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In the dynamic world of product management, understanding the nuances of the Product Life Cycle is not just rewarding but key to success. PLC is a step-by-step guide that helps manage a product right from its idea stage to phasing out the product.
For the product manager, this is the map that ensures optimization of resources in the right direction, correct positioning of strategies, and sustained profitability over time.
The Product Life Cycle consists of four stages:
Each of these stages has something different in store for product managers as far as approach, strategy, and decisions are concerned.
Product managers focus on accomplishing a successful launch of the product and building up market presence during this stage.
Challenges:
Strategies:
Example: Apple, upon release, positioned the iPhone as a breakthrough product in terms of a touch user interface; early adopters were encouraged to buy through premium pricing, supported through focused marketing mix.
The focus is on product reach and the momentum to be sustained during the growth stage.
Challenges:
Strategies:
Example: In its growth stage, Netflix expanded globally and introduced original content to make itself different and ahead of the competitors like Hulu.
In the maturity stage, the focus is to sustain revenue and find incremental growth opportunities in a saturated market.
Challenges:
Strategies:
Example: It contains the diversification strategy of Coca-Cola on product lines, such as diet sodas or flavored drinks, and investments in aggressive branding so that it can stay on top.
The decline stage is often accompanied by a difficult decision when the product’s reinvestment or pivoting in another direction comes into consideration.
Challenges:
Strategies:
Example: The shift of Microsoft from Internet Explorer to Edge is one of the ideal examples of product reinvention in a decline stage.
Various tools and frameworks that would effectively enable product managers to manage PLC are:
Pricing evolves along the PLC:
Each stage calls for a different approach to marketing:
Tracking the right metrics will ensure success.
Rather than a theoretical model, the Product Life Cycle is a practical tool driving strategic decisions. Understanding the problems and opportunities presented in each stage of the PLC, using data-driven approaches, and encouraging cross-functional collaboration will position the product manager to maximize a product’s value and achieve enduring success.
As a product manager, this means your job is not simply to manage the PLC but to master it—to transform knowledge into meaningful and effective action that determines long-term market results.
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