The 6 Stages of the Product Life Cycle [+Examples]

In the marketing industry, the typical depiction of the product life cycle only has four main stages — Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. At HubSpot, we agree that these are vital for a product, but the two stages “Development” and “Decline” aren’t nearly covered enough.

As marketers, it’s important to understand how your tactics and strategies change depending on the stage your product is in. Let’s break down each of the six stages of the product life cycle.

1. Development

The development stage of the product life cycle is the research phase before a product is introduced to the marketplace. This is when companies bring in investors, develop prototypes, test product effectiveness, and strategize their launch.

In this stage, companies typically spend a lot of money without bringing in any revenue because the product isn’t being sold yet.

This phase can last for a long time, depending on the complexity of the product, how new it is, and the competition. For a completely new product, the development stage is particularly difficult because the first pioneer of a product isn’t always as successful as later iterations.

Before full-scale production, the product may be released in a limited market or region for testing purposes. This allows companies to assess market acceptance, gather user feedback, and make necessary adjustments before a wider launch.

2. Introduction

The introduction stage happens when a product is launched in the marketplace. This is when marketing teams begin building product awareness and targeting potential customers. Typically, when a product is introduced, sales are low and demand builds slowly.

In this phase, marketers focus on advertising and marketing campaigns. They also work on testing distribution channels and building product and brand awareness.

This stage is crucial because companies have the opportunity to shake up the status quo and capture the attention and loyalty of early adopters. The positive experiences and word-of-mouth recommendations from these early customers can influence the broader target market and accelerate product adoption.

Some examples of products currently in the introduction stage include:

Ultimately, the success of this stage sets the foundation for the product’s future growth and success in subsequent stages of the product life cycle.

3. Growth

During the growth stage, consumers have accepted the product in the market and customers are beginning to truly buy in. That means demand and profits are growing, hopefully at a steadily rapid pace. This momentum is crucial for sustaining business operations, funding further product development, and generating returns on investment.

As companies scale, they can benefit from lower per-unit production costs, improved supplier relationships, and optimized distribution networks.

However, there are some challenges that come with the growth stage. As the market for the product expands, competition grows. Potential competitors will see your success and will want in.

Some products that are currently in the growth stage are:

• Smartwatches
• Electric cars
• Peloton

During this stage, it’s important to keep attracting new customers and solidify your brand image so you can stay ahead of the competition.

4. Maturity

The maturity stage is when the sales begin to level off from the rapid growth period. At this point, companies begin to reduce their prices so they can stay competitive amongst the growing competition. Streamlining production processes, negotiating favorable supplier contracts, and optimizing distribution networks also become important considerations.

This is the phase where a company begins to become more efficient and learns from the mistakes made in the introduction and growth stages. Marketing campaigns are typically focused on differentiation rather than awareness. This means that product features might be enhanced, prices might be lowered, and distribution becomes more intensive.

During the maturity stage, products begin to enter the most profitable stage. The cost of production declines while the sales are increasing.

Examples:

• Smartphones
• Amazon
• Video game consoles

5. Saturation

During the product saturation stage, competitors have begun to take a portion of the market and products will experience neither growth nor decline in sales.

Typically, this is the point when most consumers are using a product, but there are many competing companies. At this point, you want your product to become the brand preference so you don’t enter the decline stage. To achieve this, you’ll want to focus on providing exceptional service and building strong relationships with your customers.

In a saturated market, innovation also becomes essential to stay relevant. Businesses must continuously invest in research and development to improve products and offer new features. Failure to do so may lead to product obsolescence and loss of market share.

Some examples of products in the saturation stage are:

• Streaming services
• Breakfast cereals
• Soft drinks

6. Decline

Unfortunately, if your product doesn‘t become the preferred brand in a marketplace, you’ll typically experience a decline. Sales will decrease during the heightened competition, which is hard to overcome.

Decline also occurs when products become outdated or less relevant as newer technologies enter the market. Consumers may turn to more advanced options, rendering the declining product less desirable.

If a company is at this stage, it’ll either discontinue its product, sell the company, or innovate and iterate on its product in some way.

Here are a few examples of products in the decline stage:

• CDs and cassette tapes
• Landline telephones
• DVDs

The best companies will usually have products at several points in the product life cycle at any given time. Some companies look to other countries to begin the cycle anew.

Importance of the Product Life Cycle

The product life cycle is important because it informs an organization’s management and decision-makers how well a product is performing and what strategic actions it will take to succeed. This helps companies allocate resources like staff, budgets, shows which products should be prioritized, and where the company should innovate next.

Other benefits of using the product life cycle include:

• Make better marketing investments and decisions
• Easier to make long-term plans
• Allows for better decision making with accurate information on performance
• Easier to streamline current processes within your company

Product Life Cycle Limitations

While using the PLC method certainly helps stakeholders plan, it does have limitations. The cycle breaks down performance over several stages, but unfortunately there is no way to tell how long each stage will last.

Complicating things further, not all products will move through these stages at the same pace. For example, a product may take longer to decline than others. Plus product managers run the risk of not dedicating enough effort and resources into a particular product if they think the product will decline, creating planned obsolescence – even if customers still use it.

Breaking Down the Product Life Cycle Theory

In the late ‘60s, Harvard Business School professor Raymond Vernon developed this marketing theory in response to an economic model that failed to account for trends present in international trade – that’s why it was originally called the international product life cycle theory.

It stated that products developed in an international market had three phases:

• New product
• Maturing product
• Standardized product

Here’s a quick breakdown of his theory.

Vernon theorized a new product would perform best in its country of origin to keep manufacturing and production costs low. Once the product gained demand, companies could begin exporting to other countries and continue building local production plants in each new location.

Having these local plants would offer the flexibility to make changes to the product without incurring huge costs.

The standardized phase would involve an influx of competitors, which would lead the company to focus on driving down production and manufacturing costs to remain competitive. As the market becomes saturated and a new product gets introduced, the company loses its relevance in its home country and shifts gears to create something new, with the cycle beginning again.

Since then, the product life cycle theory has evolved to focus less on geography and more on marketing. Let’s dive into it next.

Consider collaborating with influencers or industry experts who have a strong following and influence in your target market. Encourage them to review and promote your product through blog posts, vlogs, social media posts, or sponsored content. Their endorsement can help generate credibility and reach a wider audience.

Education is vital in this stage. If your marketing strategies are successful, the product goes into the next stage — growth.

Growth Stage Marketing Strategy

During this phase, marketing campaigns often shift from getting customers’ buy-in to establishing a brand presence so consumers choose them over developing competitors.

One way to do this is by allocating resources to digital marketing channels like social media advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, and influencer partnerships. Then, leverage data analytics to target and reach your ideal customers effectively.

Additionally, as companies grow, they’ll begin to open new distribution channels and add more features and support services. Consider partnering with retailers, entering new markets, or exploring e-commerce platforms to reach a wider customer base. In your strategy, you’ll advertise these as well.

Maturity Stage Marketing Strategy

When your product has become a mature offering, you may feel like you’re “sailing by” because sales are steady and the product has been established. But this is where it’s critical to establish yourself as a leader and differentiate your brand.

Consider sharing valuable and educational content, such as blog posts and industry insights, to position your brand as an authority. Educate potential customers about the benefits and value they can gain from your product.

Continuously improve upon the product as adoption grows, and let consumers know in your marketing strategy that the product they love is better than it was before. This will protect you during the next stage — saturation.

Saturation Stage Marketing Strategy

When the market has become saturated, you’ll need to focus on brand awareness and differentiation.

Identify specific customer segments within your market and tailor marketing efforts to appeal to their specific needs and preferences. Refine your messaging and positioning to resonate with each segment, allowing for a more targeted and efficient marketing approach.

You’ll also want to focus on retaining and strengthening relationships with your existing customers. Consider creating a personalized customer service experience and introducing new product features, loyalty programs, packaging options, or bundling with complementary products.

Competition is highest at this stage, so it’s critical to leave no doubt regarding the superiority of your product.

If innovation at the product level isn’t possible (because the product only needs minor tweaks at this point), then invest in your customer service and use customer testimonials in your marketing.

Decline Stage Marketing Strategy

While companies would want to avoid the decline stage, sometimes there’s no helping it — especially if the entire market reached a decline. In your marketing strategy, you can emphasize the superiority of your solution to successfully get out of this stage.

To extend the product life cycle, successful companies can also implement new advertising strategies, reduce prices, add new features to increase their value proposition, explore new markets, or adjust brand packaging.

Unfortunately, not every company is successful at pivoting their product out of the decline stage. If the product is obsolete or financially unviable, it may be best to plan for an orderly exit from the market.

Now that we’ve gone through stages and history, let’s review some real-life examples of them in action.

Let’s follow the product life cycle of popular products that have since reached the decline stage.

1. The Typewriter

The typewriter was the first mechanical writing tool — a worthy successor to pen and paper. Ultimately, however, other technologies gained traction and replaced it.

When to Use the Product Life Cycle

Businesses use the product life cycle to achieve the following:

The product life cycle benefits businesses because they can shift their wording and positioning to best market the product at the stage it is in. If your product has recently been introduced and you try to market it as a long-established solution, consumers will see right through it and trust you less as a result.

Keep Your Product’s Life Cycle in Mind

Whether you’re developing a brand new product or working with a mature, well-established brand, you can use the product life cycle stages as a guide for your marketing campaigns.

Each stage will dictate how you inform your audience about the product, how you position your brand in the marketplace, and how you decide to move forward after the decline stage.

By keeping your product’s life cycle in mind, you can invest in better marketing campaigns that result in a higher ROI.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.