1. THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

2. THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
Products and services pass through various stages over time.
These stages are known as the “Product Life Cycle”
The rates of change, and the length and intensity of each stage may vary, but most life cycles follow roughly the same pattern.

4. PRODUCT INTRODUCTION
A product is developed and the company attempts to build a market for the product
Sales are low: customers unaware of product
Lots of money spent on advertising
Price is either low to attract attention or high to recover development cost
High failure rate

5. GROWTH Sales increase, rapid growth
Due to increased sales, competition is attracted
Wide advertising is carried out
Trying to gain customer preference

6. MATURITY Growth starts to flatten out Sales remain flat
Product in this stage of development is called a “Cash cow”
You have paid off all the development expenses so all the money you make is profit
Price maybe lowered
New features added to product to help fight competition
Offered at more
locations

7. DECLINE Sales are decreasing…customers move onto new products
Can be delayed/averted by advertising
Often times you will see “brand extensions” during this time i.e.

13. HOW MARKETERS USE THIS
We all have all seen advertising done with the use of product placement
i.e. we are watching a movie and all of sudden the lead character takes a Coke out of the fridge…well Coke paid a lot of money to have their product there (and not Pepsi)