Maturity Stage:

In this stage the sales growth rate slows down and sales reach their peak. This stage which lasts longer than previous stages is divided into:

            i.  growth maturity-where sales increase at a decreasing rate

            ii. stable maturity-sales have flattened and the market is saturated and

            iii. decaying maturity-the absolute level of sales starts to decline and customers start switching to other products and substitutes. The industry experiences over-capacity which leads to intense competition. A marketing manager must carefully combine market modification, product modification and marketing mix modification in order to devise a marketing programme that will efficiently help him achieve his objectives.