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
five.
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