Product Life Cycle: PLC

PLC: Product Life Cycle

Through PLC company will know

• Product have a limited life
• Product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunies, and problems to the seller
• Profit rise and fall from different stages of the plc
• Product required different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing and human resource strategies in each plc stage

PLC is in curve shaped, this curve is typically divided into four stage: Introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

Introduction: This is most costly stag in PLC, in this stage company introduced new product, built market. The size of market product is small, therefore profit also low.

Growth: Strong growth in sales and profit. Company built brand preference and market shares

Maturity: A slowdown in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Profit stabilize or decline because of increased competition. This is probably the most competitive time for most products or businesses, to maintain market share need to invest wisely in marketing. Need to product modification or improvements which might give them a competitive advantage.

Decline: Product will start to shrink, sales show a downward drift and profits erode.

Example:

Introduction stage: 3D TVs

Growth Stage: LED TVs

Maturity Stage: DVD

Decline Stage: CD