Marketing Mix

I Introduction
"Marketing Mix" is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices
organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market.
The 4Ps is one way – probably the best-known way – of defining the marketing mix, and was
first expressed in 1960 by E.J. McCarthy in his book, "Basic Marketing-
A Managerial Approach."
The 4Ps are:
 Product (or Service).
 Place.
 Price.
 Promotion.
Amongst the other models that have been developed over the years is Boom and Bitner's 7Ps,
sometimes called the extended marketing mix, which include the first 4Ps, plus people,
processes and physical layout decisions.
II History of Marketing Mix Concept
The marketing mix concept gained popularity following an article titled “The Concept of the
Marketing Mix” by Neil Borden published in 1964. Borden explained how he started using
the term inspired by James Culliton who in the 1940s described the marketing manager as a
‘mixer of ingredients.’ Borden’s article detailed these ingredients as product, planning, price,
branding, distribution, display, packaging, advertising, promotions, personal selling among
many others. Eventually E. Jerome McCarthy clustered these multiple items into four high
level categories that we now know as the Four P’s of Marketing. “Its elements are the basic,
tactical components of a marketing plan”. Together, elements in these four categories help
develop marketing strategies and tactics.
It was Neil Borden who first popularised the idea of the marketing mix in the 1950s. Borden
defined marketing executive as somebody who fuses ingredients to make the right recipe for
marketing a product. Later, it was E.Jerome McCarthy who sublimated the concept of 4Ps of
marketing from the Borden’s ideas of a marketing mix.
McCarthy had highlighted that the 4Ps viz. Product, price, promotion, and place are the initial
control elements that are available to shape a marketing plan. He also articulated the changing
of the balances of these variables in long term perspective with the product remaining the
hardest to change.
III Meaning
A Marketing Mix is the set of marketing tools that a business uses to sell products or services
to its target customers.
A Marketing Mix is the set of those factors, which a company can leverage to make the
consumer purchase its products. As the term suggests, it is indeed a mix of many tactical
marketing tools. The role of the marketing executive is to prepare the right combination to
bring out the excellent synergy between the product and the targeted audience.
Marketing Mix usually refers to the set of 4Ps viz. Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
However, theoretically, the marketing mix is a much broader term. Often the three
additional Ps- Process, People and Physical Evidence is also added and called the 7Ps of
Marketing.
The role of the marketing mix is to synthesize the visible and invisible qualities of a product
with the aspirations of the targeted clients. The marketing mix for a manufactured product will
be different from that of a product as a service.
Identifying and arranging the elements of its marketing mix allows a business to make
profitable marketing decisions at every level. These decisions help a business:
 Develop its strengths and limit its weaknesses
 Become more competitive and adaptable in its market
 Improve profitable collaboration between departments and partners
IV Definition
The marketing mix definition is simple. It is about putting the right product or a combination
thereof in the place, at the right time, and at the right price.
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.
According to Philip Kotler, ‘Marketing Mix is the mixture of controllable marketing
variable that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the target market’.
V Characteristics of Marketing Mix
1. Marketing mix is the crux of marketing process
2. Marketing mix has to be reviewed constantly in order to meet the changing
requirements
3. Changes in external environment necessitate alterations in the mix
4. Changes taking place within the firm also necessitate changes in marketing mix
5. Applicable to business and non-business organization
6. Helps to achieve organizational goals
7. Concentrates on Customers
VI Developing a Marketing Mix
Intuition and creative thinking are essential job requirements for a marketing manager. But
relying on just these can lead to inaccurate assumptions that may not end up delivering results.
To ensure a marketing mix that is based in research and combines facts with innovation, a
manager should go through the following systematic process:
1. Defining Unique Selling Proposition
The first item on the marketing manager’s agenda should be to define what the product has to
offer or its unique selling proposition (USP). Through customer surveys or focus groups, there
needs to be an identification of how important this USP is to the consumer and whether they
are intrigued by the offering. It needs to be clearly understood what the key features and
benefits of the product are and whether they will help ensure sales.
2. Understanding the Consumer
The second step is to understand the consumer. The product can be focused by identifying who
will purchase it. All other elements of the marketing mix follow from this understanding. Who
is the customer? What do they need? What is the value of the product to them? This
understanding will ensure that the product offering is relevant and targeted.
 3. Understanding the Competition
The next step is to understand the competition. The prices and related benefits such as
discounts, warranties and special offers need to be assessed. An understanding of the subjective
value of the product and a comparison with its actual manufacturing distribution cost will help
set a realistic price point.
4. Evaluating Placement Options
At this point, the marketing manager needs to evaluate placement options to understand where
the customer is most likely to make a purchase and what are the costs associated with using
this channel. Multiple channels may help target a wider customer base and ensure east of
access. On the other hand, if the product serves a niche market then it may make good business
sense to concentrate distribution to a specific area or channel.
5. Developing Communication / Promotion Strategy
Based on the audience identified and the price points established, the marketing communication
strategy can now be developed. Whatever promotional methods are finalized need to appeal to
the intended customers and ensure that the key features and benefits of the product are clearly
understood and highlighted.
6. Cross-check of the Marketing Mix
A step back needs to be taken at this point to see how all the elements identified and planned
for relate to each other. All marketing mix variables are interdependent and rely on each other
for a strong strategy. Do the proposed selling channels reinforce the perceived value of the
product? Is the promotional material in keeping with the distribution channels proposed?
The marketing plan can be finalized once it is ensured that all four elements are in harmony
and there are no conflicting messages, either implicit or explicit.
VII Elements of Marketing Mix
The Four Ps of Marketing Mix
1. Product
A product is the heart of the marketing mix. All marketing activities begin with the product.
The product is not a physical entity alone; it captures the completely tangible and intangible
aspects like services, personality, organization, and ideas.
You must ensure to have the right type of product that is in demand for your market. So during
the product development phase, the marketer must do an extensive research on the life cycle of
the product that they are creating. It is important for marketers to reinvent their products to
stimulate more demand once it reaches the sales decline phase.
Marketers must also create the right product mix. It may be wise to expand your current product
mix by diversifying and increasing the depth of your product line.
Overall, marketers must ask themselves the question “what can I do to offer a better product to
this group of people than my competitors”.
Without a product, we have nothing to price, promote or place. Hence, of all the 4Ps, the
Product is the most elemental P. The product mix is the whole range of products a company
offers to its customers. The decisions regarding product mix will depend on many factors like:
 Design
 Features
 Brand name
  Product variety
 Quality
 Services
 Packaging
2. Price
Price is the monetary value that has to be paid by a customer to acquire or own the product of
a company. Price is a very important component of the marketing mix definition and it is the
critical revenue-generating component of the firm.
It is also a very important component of a marketing plan as it determines your firm’s profit
and survival.
Adjusting the price of the product has a big impact on the entire marketing strategy as well as
greatly affecting the sales and demand of the product. Pricing always help shape the perception
of your product in consumers eyes.
When setting the product price, marketers should consider the perceived value that the product
offers. There are three major pricing strategies, and these are:
 Market penetration pricing
 Market skimming pricing
 Neutral pricing
Pricing decisions should be taken with great care, as it is a double-edged sword. If your product
is priced too high, it may exude a feeling of high quality. At the same time, it will make your
product placing to limited and standard stores. Therefore, the marketer must know the art of
wielding this dangerous sword of pricing. The pricing mix decisions need to consider the below
marketing variables:
 Methods of pricing; policies; strategies
 Allowances
 Discounts, rebates
 Payment period
 Credit policy
The pricing strategy of your organization must align with the overall goal of your organization
to blend smoothly.
3. Promotion
It aims to serve two objectives. One, it informs the potential customers about your product and
Secondly, it persuades them to buy your product.
The promotion mix will thus include the various means that you can use to communicate with
the target audience. An effective promotion mix will ensure good sales and a marketer must
strive to create a conducive environment. The main elements of a promotion mix are:
 Advertising
 Personal selling
 Public relations
 Direct marketing
 Publicity
 Sales promotion
4. Place (or Distribution)
Place or physical distribution deals with the transfer of ownership of the product from the
manufacturer to the customer.
The margin of your profit depends on how quickly you can turn over the goods. The more
swiftly the products reach the point of sale, the more likely are the chances of satisfying the
customers and increase brand loyalty. Hence, the Place factor is crucial in ensuring your
product’s competitiveness in the market. The following are the elements of a distribution mix:
 Channels of distribution
 Warehousing decision
 Product handling
 Transport
 Inventory control
 Order processing
 Coverage
The use of a marketing mix is an excellent way to help ensure that ‘putting the right product in
the right place…’ will happen. The marketing mix is a crucial tool to help understand what the
product or service can offer and how to plan for a successful product offering.
The Seven Ps of Marketing Mix
Sometimes, the Four Ps are expanded to include the Seven Ps. In addition to the usual 4Ps, the
7Ps include Physical Environment, People, and Process.
The 7Ps model is a marketing model that modifies the 4Ps model and is generally used in
the Service Industries.
5. Physical Evidence
Anything tangible related to a product or the physical environment in which a service takes
place. Physical evidence may include product packaging, delivery receipts, signage, or the
layout of a physical store.
6. People
Employees, including those who interact directly with customers (such as sales, customer
service, or delivery people) as well as staff recruitment and training. This category includes
how well employees perform their jobs, how they appear to customers (for example, what their
uniforms look like), and how customers feel about their experience.
7. Process
Anything within the organization that has an impact on how a product or service is handled by
employees and delivered to consumers. Some examples are the order in which employees must
perform tasks, how many queries salespeople receive and where they direct customers for help,
or how performance is tracked and measured. It also covers which parts of the process are
standardized and which have room for customization on a per-customer basis.