S-Curve Life Cycle Analysis Template

Description
The assumption behind this model is that generally, a product's life-cycle follows a curve that is S-shaped and has three main phases:

Emergent phase: characterized by small number of firms, revenues that are low, and negative or zero margins

Growth phase: rapidly increasing margins (less so in the final part of the growth phase) and number of firms

Mature phase: low increase rate of global revenues as well as margins and number of firms decreasing. At this stage, the product can start a decline phase, e.g. if a more modern, substitute product is introduced or if there is higher demand.

It is essential that you identify the phase that your product is in. For this purpose, you should identify the trend in the revenues, number of firms, and margins. However, this analysis can be complimented with a statistical approach that is able to help with forecasting future growth.