t any more. Why? The cell phone, for one. And Nextel. And computers using the Internet to name a few more. And perhaps the final blow was probably a hammer called Blackberry. For privately owned public phones there was birth, a short growth spurt, a shorter-yet period of maturity – then an almost sudden death.

Want to stay in business for a while? Then get yourself more than one successful product or service, in fact, several you can sell consecutively rather than concurrently. That lengthens the combined total of all your Stuff’s “mature” lifecycles.

You know the routine. Birth. Growth. Maturity. And, ultimately, death. Some we knew have already gone through it. All of us will – eventually. We mortals experience it every day. But did you know that the same applies to businesses. More specifically to the “Stuff” they sell, their products and services.

“Stuff,” if you’ll grant me a moment to explain, long ago became my shorthand for the awkward phrase “product(s) and/or service(s).” Teaching college marketing and management courses, I wanted a single word to cover both items. “Stuff,” with a cap “S” seems to work quite nicely for everyone.

Anyway, whatever Stuff you or your company happen to sell, it’s not likely to sell well forever. There was a time when it was introduced – birth – when sales began to soar – growth – when they plateaued – maturity – and when sales of your Stuff began to steady decline – death.

Want know something else? That same cycle applies to companies, even to industries. But let’s stay with companies for a minute. If you’re a one-product or one-service company, guess what. Unless you come up with new Stuff to sell, the lifecycle of your company is going to closely resemble that of your single product or service.

But, if you sell lots of different Stuff, the lifecycle of your company can mirror the lifecycle of your single best-selling Stuff. And if you’re continually introducing new Stuff, the lifecycle of your business can be as long as the combined totals of all the “mature” cycles of your Stuff.

As you can see, companies that make or sell just one product or service don’t have a very bright future. Unless, of course, they can keep on coming up with “New” or “Improved” versions of their Stuff. A “New and Improved” campaign will work even better if you can actually justify it.

Don’t think death can happen to an industry? Well, friend, think again. Remember not too many years ago there was a big push for people to invest in privately owned “public” telephones, phones spotted in public places so that anyone could walk up to them, drop in a few coins, and talk to anyone anywhere in the world. Well, almost. Privately owned public telephones were particularly prevalent in airports and hotel lobbies.

They’re not any more. Why? The cell phone, for one. And Nextel. And computers using the Internet to name a few more. And perhaps the final blow was probably a hammer called Blackberry. For privately owned public phones there was birth, a short growth spurt, a shorter-yet period of maturity – then an almost sudden death.

Want to stay in business for a while? Then get yourself more than one successful product or service, in fact, several you can sell consecutively rather than concurrently. That lengthens the combined total of all your Stuff’s “mature” lifecycles.

“S” seems to work quite nicely for everyone.

Anyway, whatever Stuff you or your company happen to sell, it’s not likely to sell well forever. There was a time when it was introduced – birth – when sales began to soar – growth – when they plateaued – maturity – and when sales of your Stuff began to steady decline – death.

Want know something else? That same cycle applies to companies, even to industries. But let’s stay with companies for a minute. If you’re a one-product or one-service company, guess what. Unless you come up with new Stuff to sell, the lifecycle of your company is going to closely resemble that of your single product or service.

But, if you sell lots of different Stuff, the lifecycle of your company can mirror the lifecycle of your single best-selling Stuff. And if you’re continually introducing new Stuff, the lifecycle of your business can be as long as the combined totals of all the “mature” cycles of your Stuff.

As you can see, companies that make or sell just one product or service don’t have a very bright future. Unless, of course, they can keep on coming up with “New” or “Improved” versions of their Stuff. A “New and Improved” campaign will work even better if you can actually justify it.

Don’t think death can happen to an industry? Well, friend, think again. Remember not too many years ago there was a big push for people to invest in privately owned “public” telephones, phones spotted in public places so that anyone could walk up to them, drop in a few coins, and talk to anyone anywhere in the world. Well, almost. Privately owned public telephones were particularly prevalent in airports and hotel lobbies.

They’re not any more. Why? The cell phone, for one. And Nextel. And computers using the Internet to name a few more. And perhaps the final blow was probably a hammer called Blackberry. For privately owned public phones there was birth, a short growth spurt, a shorter-yet period of maturity – then an almost sudden death.

Want to stay in business for a while? Then get yourself more than one successful product or service, in fact, several you can sell consecutively rather than concurrently. That lengthens the combined total of all your Stuff’s “mature” lifecycles.

the lifecycle of your company is going to closely resemble that of your single product or service.

But, if you sell lots of different Stuff, the lifecycle of your company can mirror the lifecycle of your single best-selling Stuff. And if you’re continually introducing new Stuff, the lifecycle of your business can be as long as the combined totals of all the “mature” cycles of your Stuff.

As you can see, companies that make or sell just one product or service don’t have a very bright future. Unless, of course, they can keep on coming up with “New” or “Improved” versions of their Stuff. A “New and Improved” campaign will work even better if you can actually justify it.

Don’t think death can happen to an industry? Well, friend, think again. Remember not too many years ago there was a big push for people to invest in privately owned “public” telephones, phones spotted in public places so that anyone could walk up to them, drop in a few coins, and talk to anyone anywhere in the world. Well, almost. Privately owned public telephones were particularly prevalent in airports and hotel lobbies.

They’re not any more. Why? The cell phone, for one. And Nextel. And computers using the Internet to name a few more. And perhaps the final blow was probably a hammer called Blackberry. For privately owned public phones there was birth, a short growth spurt, a shorter-yet period of maturity – then an almost sudden death.

Want to stay in business for a while? Then get yourself more than one successful product or service, in fact, several you can sell consecutively rather than concurrently. That lengthens the combined total of all your Stuff’s “mature” lifecycles.

mproved” versions of their Stuff. A “New and Improved” campaign will work even better if you can actually justify it.

Don’t think death can happen to an industry? Well, friend, think again. Remember not too many years ago there was a big push for people to invest in privately owned “public” telephones, phones spotted in public places so that anyone could walk up to them, drop in a few coins, and talk to anyone anywhere in the world. Well, almost. Privately owned public telephones were particularly prevalent in airports and hotel lobbies.

They’re not any more. Why? The cell phone, for one. And Nextel. And computers using the Internet to name a few more. And perhaps the final blow was probably a hammer called Blackberry. For privately owned public phones there was birth, a short growth spurt, a shorter-yet period of maturity – then an almost sudden death.

Want to stay in business for a while? Then get yourself more than one successful product or service, in fact, several you can sell consecutively rather than concurrently. That lengthens the combined total of all your Stuff’s “mature” lifecycles.

t any more. Why? The cell phone, for one. And Nextel. And computers using the Internet to name a few more. And perhaps the final blow was probably a hammer called Blackberry. For privately owned public phones there was birth, a short growth spurt, a shorter-yet period of maturity – then an almost sudden death.

Want to stay in business for a while? Then get yourself more than one successful product or service, in fact, several you can sell consecutively rather than concurrently. That lengthens the combined total of all your Stuff’s “mature” lifecycles. The other way is to find ways to periodically make your Stuff “New and Improved!” by adding new buyer-related benefits rather than just Stuff-related features.