A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. This sequence is known as the product life cycle and is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix.
The product revenue and profits can be plotted as a function of the life-cycle stages as shown in the graph below:

The first stage is known as the Introduction Stage. In this stage, the main goal of the organization is to commercialize the product, and make potential buyers aware of its existence. At this point, the sales generated are usually low and the profits are typically low or none at all. Due to the fact that the company is paying a lot for advertising and brand building, the customer pays a high price for the product. This stage is also characterized by high distribution costs. At this point of time the product offered is still in its most basic form.

The second stage is known as the Growth Stage. This stage is mainly characterized, for successful products, by a tremendous increase in sales. New customers are added while existing customers are making repeated purchases. By now however, competitors have introduced similar products, with a large number of sales and competitors the price is lowered to make the product more attractive for potential buyers.”.

The next stage for products is the Maturity stage. Typically, this is the longest part of the cycle. At this point of time, their sales peak, there are also many number of competitors and because of this, the brands starts to look very much alike. With a high number of sales and competitors the price drops further for customers. The product diversifies in terms of brands and models. The advertising team tries to further stress brand differences and benefits, while the marketing department tries to maximize profits while