The place the product is distributed is not that important for mobile phones, as the consumers for these goods generally pick a certain phone model which they want to buy and decide that this what they want. As the product is an expensive item, they choose what they want in advance. Thus they will be looking for that specific mobile phone and will go to the shop where they know they can find it. Though, consumers will be concerned about the image of the outlet selling the mobile phone. If a certain market for phones looks very shady, dangerous and of cheap quality, then the consumers will not buy from here as they are buying a good of high quality and they want to be guaranteed and assured that they are getting the quality they deserve. Though, the same is not true for ball-point pens, as people will generally buy pens form the most convenient place, as these goods are not very expensive. If someone needed a pen, most people would not care if it was bought from a small low quality shop or a high quality mega shop. Thus the place affects high priced goods such as mobile phones more than ball-point pens.
The packaging of the good will affect products such as mobile phones very much. As consumers are expecting to be getting high quality products as they have paid a lot of money. And the attractiveness of mobile phones is a major factor of how people decide which phone to buy. As some people just buy certain phones which are flashy in order to make a fashion statement and show-off. And consumers will not bother buying an unattractive mobile as they are paying a lot of money and expect to receive a good-looking quality mobile. Also, if the packaging of one phone is very informative and helpful to consumers, they may buy that product as they understand the features and can relate to that mobile. Though the packaging of goods such as ball-point pens is not as important because the consumers already know what the good is and what it does, thus the packaging does not have to be informative. Also the attractiveness will not affect the sales of the pens that much as mostly all of the pens do the exact same thing and people will not care greatly about how the pen looks. Thus packaging is important for expensive goods such as mobiles but not as much for ball-point pens.
The people selling you the product (sales force) is an important part of the marketing mix for goods such as mobile phones. Since you are buying a technological gadget, you would want the person selling you the item to be technically competent and explain the pros and cons of the item properly. As the consumers are buying an expensive item, they would want the sales force to be informative, helpful and pleasant. If they are not, the consumer may take his business elsewhere. The people selling you a good such as a ball-point pen is also quite important, but not as important as it is when the good is a mobile phone. This is because pens are inexpensive and mobiles are quite expensive. Though the sales force selling any good has to be pleasant and willing to help and if they are not, consumers will get annoyed and probably not return to that store again.
Another example could be comparing the marketing mix of video games and of toothpaste.
For video games, the quality of game itself matters to the consumers. As the consumers only want to buy a quality video game which they will enjoy. It there are bad reviews about the quality of the game, they will not buy it as they feel it is not worth it. The name of a game is also very important; as this is the first thing consumers see when they are looking through the various games. If the name is eye-catching and interesting then more people will look at the product and there is a higher chance of more people buying the product. Also, if a game is of a particular company which has a good reputation of making good games, then people will buy the game because of this quality reputation associated with the video game. This is the same for toothpaste, as consumers do care about the quality of the toothpaste they are purchasing. As toothpaste will help clean and whiten your teeth, many of the consumers will want to purchase one of high quality for which they are assured will be helpful. Also, as toothpaste is like a medicine, the consumers do not want to buy toothpaste of a low quality which can possibly do harm to your teeth and gums. The name of toothpaste is also important, as there are some brands for which consumers have built a brand loyalty and if the toothpaste is of a familiar brand, the consumer may be persuaded to buy this toothpaste over another as they feel assured of its quality.
The promotion techniques used are important for video games as people may be influenced by advertising and special offers into buying a certain game. If there is a lot of advertising for a certain game, people may buy the game being under the influence that the game is popular and of high quality. For toothpaste, the promotion is also significant, as customers may buy a certain toothpaste if there is a special offer which sells three tubes for the price of one. This seems like a bargain to most of the customers and many will buy the toothpaste with the special offer. Also, if there is a professional and informative advertising campaign for a certain brand of toothpaste, then people may be persuaded to believe this toothpaste is of higher quality then others. Thus the promotion techniques used by firms are important for both video games and toothpaste.
The price for video games is important, as people will not buy a video game if the price does not reflect accurately. As in, consumers will only pay high prices if they are guaranteed that the video game is of a very high quality. As most video games, are not of this high quality, the price should not be too expensive or it would affect the sales of the good. As most video games are not very expensive, slight price changes in products will be overlooked by the hardcore gamers. The price for toothpaste is also somewhat important, as toothpaste is an important product. Though, as toothpaste is not that expensive, generally price will not affect the sales as much. Consumers will buy whichever product they are comfortable with regardless of price, as the price changes of different types of toothpaste are relatively small.
The place where the product is sold is fairly important for video games and toothpaste. As video games are more expensive than toothpaste, consumers will be more worried about the place in which the product is sold. They would prefer the place to be of a good image, as they want to be able to return the product if it turns out not to work. Though the convenience of the store does not matter that much, as most consumers who want to buy the product will go to the store in which it can be found. For toothpaste, the convenience of the store is more important than the image the store presents. Because toothpaste is a FMCG (fast moving consumer good), it can easily be found. As this product is so common, people will not want to travel very far in order to buy the product, thus the convenience of the place is important.
Video games will generally not be too affected by the packaging as video games always look the same, as CDs and generally people do not care about the attractiveness. But for those customers who do not know exactly what to buy, an attractive cover can be a major influencing in choosing which game to buy. Also, if there is a lot of information explaining the features of the game on the packaging, then this can help persuade some consumers to buy this product. The packaging for toothpaste is also important, as a professional looking packaging can persuade people to buy a certain toothpaste, as they feel that the toothpaste is more reliable. Also if there is persuasive information on the packaging, this can influence which toothpaste the customer buys, as the customer will be persuaded that the toothpaste is reliable and of high quality.
The sales force who sells the product is important when selling video games, as the consumers wants the sales people to be informative about the new games and helpful in giving them insight on the various video games. Also, if they are not polite and willing to help then people may buy their video games elsewhere as many retailers supply video games. For toothpaste, the people selling the product are not as important as it is for video games. This is because toothpaste is an ordinary product which people usually choose very quickly and as it is not very expensive, customers do not usually have problems choosing which one to buy.
