Product line and product mix

Two major point are important in Marketing. When we talk about a product, there’s a need for a definition, a way to say how the product will be, and how it will be placed compared to other products. As a result, we talk about the product line and the product mix.

The product line is a way to refer to products when they are similar on different factors. Product can have a similar function, they target the same customers, the can have the same marketing or they follow the same price range. The product line length defines the number of items in the product line. The global performance of the product line is impacted by each and every item. Sometimes marketing strategist have to define a product line strategy by adding products to the line or by removing a product from the line.

We can figure out two different strategies for the product line. Product line filling and product line stretching. When you fill the product line, you add product within the range of your current product line. This way you can prevent competition and find profit. The product line stretching happens when the company decides whether to add a product at the upper or at the lower end of the range. This is a good away to attract t new competitors or to respond to a competitor’s attack.

We talk about the product mix when a company has different types of product. The product mix will define the whole panel that the company is offering in store. We can define it in terms of width, length, depth and consistency. We can also call it a product portfolio.

A product width will define the number of lines a company is carrying. The company can sell a whole product mix, and in it different kinds of products.

The product length expresses the number of product that we have within a specific line of product. For example a line can have many brands selling the same product.

The depth is when you sell different version of your product within the same line. It’s the same product but the features you are selling with the product are not the same.

The consistency is the coherence of the product mix. If the product inside the product mix are closely related to one another, the product mix is consistent or coherent. If the products of the product mix differ from one another, the product mix is incoherent, inconsistent.