The Boston Consulting Groups growth-share matrix is a useful tool when product line decisions are to be made by the company as it compares market growth with market share. The model illustrates whether the business has a good balanced product portfolio, thus, enabling the business to use money from its ‘cash cows’ to invest into its ‘question marks’ so they can consequently become ‘stars’. It is highly important to consider every product when assembling a decision because evidently they are all so closely related.
‘Cash cows’ have high market share but low market growth due to the high profitability and low investment and should therefore be defended as they are in their maturity stage. Cash cows bring in a sufficient amount of money as they have already been promoted and produced in high volumes so therefore costs are low. This highly relates to The Priest House Museum because their main source of income derives from the sales of their second hand books from the gift shop – inevitably this foundation of income is what is keeping the business going. Due to the fact this isn’t the Museums key product, improvements need to be made by concentrating on promoting the Museums main assets and newly built learning centre situated in the garden, in order to achieve an even higher source of income as well as still maintaining the successful sales of the books. Furthermore, the excess cash that is generated should be used to fund problem children that are being constructed, research and expansion for new products i.e. the learning centre and finally the financing of stars.

Referencing
Priest’s House Museum and Garden, Welcome to the Museum of East Dorset. Dorset: The Priest's House Museum Trust. Available from: http://www.priest-house.co.uk/ [Accessed 18 February 2012]
BBC News Politics, 2011. Osborne confirms pay and jobs pain as growth slows. [online] Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15931086 [Accessed 18 February 2012]
BBC News Business, 2012. UK inflation rate falls to 3.6% in January. [online] (Last updated at 17:51 on 14th February 2012) Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17025863 [Accessed 18 February 2012]
Finighan. G.,2012. The year of the High Street bloodbath? Lingerie chain La Senza announces closure of half its stores. Daily Mail, [online] (Last updated at 1:15 PM on 1st January 2012) Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080920/La-Senza-close-half-stores-retail-sector-faces-job-losses.html [Accessed on 18