What are growth and maturity stages? Why are they different? How to determine them? Let me attempt to put in one statement. Increasing the customer base is growth however, converting them into loyal customers is maturity stage. Each stage of the product is crucial and challenging, need to setup different processes and define strategies. The best way to define growth and maturity is proving and continuously proving. To prove continuously numerus measures are required.

If we observe carefully both are parallelly aligned. Methods to convert from growth to maturity should be taken place in the stage of growth. Let me make it more clear. Assume growth has three different stages, from first to second, and from second to third. The actions, processes and strategies should be matured from stage to stage. So, it is proved that both are not separate.

Well, there are various factors in the growth stage, how to make them matured?

The team

Eventually, the team would stick to the company when the product is in growth. When the customer base is getting increased, when revenue is getting generated, when the customers are getting converted into loyal base. When customer satisfaction is high, when a real problem is solved with the product. Naturally, the core team would like to monetize the time and efforts which is good but few people in the team may start threatening. Of course, the core team has the dependency built it up.

Managing the team in growth stage and in crisis is maturity here. The strategies and processes which deals the situation can take the team into matured stage.

The customer

In the growth stage, when customer is looking for better alternative, better pricing model, better quality, better deals & offers, better customer care, better market share and better performance, the product should be matured enough to deal the betterment. Few customers may jealous about the growth so that they may take the business back either. Eventually, processes should be set it up and strategies should be determined to take customer satisfaction from growth to matured stage.

The investor

Growth stage is the better stage for any investor. The nature of the business of an investor is to make maximum money in the growth stage. When the investor wants to make money, when the investor find next level investor, when the investor stop pumping the money or when the investor wants to take over the product/company, Great planning is needed to fix the crisis situation and take the product/company from growth stage to matured stage.

Expanding wings

Expansion is the growth or growth is the expansion, this is the concept majority of the people believe in. Quality growth matters to build a brand. Expanding wings in shortest possible time may build temporary bond but certainly not a brand. The product growth is ultimate when growth is from all directions, when the growth is from dealers, when the growth is from associates, when the growth is from customers. However, the shortest time possible in the product life cycle is to digest the growth and act on it. So, expand the wings when the system is matured enough to deal the growth.

Competition

The biggest animal to deal with in the growth stage is competition. When people from your core team started the similar product to build, When competitor copying the formula, when the competitor is fussing, when the competitor is negative marketing, when the competitor is producing better product for a better price, when the direct and indirect competitors are making sleeplessness nights. A right matured strategy should be prepared to deal the competition in the growth stage.

Innovation

The maturity of a product is continuous innovation regardless of business. So, no matter what, there should be a process in place to the product get matured.

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