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 development stage is the most important and my reason is the right product has to be developed to meet the need of customers therefore ensuring the acceptability of the product when it gets to launch
I would say that “Development Stage” is the most important phase. it’s during this stage that the ” customer at heart, demographic trends, and other phases are considered.
Hi,in my own opinion,all stages are very important up from the development to decline stage..but the most important is the growth and maturity stage because is a very risky stage which has to be monitored in other to keep the product relevant and all to prevent it declining.
At this I think the introduction stage is the most important, giving example with myself as a. Business person, most products in the market are very good but due to lack of strategic marketing it tends to wither or dumped aside.
All stages are important in a product life cycle but in my opinion, I strongly believe that the Maturity phase is the most important and from a financial point of view because this is the period when the product is at its most profitable.
For me, the most important stage in the product life cycle is the development stage. This very stage determines how relevant the product becomes and how long it stays in the market before declining. When the appropriate steps are taken to make a product with so much relevance, it Will have a lasting growth or maturity stage.
I’d say the most important phase for a product is the growth phase, this is post introduction stage where the product is already out there. The growth stage reflects the acceptability of the product from the audience, the value proposition agreeability and the willingness of the customers to want more.
Example;
After the launch of so fresh, customers not just bought into the idea of the need to eat right but also the product was made available to solve the issue of actually going to the local market to source for fruits that will be mixed into smoothies, parfait etc eventually so fresh carved a niche and they partner with gym centres where they also sell products. This also brought about a market segment where other competitors are also innovating as a result of so fresh venture creativity and acceptability.
Parfaits sell between N2000 and N 2500 and there is a ready market
To me, the development phase I will say is the most important phase. In the developing phase products are given all it takes to become their very best. One single mistake at this stage, can ruin the entire product life circle.
I think the introduction phase is the most important, how you present your product to the right costumer in the right conditions and circumstances sets the path for the rest of the product development iteration processes and life.
If I could catch the costumer intention to the importance of my product to solve a particular problem I am now ready to continue the improvement of the product according to the costumer appeal and feedback.
I have an example where I failed to catch the costumer attention because I was not specific about what problem I was trying to solve so I lost the interested costumer and got him lost in my product mission.
What would be the most important stage for me is the Introduction stage. I once had an idea to start a business where I could curate gift boxes the main product would be candles, scented candles and best believe I was pumped up by the idea but when I went into the “whys” and “what” “how” questionsI realized how quickly I would hit a decline even when I had the funds to go through with it.