1)Differentiate between the different characteristics of stages in the product life cycle

1. Growth stage - because early adopters will continue to buy, and later buyers will start following them, in particular due to the publicity by favourable word of mouth.

2. Maturity stage - as it is the stage where the product’s sales growth slows down or levels off after reaching a peak. The company's objective in this stage should be to maximise profits while defending market share.

3. Growth stage - In this stage, seeing to the increase in the sales, more competitors enter the market and these will introduce new product features, competition is fierce and the market will expand

4. Maturity stage - In this stage, the firms try to increase the consumption which can be done by finding new users and new market segments for the product and by increasing usage among present customers.

5. Introduction stage - Since in the initial or the introduction phase, the market is not ready for product improvements or refinements, the firms produce basic versions of the product.

6. Decline stage - proper product life cycle strategies are should be analyzed and more attention to its aging products should be given to identify products in the decline stage early. Then, the firm must take a decision: maintain, harvest or drop the declining product. Therefore, the main objective in the decline stage should be to reduce costs and “milk” the brand

7. Maturity stage - In this stage, the firm should consider to modify the market, product and marketing mix. Modifying the product refers to changing characteristics such as quality, features, style or packaging to attract new users and inspire more usage. Eg. discounts to attract new users / customers

8. Introduction stage - The introduction stage is the stage in which a new product is first distributed and made available for purchase, after having been developed in the product development stage. Therefore, the introduction stage starts when the product is first launched. But introduction can take a lot of time, and sales growth tends to be rather slow. Obviously, much money is needed to attract distributors and build their stocks. Also, promotion spending is quite high to inform consumers of the new product and get them to try it.