The Product Life Cycle (PLC)

What is the product life cycle? It is essentially the stages of life that a product goes through from the beginning when the product was first thought up until the product comes off the shelves. The stages in the product life cycle are as follows:

• Introduction
• Growth
• Maturity
• Decline

Introduction is the first step that a product goes through. This is where the product is initially thought up and created. The product is being heavily marketed and is going to be sold in only certain stores. This stage is creating an awareness of the product. The next step in the PLC is growth. This is where the product is making a lot of sales and companies are starting to notice the product. The third stage is is called maturity. This is where the sales growth stabilizes and price wars and sales promotion become more common. The fourth stage of PLC is decline. This is where sales start to slow down, the product may not be relevant anymore or it is not in trend.  This is where the product stays until it is taken off shelves and no longer on the market.

The PLC is very important to sports marketers because it helps them know where their product is in the cycle and helps them choose how to market the product and who to market too. It also shows them what they need to do to keep their product in the maturity level longer. Brands like Gatorade use product life cycle to make sure their products are staying on track. They come out with new flavors for consumers to try and have them rate their favorite flavors to keep making.

The Product Life Cycle of a product can be extended if companies can find how to keep their product in the maturity stage for longer. If a company keeps marketing well and keeping up with trends and having a competitive price, it can stay in the maturity level for a long time.

Lebron James is a huge basketball player right now and has been for a while. He is one of, or is, the best basketball players in the world. Everyone knows who he is.  If I were to put Lebron on the PLC he would be in the maturity stage nearer to the decline stage. Lebron is still a great basketball player, but he is getting older and is going to have to stop playing at some point.  http://www.lebronjames.com/

Michael Jordan is another great basketball player. He will forever be one of the greatest basketball players in the world. People continuously compare Michael and Lebron all the time over who the best is. Michael doesn’t play basketball because he retired some years ago. I would place Michael Jordan in the decline stage. He is no longer a huge idol in everyday media like he used to be. Yes, he is still talked about all the time and is considered the GOAT but his basketball career has ended.

Serena Williams is one of the greatest female tennis players ever. She is very powerful on the court and off the court. She has been around for a while in the athletic world but just the past few years I have really started hearing her name on the news and social media almost daily. I would place her in between the growth cycle and the maturity cycle. People already know who she is but she is still growing more attention.

References:

Times, T. E. (n.d.). The Product Life Cycle. Retrieved from The Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/product-life-cycle