what are the stages of the product life cycle concept
The main stages of the product life cycle are: Introduction â researching, developing and then launching the product. Growth â when sales are increasing at their fastest rate. Maturity â sales are near their highest, but the rate of growth is slowing down, e.g. new competitors in market or saturation.
Thus, the concept of product life-cycle facilitates integrated marketing policies relating to product, price, place and promotion/distribution. The advantages of PLC to a firm are as follows: When the product life-cycle is predictable, the management must be cautious in taking advance steps before the decline stage, by adopting product modification, pricing strategies, style, quality, change, etc. The firm can prepare an effective product plan by knowing the product life-cycle of a product.