. Sales have maximized and … Read more...