Product Life Cycle (Edexcel IGCSE Business)
Exam board Pearson Edexcel · IGCSEUpdated 2025-06-23
Stages in the product life cycle
Spec point —
4.3.1· product life cycle – main phases
- The product life cycle describes the different stages a product goes through from its conception to its eventual decline in sales
- There are typically five stages in the product life cycle: development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline
The product life cycle
*The five stages a product goes through over its life span - from initial development to eventual decline *
- The implications for marketing actions vary at each stage of the product life cycle
- Companies should tailor their marketing strategies to each stage to ensure long-term success
Marketing strategies and the product life cycle
| Stage | Explanation | Marketing strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Development | - The focus is on designing and developing the product - The business usually incurs high costs for research and development, market research, and product testing | - Marketing strategy during this stage is focused on creating awareness and generating interest in the product |
| Introduction | - The stage begins when the product is launched - Characterised by slow sales growth as the product is still new and unknown to most consumers | - Marketing efforts are focused on creating awareness and generating interest in the product |
| Growth | - The product enters this stage when sales begin to increase rapidly - The business focus shifts to **building market share and increasing production to meet this growing demand | - The marketing strategy is to differentiate the product** from its competitors and build brand loyalty |
| Maturity | - Characterised by high sales but slowing sales growth - Market saturation is likely | - The marketing strategy aims to maintain market share and increase profitability by cutting costs and finding new markets |
| Decline | - Starts when sales begin to decline as the product becomes obsolete or is replaced by newer products - The business focus shifts to managing the product's decline and reducing costs | - The marketing strategy may involve discontinuing the product, reducing prices to clear stock or finding new uses for the product |
Exam Hint You do not need to consider cash flow or profitability over the product life cycle.
Extension strategies
Spec point —
4.3.1· product life cycle – extension strategies
-
Extension strategies refer to the techniques used by businesses to extend the life of a product beyond its natural life cycle
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These strategies are designed to boost sales and maintain profitability for a product that has reached the late maturity or decline stage of its life cycle
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There are two types of extension strategies which are often implemented at the same time
- Product-related extension strategies
- Promotion-related extension strategies
A comparison of product and promotion-related extension strategies
| Extension strategy | Explanation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Product-related | - Changing or modifying the product to make it more appealing to customers - This could involve improving or adding features, increasing capacity or redesigning its appearance | - Product improvements e.g. Samsung releases new versions of its Galaxy Smartphone every year with upgraded features and improvements to the previous model - Line extensions e.g. Coca-Cola introduced Diet Coke and Coke Zero as line extensions of its original Coca-Cola - Repositioning e.g. when IBM's personal computer division started losing market share to other brands, it repositioned its products as high-end business machines and focused on the enterprise market |
| Promotion-related | - Changing promotional activity related to the product - This could involve changes to advertising, different pricing tactics or attractive sales promotions | - Changes to advertising e.g Kellogg's continues to recreate adverts for its Corn Flakes cereal which has been around since 1906 - Price promotions e.g. Cyber Monday occurs on the first Monday after Thanksgiving in the USA and electronic firms discount prices significantly in order to boost sales of their products - Sales promotions e.g. many coffee shops offer a loyalty program where customers can earn a free drink for every six drinks consumed |
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