Product Line Definition

What Is a Product Line?

A product line is a bunch of associated merchandise all marketed underneath a single model title that’s bought by the identical firm. Firms promote a number of product traces underneath their numerous model names, looking for to differentiate them from one another for higher usability for customers.

Firms typically broaden their choices by including to present product traces as a result of customers usually tend to buy merchandise from manufacturers with which they’re already acquainted. An organization’s mix of product traces is named its product combine or product portfolio.

How Product Strains Work

Product traces are created by corporations as a advertising technique to seize the gross sales of customers who’re already shopping for the model. The working precept is that customers usually tend to reply positively to manufacturers they know and love and will likely be keen to purchase the brand new merchandise based mostly on their optimistic experiences with the model up to now.

For instance, a beauty firm that is already promoting a high-priced product line of make-up (which may embrace basis, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick) underneath one in every of its well-known manufacturers may launch a product line underneath the identical model title however at a lower cost level. Product traces can fluctuate in high quality, worth, and goal market. Firms use product traces to gauge traits, which helps them to find out which markets to focus on.

The Evolution of Product Strains

Firms add new gadgets to their product traces, generally known as a product-line extension, to introduce manufacturers to new clients. Customers who’ve little interest in an organization’s sporting items, for instance, is perhaps extra eager about shopping for its product line of vitality bars or sports activities drinks. Extending product traces permits corporations to maximise their attain.

The best way that corporations use product traces is obvious within the auto trade. Auto producers famously produce numerous product traces of automobiles to achieve the widest potential vary of customers.

Because of this, they produce traces of economic system automobiles, environmentally-friendly automobiles, and luxurious automobiles all underneath their main manufacturers. Some are marketed to households, some to people, and others to the younger.

Product Line vs. Product Combine

A product line refers to a specific good or service that an organization makes and markets to clients. A meals firm might lengthen a product line by including numerous comparable or associated merchandise (e.g., including mesquite BBQ taste to its present potato chips line), and create a extra diversified product household. The product household provides numerous merchandise underneath the identical model title which might be comparable however meet barely totally different wants or tastes, doubtlessly attracting extra and totally different clients. 

If the corporate branches out and begins producing pretzels, this is able to be a special product line altogether, involving totally different elements, processes, and information to make. It will additionally entice most of the similar, but additionally totally different clients as its potato chips line. Pretzels, nonetheless, wouldn’t be in the identical product line or household. Thus, including pretzels expands the agency’s product portfolio, often known as its product combine.

The product combine is necessary to investigate since it might determine which market segments are experiencing what traits. Firms might thus re-brand or restructure underperforming and unprofitable merchandise, whereas worthwhile traces could also be tagged to incorporate progressive or riskier new additions to that product household.

Mature corporations typically have diversified product mixes. Inside product improvement and acquisitions contribute to its product portfolio dimension over time, and bigger enterprises have the infrastructure to assist the advertising of a broader providing. Geographic enlargement can even increase a product portfolio, with merchandise various in reputation amongst cities or international locations. Apple, Inc., for instance, now has a product combine that features its wildly in style iPhone gadgets (inside that are numerous generations, variations, sizes, all at totally different worth factors), the iOS app retailer, its line of laptop computer & desktop computer systems, software program improvement, music streaming service, Apple TV, and so forth.

Particular Concerns

Product traces permit corporations to achieve areas and socioeconomic teams, generally even worldwide. In some circumstances, such because the beauty trade, corporations additionally launch product traces underneath their best-selling manufacturers to seize gross sales from customers of varied ethnic or age teams. Multinational companies, similar to eating places, typically launch product traces particularly for the international locations wherein they function, as is the case with fast-food eating places working in Asia.

Examples of Product Strains

• Microsoft Company (MSFT) as a model sells a number of extremely acknowledged product traces together with Home windows, MS Workplace, and the Xbox.
• Nike Inc. (NKE) has product traces for numerous sports activities, similar to monitor and discipline, basketball, and soccer. The corporate’s product traces embrace footwear, clothes, and tools.
• PepsiCo (PEP) owns, amongst many different traces globally, Frito Lay, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, and Tropicana.
• The assorted product traces for Starbucks Company (SBUX) embrace espresso, ice cream, and drinkware.

Be aware that some corporations by no means diversify past a single product line. As an alternative, they focus their efforts on changing into a market chief in only one factor. Michelin, for example, solely produces tires. Crocs solely makes rubber-based footwear. Gorilla glue solely makes adhesives.

Regularly Requested Questions

What Are the Principal Varieties of Product Strains?

Whereas an organization’s product traces will rely on the actual enterprise section or trade that it operates in, advertising and organizational students have recognized 4 totally different classifications of product line based mostly on what is required to deliver that line to market. These embrace:

1. New to world: A model new product or invention, typically after analysis & improvement funding. These could be extremely dangerous but additionally extremely rewarding in the event that they take off.
2. New additions: These are new product traces added by an organization to their manufacturing, however which aren’t essentially new to the world. These come up as rivals enter the market.
3. Product revision: Replacements or upgrades to present merchandise are the third class. An iPhone X is a completely totally different product from an iPhone 4S.
4. Reposition: Repositioning takes an present product and begins advertising to a special viewers for a very totally different use-case.

What Is Product Line Filling?

Filling refers to including extra gadgets to a product line household with the intention to tackle any perceived gaps within the potential buyer base. As an example, including bigger sizes to a clothes line can accommodate folks with larger our bodies. Having sizes that match the overwhelming majority of people would fill that product line alongside that dimension.

What Is Product Line Pricing?

Providing totally different variations of an in any other case similar services or products at totally different worth factors will help fill a product line based mostly on shopper spending preferences and affluence. Automobile producers usually supply the identical base mannequin for a given 12 months in numerous trim, starting from a no-frills economic system model to a decked-out luxurious model with all of the costly add-ons. These worth factors will entice totally different customers with totally different budgets.

How Do You Create a Product Line?

An organization will develop a product line based mostly on the kind of enterprise it’s, its specific experience, and its advertising technique. Market testing, R&D, and promoting campaigns are all necessary to deliver a product line to market. Unsuccessful product traces which might be unprofitable ought to be deserted in favor of viable ones.