Product Mix

What Is a Product Mix?

Product mix, also known as product assortment,
refers to the total number of product lines that a
company offers to its customers. For example, a
small company may sell multiple lines of products.
Sometimes, these product lines are fairly similar,
such as dish washing liquid and bar soap, which are
used for cleaning and use similar technologies.
Other times, the product lines are vastly
different, such as diapers and razors. The four
dimensions to a company's product mix include
width, length, depth and consistency.

Width

The width of a company's product mix pertains to
the number of product lines that a company sells.
For example, if a company has two product lines,
its product mix width is two. Small and upstart
businesses will usually not have a wide product mix.
It is more practical to start with some basic
products and build market share. Later on, a
company's technology may allow the company to
diversify into other industries and build the width
of the product mix.

Length

Product mix length pertains to the number of
total products or items in a company's product
mix, according to Philip Kotler's textbook
"Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning,
Implementation and Control." For example, ABC
company may have two product lines, and five
brands within each product line. Thus, ABC's
product mix length would be 10. Companies that
have multiple product lines will sometimes keep
track of their average length per product line. In
the above case, the average length of an ABC
Company's product line is

Depth

Depth of a product mix pertains to the total
number of variations for each product. Variations
can include size, flavor and any other
distinguishing characteristic. For example, if a
company sells three sizes and two flavors of
toothpaste, that particular brand of toothpaste
has a depth of six. Just like length, companies
sometimes report the average depth of their
product lines; or the depth of a specific product
line.

Consistency

Product mix consistency pertains to how closely
related product lines are to one another--in
terms of use, production and distribution. A
company's product mix may be consistent in
distribution but vastly different in use. For
example, a small company may sell its health bars
and health magazine in retail stores. However, one
product is edible and the other is not. The
production consistency of these products would
vary as well.

Product Market Mix Strategy

Small companies usually start out with a product
mix limited in width, depth and length; and have a
high level of consistency. However, over time, the
company may want to differentiate products or
acquire new ones to enter new markets. A
company can also sell the existing products to new
markets by coming up with new uses for their
product.