Product Diversification Meaning
Product diversification is a business strategy which involves producing and selling a new line of products or product division, service or service division which involve either same or entirely different sets of knowledge, skills, machinery, etc. usually undertaken with the motive of ensuring survival or growth and expansion.
Explanation
Product diversification can occur at various business levels or at the corporate level. It is a strategy implied by an organization to expand into a new segment in which the company is already operating at a business level, whereas, at the corporate level, it refers to venturing out into a new segment that is beyond the scope of the organization existing products.
It is also sometimes called product differentiation. It is a part of product line decisions and may occur either at a horizontal or vertical level of business.
Objectives
- To make profitable and fruitful use of marketing opportunities. There are many resources available in the market which could be used for the expansion of a business. Optimum utilization of production and market facilities is offered.
- To make stability in the earning and growth of an organization. Thereby maximizing the sales of the product and serving the consumer needs from a firm.
- If the market undergoes the process of saturation, product diversification helps in undergoing and reducing the risk of the business.
- To maximize the profit of the firm by offering and producing different types of products to the market and helps in searching for the new opportunity in the market.
- It creates competition in the market and further helps in surviving this competition with ease.
- It helps in reducing overhead expenditure and thus amounts to the reduction of indirect expenses overall.
- To meet the demand of diversified retailers and curtail market expenditure.
Features
- Repackaging – Product produced by a company can be altered in the form of packaging and can be resold as a product for different use. For example, a cleaning agent for household purposes can be repackaged by the company for the use of cleaning automobiles.
- Repricing – With the motive of selling through a new distribution channel, the price of the product can be adjusted along with other improvements to position it for sale. For example, a watch manufacturer can insert its casing into a platinum product instead of a sports look to sell it through jewelry stores.
- Remaining – An existing product could be renamed along with different packaging to sell it in the offshore market and different countries with the intention of remaining authentic to the original purpose of the product but changing the product according to the local culture of the community.
- Resizing – The product could be repacked in different sizes according to the needs of an individual in the market. For example, a product sold as a single unit can be sold in a unit of 10 or 100 after resizing.
Product Diversification Example
Some very famous stories of product diversification are that of General Electric, Disney, Tata Group. GE diversified its products from being an electricity-related company into segments like aviation, healthcare, digital industry, venture capital, and finance, etc. Similarly, Walt Disney company diversified its business from being an animation industry to an amusement park film production and television industry. TATA Group initially ventured into the steel manufacturing business and diversified it into other segments such as hospitality, aviation, automobile, power, etc.
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Risk
- The skills required to run the diversified entity may be an altogether different concept and may be varied from the parent entity, which possesses a challenge on the managerial skills and aspirations of managers.
- It involves decision risk that involves the choice of the product and market for the product to go wrong.
- The new product that is manufactured by the company must match the ethical and governance standards of the parent product.
- The risk of implementation is also involved, such as structure, talent, leadership, processes, and systems that may not prove to be adequate.
- The return of stockholders in the company may considerably be reduced due to the financial risk involved.
Product Diversification vs. Market Diversification
Both are the market strategies that organizations use to expand their businesses, although they have different meanings. Market diversification means extending of business offering to a new market that has not been previously targeted, whereas product diversification is the addition of new services and products to an existing business for its expansion within existing markets.
Market diversification is often done to challenge a competitor and to find additional sources of income. When the business spreads across multiple market segments, it lowers the risk of business failure. The challenges involved in market diversification are research and planning, advertising, marketing, and activities needed to sell a product to a new segment. In product diversification, managing and additional product development is a major challenge.
Advantages
- Product diversification helps in maximizing the utilization of available resources.
- It helps in multiple investments, which helps in absorbing losses incurred by any other investment.
- Many economic factors lead to the falling of certain industries for a specific time frame. Diversification helps in providing movement away from such activities that create decline.
- Diversification into various industries or product lines helps in creating stability for the company during economic changing scenarios.
Disadvantages
- A company that is widely diversified will not be in a position to respond quickly to various market changes. The focus on the operation of the company and its innovations will be limited.
- New skillsets will be demanded; the diversification and lack of this expertise will prove a setback for the company.
- Old and new sectors of the entity will suffer due to a lack of attention and insufficient sources.
- Limited investment in a particular segment will make the diversified entity lose out the growth opportunity, thus reducing profit maximization.
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