Marking Mix (4p's)

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

Marking Mix (4p’s)

In order for all business organisations to prosper, they have to encourage customers to buy their product, which must be achieved as efficiently as possible. This involves marketing planning where past and present performance must be analysed to predict the future in the form of a marketing plan. A common technique which is used in businesses to achieve this objective is Marketing Mix. Marketing mix (the 4P’s), is the set of controllable variables which a business can use to influence the buyers response and can be summarised as follows:

Product

Referring to a market place the product is the range of goods or services that the organisation offers. The majority of organisations have a wide variety of products of differing quality for various market segments. There are many factors involved in the decision making process which involve quantities, timing, product variation, quality, style and packaging. In order for a product to hold its prestige in a given market segment it should be of consistent quality.

Price

It is vitally important to select the right price for the goods or services, which can be further used as a promotional tool. For example, the price for the launch of a new product could be lowered, thus encouraging sales and securing market share. Commonly, depending on the product there is normally a range of prices, which can vary depending on the importance of the customer, quantities bought and market segment. In order to make profit and achieve market penetration businesses will introduce pricing strategy schemes to maximise their source of income, such as discounts, special offers and credit which will all play an important part in the competitors market.

Promotion

In order to encourage and persuade the potential customers to buy the goods or services there are various methods to take into consideration. This process involves techniques such as marketing communication (e.g. advertising, branding, packaging, public relations, sales promotion and merchandising). Depending upon the given situation and business, these methods will fluctuate from organisation to organisation.

Place

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Promotion

Place

When determining where the goods or service should be promoted and sold, there are a number of factors which need to be considered. For example, through which outlet should the product be sold and how it will arrive at its ultimate sales destination. Distribution is another key area, which the business needs to look at as well as how far afield they wish to operate i.e. locally, nationally, internationally and also demography.

When formulating a marketing plan, the marketing mix (price, product, promotion and place) are all taken into account to influence and satisfy the buyer or consumer. However, in some quarters, there is the belief that the 4P’s are not sufficient alone for controlling all of the marketing’s activities. Other complimentary approaches, which have been suggested, are people, process and physical evidence.

Relating the concept to a more common example is really quite simple. Take a cake mix for example. All cakes contain eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. However, you can alter the final cake by altering the amounts of mix elements contained in it. So for a sweet cake add more sugar! It is the same with the marketing mix. The offer you make to you customer can be altered by varying the mix elements. So for a high profile brand increase the focus on promotion and desensitize the weight given to price.

The Philosophy Marketing and the Marketing Concept.

The philosophy of marketing is the permeation of customer orientation throughout all facets and areas of an organization. It is driven by senior managers, passionate about delighting their customers. The philosophy of marketing is implemented through the marketing concept.

Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialized activity at all It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise.

Drucker.

This customer focused philosophy is known as the ‘marketing concept’. The marketing concept is a philosophy, not a system of marketing or an organizational structure. It is founded on the belief that profitable sales and satisfactory returns on investment can only be achieved by identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and desires.

Barwell

The achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the competition. Jobber. Implementation of the marketing concept [in the 1990’s] requires attention to three basic elements of the marketing concept. These are: Customer orientation; An organization to implement a customer orientation; Long-range customer and societal welfare.

Cohen.

Now that you have been introduced to some definitions of marketing and the marketing concept, remember the important elements contained as follows:

Marketing focuses on the satisfaction of customer needs, wants and requirements;
The philosophy of marketing needs to be owned by everyone from within the organization;
Future needs have to be identified and anticipated;
There is normally a focus upon profitability, especially in the corporate sector. However, as public sector organizations and not-for-profit organizations adopt the concept of marketing, this need not always be the case.
More recent definitions recognize the influence of marketing upon society