What is the product life cycle? The product life cycle is a “useful tool for developing marketing strategy and then revising this strategy as a product moves through the stages of introduction, growth, maturity and decline” (Shank &Lyberger).
In these four stages you’re able to experience what it is a company must go through to become a successful and consistent. In the introduction phase, you are just getting people familiar with your product so sales in the beginning may not be what you want them to be. But as you grow and get your item out there your company begins to grow and your sales start to rise and the product is becoming a want or need for consumers all taking place in the growth phase. In the maturity phase, you are at the peak performance and bring in the most sales you ever have and try to promote it in different ways to continue growing. However, in the decline phase, your sales and profit all begin to drop and you sell at a much lower rate then what you had originally started with. Thats why when it comes to expanding, you as the producer, need to find a way that can set you apart from your competition that keeps you in the market.
To extend the product life cycle or PLC you have to think outside the box, for example the iPhone, it has been the phone to want for the past 10 years or so and here’s why, they’ve expanded. They aren’t just seen as phones you are able to have access to all things possible on your phone whether that be high definition pictures or FaceTiming, they’ve changed the game. Apple itself took away the home button and made the whole face of the phone the screen. They want you to get the most out of each product and thats why they have different colors and not just your standard black or gray phone like other companies tend to do. By expanding their product they can add new additions and updates to help your phone run more smoothly and efficiently.
The PLC for sports marketers differs from the traditional PLC because it allows for sports organizations the opportunity for different off-season enhancements to the program or organization. The PLC is used for multiple purposes but the main objective of the PLC is that it’s used in deciding when it may be appropriate to increase certain advertising, reduce the prices of items, expand into new markets, and/or redesign the packaging of the product.
Professional Athletes and the PLC
Some athletes can be put into the PLC and represent a different stage. For example, Luka Doncic, is a shooting guard that plays for the Dallas Mavericks and was just recently drafted in 2018. He, along with the ones that had been drafted at the same time as him and the ones drafted in 2017, are in the introduction stage of the PLC and I believe this is true because of how young most of these players are and what they are trying to accomplish by becoming a well known athlete and star in the sport they play.
Another player who is a great example for the PLC is LeBron James. LeBron is a Small forward/Power forward that has been in the NBA since 2003 where he was drafted right out of high school by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round as the first pick. He now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and is in my eyes at the top of his game. He holds many accolades and is one of if not the best player to ever play the game we all know and love, some even consider him to be G.O.A.T meaning greatest of all time. He resembles much of the maturity stage where he’s at the top of his game and making the most money he possibly can while staring in movies and playing basketball at the same time. He represents the maturity stage so well because of how long he’s been in the NBA and how he can continue to produce at his maximum effort. He hasn’t started to decline and is way to experienced to be continuing in the growth section.
Finally, the last player that may represent a stage of the PLC is Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk Nowitzki is from Wurzburg, Germany and plays power forward for the Dallas Mavericks and has been in the league for the past 20 years. Just like LeBron he’s a very decorated athlete by all the accolades in which he has received over the past 20 years. But something that stands out to me is that, by this being his last year, he’s been sitting more then playing which means his minutes have been declining which brings me to my point of the PLC and how he may represent the declining stage. He was at the top of his game at one point but now as he’s gotten older and he realizes his minutes and production will drop which is why I’ve put him in the declining stage. He will go down as one of the best power forwards to play the game of basketball.
Work Cited
Sports Marketing, A strategic perspective, Matthew D. Shank & Mark R. Lyberger
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