Product Life Cycle

The product life cycle is a model that maps the typical phases of a product from market entry to withdrawal. Classically it distinguishes four phases, introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Some models add a preceding development phase and a saturation phase between maturity and decline. Marketing and sales strategies differ noticeably between phases.

Phases in detail

In the introduction phase, sales are low and marketing effort is high, since market acceptance has to be built. In growth, sales and profit rise quickly and new competitors enter. In maturity, growth flattens and displacement competition dominates. In decline, sales fall sustainably and the product is delisted or replaced by a successor.

Strategic implications

Marketing measures, pricing strategy, sales channels and innovation activities have to be adjusted per phase. Introduction phases require heavy investment in awareness, mature phases live off differentiation and customer retention. Anyone ignoring the product life cycle does marketing by template, which leads to unnecessary ad pressure for mature products and to premature cuts during launches.

Practical use

In day to day marketing, the product life cycle serves as a structuring tool for product portfolios, often combined with the BCG model of Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks and Poor Dogs. In email marketing, topics, frequency and focus of campaigns can be steered in line with the life cycle phase, so the product gets the right communicative support at every stage.