Product Line

What Is a Product Line?

A product line is a group of related products generally marketed under a single brand name that is sold by a similar company. Companies sell different product lines under their different brand names, seeking to separate them from one another for better ease of use for consumers.

Companies frequently grow their offerings by adding to existing product lines since consumers are bound to purchase products from brands with which they are as of now natural. A company's blend of product lines is known as its product mix or product portfolio.

How Product Lines Work

Product lines are made by companies as a marketing strategy to capture the sales of consumers who are as of now buying the brand. The operating principle is that consumers are bound to answer positively to brands they know and love and will actually want to buy the new products based on their positive encounters with the brand in the past.

For instance, a restorative company that is as of now selling an extravagant product line of cosmetics (that could incorporate foundation, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick) under one of its notable brands could send off a product line under a similar brand name however at a lower price point. Product lines can shift in quality, price, and target market. Companies use product lines to check trends, which assists them with figuring out which markets to target.

The Evolution of Product Lines

Companies add new things to their product lines, some of the time alluded to as a product-line extension, to acquaint brands with new customers. Consumers who care very little about a company's outdoor supplies, for instance, may be more interested in buying its product line of energy bars or sports beverages. Stretching out product lines permits companies to expand their compass.

The way that companies use product lines is obvious in the car industry. Car manufacturers broadly produce different product lines of vehicles to arrive at the amplest conceivable scope of consumers.

Consequently, they produce lines of economy vehicles, harmless to the ecosystem vehicles, and luxury vehicles generally under their leading brands. Some are marketed to families, some to people, and others to the youthful.

Growing product lines empowers a company to target consumers who are either previously buying the brand or are probably going to buy the brand.

Product Line versus Product Mix

A product line alludes to a specific decent or service that a company makes and markets to customers. A food company might broaden a product line by adding different comparable or related products (e.g., adding mesquite BBQ flavor to its existing potato chips line), and make a more diversified product family. The product family supplies different products under a similar brand name that are comparable yet meet somewhat various necessities or tastes, possibly drawing in more and various customers.

On the off chance that the company branches out and begins delivering pretzels, this would be an alternate product line out and out, including various fixings, processes, and information to make. It would likewise draw in a significant number of something similar, yet additionally various customers as its potato chips line. Pretzels, be that as it may, wouldn't be in a similar product line or family. Accordingly, adding pretzels extends the company's product portfolio, otherwise called its product mix.

The product mix is important to break down since it can recognize which market segments encountering trends. Companies may in this way re-brand or rebuild failing to meet expectations and unrewarding products, while beneficial lines might be labeled to incorporate imaginative or more hazardous new augmentations to that product family.

Mature companies frequently have diversified product mixes. Internal product development and acquisitions add to its product portfolio size after some time, and bigger ventures have the infrastructure to support the marketing of a more extensive offering. Geographic expansion can likewise expand a product portfolio, with products differing in prevalence among urban communities or countries. Apple, Inc., for instance, presently has a product mix that incorporates its stunningly famous iPhone devices (inside which are different ages, renditions, measures, all at various price points), the iOS app store, its line of PC and work stations, software development, music web-based feature, Apple TV, etc.

Special Considerations

Product lines permit companies to arrive at locales and financial groups, here and there even worldwide. At times, for example, the restorative industry, companies likewise send off product lines under their smash hit brands to capture sales from consumers of different ethnic or age groups. Multinational corporations, like eateries, frequently send off product lines explicitly for the countries wherein they operate, similarly as with drive-through joints operating in Asia.

Unrewarding product lines might in any case be valuable for a company. A loss leader strategy, for instance, acquaints new customers with a service or product with expectations of building a customer base and getting future recurring revenue. The product loses money however is sold to draw in new customers or sell extra products and services to those customers that are beneficial later on.

Instances of Product Lines

• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) as a brand sells several exceptionally recognized product lines including Windows, MS Office, and the Xbox.
• Nike Inc. (NKE) has product lines for different games, like olympic style events, b-ball, and soccer. The company's product lines incorporate footwear, attire, and equipment.
• PepsiCo (PEP) claims, among numerous different lines internationally, Frito Lay, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, and Tropicana.
• The different product lines for Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) incorporate coffee, ice cream, and drinkware.

Note that a few companies never differentiate past a single product line. All things considered, they center their efforts around turning into a market leader in just a certain something. Michelin, for example, just delivers tires. Crocs just makes elastic based footwear. Gorilla stick just makes glues.

Often Asked Questions

What Are the Main Types of Product Lines?

While a company's product lines will rely upon the specific business segment or industry that it operates in, marketing and organizational researchers have recognized four unique characterizations of product line based on the thing is expected to put up that line for sale to the public. These include:

1. New to world: A brand new product or creation, frequently after research and development investment. These can be exceptionally hazardous yet in addition profoundly fulfilling on the off chance that they take off.
2. New additions: These are new product lines added by a company to their production, however which are not really new to the world. These emerge as contenders enter the market.
3. Product revision: Replacements or moves up to existing products are the third category. An iPhone X is something else entirely from an iPhone 4S.
4. Reposition: Repositioning takes an existing product and starts marketing to an alternate crowd for something else entirely case.

What Is Product Line Filling?

Filling alludes to adding more things to a product line family to address any perceived gaps in the potential customer base. For example, adding bigger sizes to a dress line can oblige individuals with greater bodies. Having sizes that fit by far most of people would fill that product line along that aspect.

What Is Product Line Pricing?

Offering various forms of a generally same product or service at various price points can assist with filling a product line based on consumer spending inclinations and fortune. Vehicle manufacturers ordinarily offer a similar base model for a given year in various trim, going from a straightforward economy rendition to a decked-out luxury adaptation with all the costly additional items. These price points will draw in various consumers with various spending plans.

How Do You Create a Product Line?

A company will foster a product line based on the type of business it is, its specific mastery, and its marketing strategy. Market testing, R&D, and advertising efforts are exceedingly important to put up a product line for sale to the public. Fruitless product lines that are unrewarding ought to be abandoned for practical ones.

Features

• A product line is a group of associated products marketed under a single brand name by a similar company.
• Businesses frequently extend their offerings by adding to existing product lines since consumers are bound to buy products from brands they definitely know.
• Firms sell numerous product lines under their different brand names, frequently separating by price, quality, country, or targeted demographic.
• Product lines ought to be abandoned on the off chance that they demonstrate unbeneficial, with the exception of a loss leader.
• The full portfolio of product lines is a company's product mix.