Growth-Share-Size Matrix

The Growth-Share-Size Matrix, also known as the BCG Matrix, is a strategic business tool used to evaluate the relative market share and growth rate of a company's product lines or business units. It helps businesses allocate resources and prioritize investments by categorizing products into four quadrants: Stars, Question Marks, Cash Cows, and Dogs.

At a very high level, the Growth-Share-Size Matrix is used in the context of business, marketing, finance.

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What is the Growth-Share-Size Matrix?

A visual explanation is shown in the image above. The Growth-Share-Size Matrix can be described as a matrix with the following quadrants:

  1. Stars: High market growth and high market share; e.g., a leading smartphone model.
  2. Question Marks: High market growth but low market share; e.g., a new tech gadget with potential.
  3. Cash Cows: Low market growth but high market share; e.g., a popular household cleaning product.
  4. Dogs: Low market growth and low market share; e.g., an outdated software product.

What is the purpose of the Growth-Share-Size Matrix?

The Growth-Share-Size Matrix, developed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), is a strategic framework that assists companies in analyzing their product lines or business units based on market growth rate and relative market share. The matrix is divided into four quadrants:

  • Stars: High market growth and high market share. These products are leaders in their markets and require substantial investment to maintain their position and support further growth.
  • Question Marks: High market growth but low market share. These products have potential but require significant investment to increase market share. They are uncertain and could become Stars or Dogs.
  • Cash Cows: Low market growth but high market share. These products generate steady cash flow with minimal investment. They are often used to fund other business units.
  • Dogs: Low market growth and low market share. These products typically generate low returns and may be candidates for divestiture or discontinuation.

Businesses use this matrix to make informed decisions about where to invest, develop, or divest. For example, a company might decide to invest heavily in a Star product to maintain its market leadership, while using the profits from Cash Cows to support this investment. Conversely, the company might choose to divest from Dogs to free up resources for more promising opportunities.


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What templates are related to Growth-Share-Size Matrix?

The following templates can also be categorized as business, marketing, finance and are therefore related to Growth-Share-Size Matrix: Product-Market Matrix, 4 Ps Marketing Mix Matrix, AI Capability-Value Proposition Alignment Matrix, AI Innovation-Value Alignment Matrix, AI Maturity Matrix, AI-Value Proposition Alignment Matrix, AI-Value Proposition Matrix, AIDA Marketing Matrix. You can browse them using the menu above.

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