MARKETING MIX / 4P’s OF MARKETING

Marketing Mix | 4 P’s of Marketing
Marketers use different tools in
order to get the desired response from the customers or best satisfy their
needs. These tools are known as The Marketing Mix. Marketing Mix is
probably the most famous term in 
marketing.
The marketing mix consists of
everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its products. Marketing
Mix
 is a combination of marketing tools that a company uses to satisfy
their target customers and achieving organizational goals.
COMPONENTS AND ELEMENTS OF MARKETING
McCarthy classified all these marketing
tools
 under four broad categories:
§  Product
§  Price
§  Place
§  Promotion
These
four elements are the basic components of a marketing plan and
are collectively called 4 P’s of marketing. Below is an
illustration for marketing mix.


1. Product Strategy:
Product is the actual offering by the company to its
targeted customers which also includes value added stuff. The word “Product” covers
good, service or an idea. So we can say that Product may be tangible (goods) or
intangible (services).  The good may be
Consumer good like pen, book, shoes, etc. or Producer good like plant, office
equipment, machinery, etc.
The
product strategy involves the decisions of what type of good, in what quality
and for whom the goods or services are to be offered for sale.
While
formulating the marketing strategy, product decisions include:
§  What to offer?
§  Brand name
§  Packaging
§  Quality
§  Appearance / Design
§  Installation
§  After sale services
§  Warranty
So,
if the business is to stay, prosper and earn profit, then right product has to
be developed after careful consideration of the needs of the consumers to whom
it is to be sold.
2. Price Strategy
Of all the aspects of the
marketing mix, price is the one, which creates sales revenue – all the others
are costs.  It has a direct impact
 اثرon the customers, the business
and the economy. To the consumer, the price is a major indicator of the quality
of good and an important factor in making decision about its purchase.  For the business, Pricing strategy not only
related to the profit margins but also helps in finding target customers.
Pricing decision also influence the choice of marketing channels. Price
decisions
 include:
§  Pricing Strategy
§  List Price
§  payment period
§  Discounts
§  Financing
§  Credit terms
Using
price as a weapon for rivals is as old as mankind. But it’s risky too.
Consumers are often sensitive for price, discounts and additional offers.
Another aspect of pricing is that expensive products are considered of good
quality.
3. Place (Placement) Strategy:
            The element of marketing is
concerned with all those activities which are needed to move the product or
service from the seller to the buyer. The place strategy ensures that the
products are available to the consumers at the right time when they are needed,
(Time Utility), at the place where they are demanded (Place Utility), in the
form or shape in which they are required (Form Utility) and the ownership of
the good is transferred with less financial risk (Possession Utility).
It
not only includes the place where the product is placed, all
those activities performed by the company to ensure the availability of the
product to the targeted customers. Availability of the product at the right
place, at the right time and in the right quantity is crucial in placement
decisions.
Placement decisions include:
§  Placement
§  Logistics
§  Inventory
§  Order processing
§  Market coverage
§  Distribution channels
4. Promotion Strategy:
Promotion includes all communication and selling activities to persuade
target customers to buy the product. Promotion decisions include:
§  Advertising
§  Media Types
§  Message
§  Sales promotion
§  Personal selling
§  Public relations
Advertising
is mass paid information. The aim of advertising is to communicate information
to selected section of the public about the product. Personal selling is the
sale of the good direct to the consumers. Sales promotion is a marketing
activity which persuades the prospective buyers to purchase the product or
service. It is a short term marketing activity which stimulates quick buyer’s
action. For example, free samples, temporary price reductions, lotteries, etc
are only a few of the many sale promotional techniques.

It
often takes time and requires market research to develop a successful marketing
mix. You should not depend on one mix always try new mixes. While designing the
mix, make changes to all mixes in such a way that all conveys the same message.

Check Also

ACCA F2 Management Accounting Lecture 86 – Performance Measurement – Introduction

ACCA F2 Management Accounting  Lecture # 86 – Performance Measurement – Introduction Please wait to …