The concepts of product lines and product mixes apply to marketers of products and services

A product is an item produced or procured by the business to satisfy the needs of the customer. It is the actual item that is held for sale in the market. A company usually sells different types of products. For example, Coca-Cola has around 3500+ product brands in its portfolio. These different product brands are also known as product lines. A combination of all these product lines makes up the product mix.

Product mix, also known as product assortment, refers to the total number of product lines that a company offers to its customers. The product lines may range from one to many and the company may have many products under the same product line as well. All of these product lines when grouped together form the product mix of the company.

The product mix is a subset of the marketing mix and is an important part of the business model of a company. The product mix has the following dimensions or components:

Width

The width of the mix refers to the number of product lines the company has to offer.

For example – if a company produces only soft drinks and juices, this means its mix is two products wide. Coca-Cola deals in juices, soft drinks, and mineral water, and hence the product mix of Coca-Cola is three products wide.

Length

The length of the product mix refers to the total number of products in the mix. That is if a company has 5 product lines and 10 products each under those product lines, the length of the mix will be 50 [5 x 10].

Depth

The depth of the product mix refers to the total number of products within a product line. There can be variations in the products of the same product line. For example – Colgate has different variants under the same product line like Colgate advanced, Colgate active salt, etc.

Consistency

Product mix consistency refers to how closely products are linked to each other. Less the variation among products, more the consistency. For example, a company dealing in just dairy products has more consistency than a company dealing in all types of electronics.

Product Mix vs Product Line

A product mix is a group of everything a company sells.

However, the product line is a subset of the product mix. A product line refers to a unique product category or product brand a company offers.

For example, Patanjali deals in different categories of products which include shampoo, flour, toothpaste, etc. Shampoo, here, forms a different product line, flour forms a different product line as well, and so does toothpaste. However, when they all are grouped together, they form the product mix of Patanjali.

Product Mix Example

Coca-Cola has product brands like Minute Maid, Sprite, Fanta, Thumbs up, etc. under its name. These constitute the width of the product mix. There are a total of 3500 products handled by the Coca-Cola brand. These constitute the length. Minute Maid juice has different variants like apple juice, mixed fruit, etc. They constitute the depth of the product line ‘Minute Maid’. Coca-Cola deals majorly with drinking beverage products and hence has more product mix consistency.

Product mix depends on many factors like:

• Company Age
• Financial Standing
• Area of Operation
• Brand identity, etc.

Many new companies start with limited width, length, depth, and high consistency of the product mix, while companies with good financial standing have wide, long, deep, and less consistency of the product mix. The area of operation and brand identity also affects its product mix.

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A startup consultant, digital marketer, traveller, and philomath. Aashish has worked with over 20 startups and successfully helped them ideate, raise money, and succeed. When not working, he can be found hiking, camping, and stargazing.

The success of product marketing in any business, small or large, is a direct result of having a satisfying array of products. Companies create and market these products to customers of varying ages, incomes, purchasing behavior and product likes and dislikes. Making sure the product range is right is a top priority for companies. Even companies as large as Coca-Cola continually assess their product marketing strategy to drive more growth, as seen in Marketing Week.

A look at the product mix vs product line discussions shows two types of product assortments. These include the "product range" (or product line) and the "product mix". A company may have a strong product mix in several categories, and a comparable product range within those categories.

Understanding the Product Range

A product range (or product line) is a group of products (mobile phones, laptops, microwaves, etc.) that have these similar characteristics:

• are closely related in form and/or function 
• are similarly priced
• are marketed and sold through similar customer groups

When a company develops a strong core product range, the product range allows the company to focus on those product lines while still offering enough variety in size, color, taste or functionality to appeal to a wide range of potential customers.

Advantages of Product Range

When companies roll out a product range, they are seeking to attract customers in a certain demographic, with common aspirations, income and purchasing behavior patterns. For example, a company may offer an excellent shampoo, like these on display at Matrix, and then develop alterations to the original formula for common audience targets.

Companies may also opt to create a product line extension from its product range, notes The Marketing Study Guide. A popular soft drink may opt to add in hints of pumpkin and cinnamon to capitalize on fall-winter taste themes. This has already happened in coffees and alcoholic beers.

Product Range Examples

Examples of a product range can include a peanut butter maker, offering its peanut butter in a variety of similarly priced versions of crunchy, creamy, and no added sugar peanut butter. A television manufacturer might offer its TV components in a basic 32-inch version, then offer increasingly larger versions for more demanding consumers. At its top end it might offer a 4K version of its TV technology. The products may have more features in each of the larger sizes, but the core TV product remains the same.

Understanding the Product Mix

A product mix consists of a company's product lines and all the items in each of those lines that a marketer has for sale. For example, a tire manufacturer may sell a mix of tires and then specific products within each of the tire markets (trucks, cars, jeeps, motorcycles, etc.). A product mix usually involves the entire range of goods offered by the company, explains Marketing91.com.

Advantages of Product Mix

The primary advantage of a product mix is to give the company more opportunities to reach customers. and broaden the current products, as seen at Small Business Marketing Plans. Many products in a product mix are related, so customers may feel an affinity for the brand and will purchase similar products. Consumers may respond well to introductory coupons to try a closely-related branded product.

Product Mix Examples

A good example of having a solid product mix is companies may be able to earn more customer loyalty. When a customer trusts one item from that brand, that customer is more likely to trust a different product from the same brand. For instance, a golf products manufacturer can encourage its customers to buy its athletic apparel, like shoes, socks, workout wear, baseball caps and golf shirts. A small business that makes kitchen equipment can diversify its product mix to include cooking pots, frying pans, carving knives and cutting boards.

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