Product Lifecycle

What is the product lifecycle?

The product lifecycle is the journey that your product takes from its initial conception through to its eventual retirement. Understanding this lifecycle can help you better plan outreach activities with your partners.

The product lifecycle typically follows a few key stages:

• Development: This is where your product is just an idea. It involves designing, developing, and getting the product ready for the market. You may co-innovate with partners to create this product.
• Introduction: Your product is launched into the market. At this stage, it’s all about raising awareness, working with partners to extend reach, and building an initial customer base.
• Growth: As your product becomes more popular, sales begin to grow. This is a vital stage for building a strong market presence and collaborating with partners to grow sales.
• Maturity: Your product has reached peak popularity and sales are steady. It’s a chance to maximize profitability while competition may increase. Work with partners during this stage to add more value to the product or support services.
• Decline: Sales start to drop as the market becomes saturated, customer preferences change, or newer products are introduced.

Understanding this lifecycle can help you and your partners better strategize sales and marketing efforts. For instance, in the growth stage, you might ramp up marketing activities or offer incentives for partners to push sales. On the other hand, during the decline stage, you might start planning for the next product or look for ways to extend the life of the current product.

Ultimately, being familiar with your product lifecycle enables you to forecast sales, plan for the future, and maintain a stronger relationship with your channel partners by providing them with the information they need to succeed.

Related content:

Channel Sales | Distribution Channels | Ecosystem-Led Growth (ELG)