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.
Introduction is more important because before development there be an introduction of any products
Yetunde Oyekunle
For me, all stages are important, but I think the growth stage is vital because at this stage the company has to be on their toes to keep making the consumers satisfied, as a decline or complaints in the product can mar the chances of it getting to its optimal maturity stage, which can bring the product to a decline at a fast pace.
For me the development stage is crucial because a product has to meet and possibly exceed a consumer’s need, this is crucial in the growth and maturity of the product, its is also a determinat of how rapidly a product experiences a decline, not withstanding every stages are important and intertwined.
i believe all the stages in the product is very important from the introduction, to growth, to maturity, and the decline. But i strongly believe that the development stage is the most important as a product manager we need to be able to meet the consumer need and alos provide a long and short term decision on the product we are about developing.
Looking at the different stages, I think all the stages are important since it’s like a chain movement, one gives room to the other. But I’ll like to talk about the Maturity stage. At this point when sales begins to slow down, to maintain relevance in the market, the need to re-strategize is important else the declining stage will come in sooner than expected.
I would say Introduction because as the product gains popularity, it helps establish the brand in the market. Effective positioning is vital during this stage to create customer loyalty and ward off competitors. If the product successfully gains traction during this period, it can create a long-term, sustainable competitive advantage.
It is important to know that all stages are relevant, as each PLC co-exist. However, I would say the most important is the Decline. No one wants to produce a product and see it Decline in less than two years, let’s use the NIKE brand as a case study here. They do all they have to do to stay relevant in the market and not Decline by solving all kinds of human wants related to Fashion. In my opinion
In as much as every stage of the PLC is important, the most important stages for me are the development and introduction stage because every product needs the basic for them to strive out there, the development and introduction stages covers those basics like advertising,branding,marketing, one’s those stages are followed up properly every other stage of the product will definitely strive. Just like the saying a good building starts from the foundation.
In as much as every stage of the PLC is important, the most important stages for me are the development and introduction stage because every product needs the basic for them to strive out there, the development and introduction stages covers those basics like advertising,branding,marketing, one’s those stages are followed up properly every other stage of the product will definitely strive. Just like the saying a good building starts from that foundation.
Good day! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics? Thank you!