What do you think is the most important stage in a product’s life cycle?
The product life cycle (2021)
Now that you have covered the basics of the product life cycle, complete the following exercise.
Instructions: Determining the most important stage in the cycle
- Reflect on what you think is the most important stage in this cycle.
- Write your answer in the discussion below, and explain why you think your chosen PLC stage is the most important.
- Try to find a real-world example that you can use in answering this. It might be an example from your professional experience or one you’ve found elsewhere.
- Reflect on at least one of comments from random learners below. Do you agree with their response? How do their experiences differ from yours?
Molly Campbell
What comes to mind as the most important stage for me is the decline stage. With the ever changing tech landscape, I feel that apps/websites etc have such a difficult task of staying relevant. Social media apps are what I thought of in this situation. Apps/sites such as Facebook or Instagram are now competing with SnapChat and TikTok, so both have updated their functions to include more video and filters, etc to be relevant in that market. They are trying extremely hard to prevent their decline and become obsolete. I do agree with others that development is very important as well, and the example I gave may have to go back to the development stage in a sense to redesign and update things to meet consumer demands.
Christina Bek Larsen
As it is a cycle, I find it very difficult to point to one stage as the most important one. One stage doesn’t exist without the previous one, I suppose. I think each stage requires something specific from the PM. With competition and evolving needs in mind, I am thinking about the growth stage as being a tricky stage. To keep relevant and ensure your rpoduct is growing seems like a challenge.
Ibukun Oni
I think the “Development stage” is the most important phase because if the right product is not developed to meet the needs of customers, then efforts during the other stages become futile.
I recall developing a digital product, the first assignment of the project team was to ensure that the product met the needs of our customers.
Chibuzo Anazodo
I think the Development stage is the most important because that is where you figure out what fits your consumers needs as well as trends in your industry to adapt or avoid to build a product that will thrive through all stages and still remain relevant after Maturity.
Peter Scheinsohn
I would say introduction, is most important step in the product life cycle. Even, if product was properly developed, but not good enough introduced and advertised or not clear enough introduced for which group it is, it will significantly influence its further growth. However, i also agree that proper development stage and growth stage are also very important, but good start (“introduction”) is vital in my humble opinion.
The introduction phase is the most important in a product’s lifecycle. This phase determines how the target audience responds to the product; this will either lead to its fall before it even gets a chance to begin its journey or to the growth phase.
An example is Hypo Bleach’s entry into the market, which pulled its audience in one fell swoop. This led to its growth phase, which they had to maintain and groom.
I think introduction stage is the most important and most difficult stage of a product, because at the introduction stage you are trying to introduce a new product to the audience in a very competitive market, this stage requires advertisement and publicity, it can be very difficult convincing consumers to try a new product in an era we have so much competitions in the market. So my believe is that the introduction stage is the most important stage cos if a product is not properly introduced it would lead to failure of the product and won’t be able to get to growth or maturity stage.
My thoughts exactly. It is important to get it right from the beginning; if not, the growth phase may be a struggle if it ever gets there.
The introduction stage is the most important phase of the product life cycle. With the evolving technology, people tend to buy things based on reviews or ratings. It can be very difficult to convince individuals to buy a newly introduced product without reviews or rating even if the product is exactly what the consumers need.
I think development stage is very important because at that stage, you figure out who your costumers are, what they actually want and how to best satisfy the needs of your targeted costumers. By so doing you will be able to produce what will best suit and satisfy your costumers effectively.
I think the development stage is the most important stage, because that is where the whole analysis is been put together and this is where determine if customers which are the final consumer of the product fall in love with the product or not, if the developing stage fail the whole process fail too. A good product can actually market itself.
To me, I believe the most important stage in the product’s lifecycle is the Development stage. The development stage holds the key to success, as it’s where we tailor the product to customer needs and industry trends. This ensures adaptability throughout its lifecycle, allowing it to stay relevant even after reaching maturity.
All stages play a crucial role but I lean towards the i troduction stage more than any. I acquired skill on pastry making (my development stage). Introduction stage was where my attempt at making a name for myself as a Baker ended. Getting customers proved to be harder than i thought and the little I got, I worked more than the profit i was getting.
All the stages are very important. Just like the way Human is structured. Each part needs another. But, i strongly believe that the Development stage is highly essentially because if you do not develop a product? There would be nothing to introduce. For example, you want to make a dish wash. You would need to get your materials and then turn into a refined product (This process is Development) because you won’t be able to convince your buyer with just words of the mouth. When prospects are introduced to your product, then you tend to grow and become mature in managing your product.
introduction stage lays the foundation for a product’s success by shaping consumer perceptions, establishing market presence, and setting the stage for future growth and adaptation. Therefore, it’s crucial for companies to approach this stage with careful planning, innovation, and strategic execution.
Introduction stage of the iPhone exemplifies its importance in shaping consumer perceptions, establishing market presence, building momentum, and informing future product iterations. The iPhone’s successful introduction not only revolutionized the smartphone industry but also cemented Apple’s position as a leader in innovation and design.
I agreed to all the above response but for me, the most important stage is the ‘introduction stage”. As the high stakes period in product life cycle our actions and inactions goes a long way in affecting the PLC positively or negatively. Approach used in releasing the product to the market plays a major role on the acceptability of such product in the market place.
Product development stages are linear, and the stages rely on one another; however, I think the growth stage is very important. Here, your product is at a very delicate stage and would require more attention and innovation, product updates, UI/UX revamps, etc. Basically, you’re doing all you can to keep your product relevant to your users, attract more attention, and stay top of mind.