Section 5.03 Marketing Mix
Module 5
Section 5.03
Marketing Mix
The Marketing Mix
“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.” ~ Seth Godin
Every business needs to sell a product or service, using the 7 P’s of Marketing mix, often the 4 P’s – Product, Price, Place and Promotion are widely spoken of, with the following three not often spoken of,
- People
- Process
- Physical evidence
Nothing is straightforward in life. There will always come a time or day with the need to explore the unknown arena or subject either for a job or for your own organisation.
The marketing mix is a crucial foundation on which most modern marketing strategies and business activities are based. The concept came about in the 1960s with various people first spoke and elaborated upon one another’s ideas between Neil H. Borden and Jerome McCarthy.
It was McCarthy who offered the marketing mix as we know it today; in the form of ‘The 4Ps of Marketing’: Product, Place, Price, & Promotion. It’s about putting the right product in the right place, at the right price (and promotion) and at the right time/season. Later the marketing mix was increased to 7P’s and more.
What are the 4Ps of marketing?
Price: Pricing of a product depends on costs of production, supply & demand, and a host of other direct and indirect factors. There can be several pricing strategies, each tied in within the business plan, to differentiate and enhance the image of a product and company.
Product: Must deliver a minimum level of performance; otherwise, despite all the efforts on the other elements of the Marketing Mix won’t do any good to keep the business profitable.
Place: Retailers pay a premium for the right location and likewise for domain names and advertising on search engines. The mantra of a suitable property or successful retail business is ‘location, location, location’.
Promotion: This is the offer by advertising, word of mouth, incentives, commissions and bulk trade. It can also include consumer schemes, direct marketing, contests, competition, surveys and prizes.
When people feel insecure about something, they look around for validation. Show them that other people trust you – Francisco Rosales
What is the importance of the marketing mix?
All the elements of the marketing mix influence each other. They form part of the business strategic plan for great success. If handled wrong, the business could fail or take years to recover. The marketing mix needs a lot of understanding by means of market research and consultation with several people, from users to trade, to manufacturing and many others.
The Marketing Mix is a tool to form your business strategy to drive an organisation to success. It does not stop here, people have come up with many more Marketing mixes. Study them at will and use them in your business for competitive advantages. Here are 15 more Marketing Mix;
- Profit
- Praise
- Professional approach
- Positioning
- Prestigious
- Perks driven
- Pleasure to work
- Performance
- Personnel skills
- Proficiency
- Productivity
- Placebo
- Pandemic
- Planning & Planting
- Press & P.R
Summary
- The 4Ps of Marketing: Product, Place, Price, & Promotion.
- The next 3Ps are People, Process and Physical Evidence.
- There are many more Marketing Mix tools that might be applicable to your business.
Activity 5.03
Choose a Global business and explore its use of the marketing mix. Please do NOT write on a theoretical basis; rather, research the facts and their strategy (any of the 4-7p’s), show your research by quoting them on the subject, NOT your personal opinion.
Please grade yourself on this section.
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