Price, product, promotion and place (4Ps): Students should have an…

The idea

The cycle has four stages: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Demand is low at introduction, rises during growth, peaks at maturity and falls in decline. They should also apply the model to real or hypothetical products, suggesting how a business might respond at each stage, for example by using price skimming at introduction or extension strategies at maturity. Understanding the cycle helps businesses plan their marketing mix effectively.

What earns the marks

• Describes the product life cycle stages and links each stage to a change in demand.
• Explains why demand changes over time, referring to factors such as customer awareness, competition, changing tastes or technological advances.
• Applies the model to a specific product or service, showing how demand might rise, peak and fall.
• Suggests appropriate marketing mix responses at different stages, such as promotional offers during growth or price reductions during decline.
• Evaluates the usefulness of the product life cycle model, recognising that not all products follow the same pattern and that demand can be influenced by external factors.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Describing the stages without linking them to changes in demand.

  Put it right: The focus should be on how demand changes over time, not just naming the stages.

• Assuming demand always falls in maturity.

  Put it right: Demand may plateau rather than fall, and decline may be delayed by extension strategies.

• Ignoring the impact of external factors such as a recession or a competitor's new product, which can change demand at any stage.

• Confusing demand with sales volume.

  Put it right: Demand is the willingness and ability to buy, while sales are actual purchases; they are related but not identical.

Exam tips

• Use a diagram of the product life cycle to support your answer, labelling the axes as time and sales or demand.
• When explaining changes in demand, refer to specific stages and give a reason for each change, such as 'in growth, demand rises because more customers become aware of the product through advertising'.
• Apply your answer to the context given in the question; if the question mentions a particular business or product, use that throughout.
• For evaluation, consider whether the product life cycle is a useful planning tool for the business in question, and what limitations it has.