Marketing Mix as a Foundation in Marketing
The marketing mix is a foundation model in marketing. The marketing mix has been defined as the “set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target”. Thus the marketing mix refers to four broad levels of marketing decision, namely: product, price, promotion, and place. Wikipedia
Marketing is a continually evolving discipline and as such can be one that companies find themselves left very much behind the competition if they stand still for too long. One example of this evolution has been the fundamental changes to the basic Marketing mix.
Where once there were 4Ps to explain the mix, nowadays it is more commonly accepted that a more developed 7Ps adds a much-needed additional layer of depth to the Marketing Mix with some theorists going even going further.
The Marketing Mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix – Price, Product, Promotion, and Place.
However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes several other Ps like Packaging, Positioning, People, and even Politics as vital mix elements.
The 4Ps of Marketing
1) Price: refers to the value that is put on a product. It depends on the costs of production, the segment targeted, the ability of the market to pay, supply-demand, and a host of other direct and indirect factors.
There can be several types of pricing strategies, each tied in with an overall business plan. Pricing can also be used as a demarcation, to differentiate and enhance the image of a product.
2) Product: refers to the item being sold. The product must deliver a minimum level of performance; otherwise, even the best work on the other elements of the marketing mix won’t do any good.
3) Place: refers to the point of sale. In every industry, catching the eye of the consumer and making it easy for her to buy it is the main aim of a good distribution or ‘place’ strategy. Retailers pay a premium for the right location. The mantra of a successful retail business is ‘location, location, location.
4) Promotion: this refers to all the activities undertaken to make the product or service known to the user and trade. This can include advertising, word of mouth, press reports, incentives, commissions, and awards to the trade. It can also include consumer schemes, direct marketing, contests, and prizes.
What is the Importance of the Marketing Mix?
All the elements of the marketing mix influence each other. They make up the business plan for a company and handled right, can give it a great success. But if handled wrong and the business could take years to recover.
The marketing mix needs a lot of understanding, market research, and consultation with several people, from users to trade to manufacturing and several others.
In conclusion, marketing your business is about how you position it to satisfy your market’s needs. The marketing mix is the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market.
The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix – Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. In contemporary corporate organizations, the marketing mix has embraced other elements of Ps like Packaging, Positioning, People, and even Politics as determinant factors of success.
