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Decline Stage of Product

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Decline Stage
A product form has reached this stage when it becomes clear the market is no longer able to sustain itself. Like the Maturity stage, the Decline stage may last a long time especially for products that have been adopted by a large percentage of the market who are not inclined to change how they satisfy their needs (i.e., Laggards). Since the end of the product form is seen as inevitable, there are no sub-stages here.
Characteristics:
· Competition: As time goes on firms drop out until no one is producing the product.
· Target Market: Mostly consists of Laggards who have been loyal to this type of product for a long time and have not moved on to newer products.
· Product: No new improvements are introduced and some …show more content…

However, competitors do not always conform to theoretical models. Some will always compete on brand first and leave it to others to build market interest for the product form. Arguments can also be made that competitors will respond differently than what the PLC suggests on such issues as pricing, number of product options, spending on declining products, to name a few.
· Impact of External Forces – The PLC assumes customers’ decisions are primarily impacted by the marketing activities of the companies selling in the market. In fact, as we discussed in the Managing External Forces Tutorial, there are many other factors that can affect a market which are not controlled by marketers. Such factors (e.g., social changes, technological innovation) can lead to changes in market demand at rates that are much more rapid than would occur if only marketing decisions were being changed (i.e., if everything was held constant except for company’s marketing decisions).
· Use for Forecasting – The impact of external forces makes it difficult to use the PLC as a forecasting tool. For instance, market factors not directly associated with the marketing activities of market competitors, such as economic conditions, may have a greater impact on reducing demand than customers’ interest in the product. Consequently, what may be forecasted

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