Question

Topic: Student Questions

What Is A Product Life Cycle?

Posted by Anonymous on 4/5/2008 at 12:22 AM ET 250 Points
I have an assignment with several questions, one of them is 'What is the basic idea of the Product Life Cycle?' can anyone help me out, I have read the course material on it and google'd information on it but still can grasp it 100%
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  • Posted by Levon on 4/5/2008 at 12:42 AM Accepted
    Think of your own life. First you are born, then you grow and then grow some more and finally you mature. At the end of your life you start to decline - so you take some doctor prescribed drugs and you look and feel good for a little longer but eventually you peel off and die.

    The same applies to the life cycle of a product.

    A product follows the same path. First a product is born, then it experiences growth then it finally matures. Towards the end, in the maturity phase - a marketer changes the color of the product (maybe the look of the packaging) so the product lasts a little longer, but eventually it fades and dies.
  • Posted on 4/5/2008 at 1:07 AM Author
    Thanks Levon :)

    The Product Life Cycle refers to the series of changes that a product goes through. The basic idea of PLC (Product Life Cycle) is the life a product goes through in the market place, much like a normal life cycle the PLC refers to the launch, growth, maturity and death of a product. Not all products/services die for example your winter boots may fall apart after years of use but shoes will not.

    Above is what I have got for my answer so far...
  • Posted on 4/8/2008 at 10:47 AM Member
    You pretty much have the idea. When the product is part of a company's portfolio (i.e., they have multiple brands or products), very often the life cycle is defined according to a well-known model first articulated by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

    In the BCG model, products are assigned to one of four quadrants based on market size/vitality and brand share. The quadrants have been "nicknamed" QUESTION MARK, STAR, CASH COW and DOG -- each referring to a metaphor for how they're treated based on where they are in the life cycle.

    Products start out as question marks ("What will become of this?"); then they become stars (and deliver high growth and profits, good return on investment); then they become cash cows (returning cash without much investment or effort); and eventually they become dogs and are killed or allowed to die peacefully.

    Hope this helps.
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