Product life cycle (PLC)

Welcome, everyone. Today, we're focusing on the product life cycle or PLC, a key concept in marketing and business andategy. The PLC is like a product's biography, tracing its journey from initial idea to eventual market retirement. Products typically pass through phases, development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. While the timeline can vary, understanding these stages helps companies make informed decisions about investment, marketing and distribution to optimize sales and profitability. Let's now examine what happens during each stage of the product life cycle. The first stage development occurs before the product is on the market, marked by research, design, testing, rising costs, and no sales income. Next is the introduction phase. When sales build slowly, advertising costs are high, and profitability is often minimal or negative. In the growth stage, sales rise rapidly, profits climb and competitors may enter. Maturity follows with peak sales and intense competition, making differentiation vital. Finally, the decline stage sees falling sales and profits as customer needs change or substitutes arise. Understanding the PLC isn't just about anticipating decline, it's about finding ways to extend product success. In the growth and maturity stages, continual innovation and market segmentation are essential. For example, Procter and Gamble's Orchid stayed market leader in