Every product goes through a lifecycle. This life cycle is managed by marketers in four distinct stages that dictate the type of strategies that need to be used in order to maximize the profits. The four stages in order are; introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Though the development stage exists before the introduction stage, marketing plays no role in it. Only after a product or service is developed can marketing be applied to leverage it in the market.

The introduction stage is when a product or service is first introduced in the market. This stage can be characterized by slow growth as consumers are only just being made aware of the product or service. A heavy emphasis on advertising is required to reach audiences quickly. Marketing's focus during this stage is to generate a trial for the product. Analyzing how well the product or service does in relation to pricing, distribution, and competition will help in determining the strategies needed for growth.

The Growth stage is when profits first begin to accumulate. As the market notices that this industry can generate profits, competitors arise to take a share of the market. As more people have become aware of the product or service, advertising can be reduced to cut costs and increasing promotions can be utilized in order to offset competitors. Marketing's role in this stage is to focus on maximizing growth and profits.

The Maturity stage is when profit begins to stagnate. Growth stops and the competition here is the highest. In this stage, the product or service is well known, so advertisements are further reduced and promotions are further increased. A Marketer's role in this stage is to prolong the use of the product or service and squeeze out as much profit as possible.

The Decline stage is when the product begins to decrease in sales and profits. To squeeze out the remaining amounts of profits, further promotions are introduced to hold on to loyal customers. Competitors begin to drop out in the declining market. Marketing's role here is to focus on loyal customer retention or find new avenues to attract customers.

Understanding these stages are extremely useful to consumers, in other words, me. In a product or service's life cycle, the introduction and growth stage are when products are at the highest in costs. In the introduction and growth stage, the product or service is trending, meaning there is less incentive for companies to reduce prices or begin strategies to build a loyal customer base. As a consumer, it would mean that if you could resist the urge to fall into trending products and services, looking for alternative markets in the maturity and declining stages will offer cheaper products or services and more customer loyalty incentive programs. In the maturity stages where competition is the highest, companies promote their products with sales and reduce prices to squeeze as much profit as possible from the product. As the product or service begins to decline, to hold on to as many loyal customers as possible, companies will deliver better customer service and incentivize consumers on continued use of the product. In this stage is when the products or services are sold at their best value accompanied by the best service.

Businesses also greatly benefit from understanding the product life cycle. Each stage of the life cycle presents their own unique challenges for a business. Knowing each stage's challenges allows a business to plan ahead and tackle threats to its profits before it can be exploited to destroy the company. A business in the introduction stage moving into the growth stage must prepare strategies to counteract competition that will appear in the market as to ensure their shares of the market do not get devoured. A business in the growth stage moving into the maturity stage must plan ahead and be able to outlive its competitors. A strategy is required to extend the life of their product or service. Lastly a business in the growth stage that begins to decline must plan to choose between a difficult decision to dissolve, amalgamate, or introduce new additions to reinvigorate the product. These are only a few of the countless scenarios a business a must consider as a product moves through its life cycle. However, by understanding the life cycle, a business can predict, strategize, and overcome the challenges that they may face.

Consumers can be conscious about what they are buying to get the most value out of a product surviving in its later stages while a business can strategize ways to capture as many people as possible to purchase their product. Both consumers and businesses can leverage the knowledge of the product or service's life cycle to benefit the most from it. It is an important tool for a marketer to utilize to develop best practices to understand business and consumer behaviors.

comments or suggestions to the idea