Product-Mix Strategies
Product Expansion
Example
A Laundry detergent company may develop detergents that included additional scents, fabric softeners, and bleach to expand their product line.
Disadvantages
Adding items to a product line or introducing an entire product line can be expensive, be difficult to manage, and not always be successful.
Advantages
Adding items to a product line or introducing an entire product line can capture market share and meet customer's needs and wants.
Product Contraction
Product alteration
Trading Up
Trading down
Positioning
Advantages
Deleting products from a product line or the entire product line can be cost effective and easier to manage while creating simplicity and consistency
Disadvantages
Deleting products from a product line or the entire product line is giving away market share to your competitors
Example
McDonald's got rid of onion nuggets because it failed and hurt the brand
Disadvantages
Improving an established product is expensive and not always a success.
Example
New Coke
Advantages
Improving an established product can capture new customers and meet customer's unmet wants as trends change.
Disadvantages
Images of a product are difficult to change once they are established and very expensive
Example
Gucci has moved to Instagram advertisement to target younger customers
Advantages
Creating an identity of a product helps fond a place for the marketplace while strongly identifying with a specific target market and possibly creating brand loyalty.
Disadvantages
Adding higher priced items to a product line is expensive and may not attract new customers while hurting the image and sales of the lower priced items
Example
skull candy making soundbars and subwofers
Advantages
Adding higher priced items to a product line will attract the higher income market and may help increase the image and sales of the lower priced items.
Advantages
Adding lower priced items to a product line of expensive products can capture a lower income market who cannot afford the higher priced items
Disadvantages
Adding lower priced items to a product line of expensive prodcuts can hurt the image and sales of the higher priced items in the line.
Example
Gucci selling cheap flip flops