Marketing Mix

Abstract

This paper defines one of the strategies of marketing research “Marketing Mix”. The major marketing management decisions can be classified in one of the following four categories, Product, Price, Place (distribution), and Promotion. These variables are known as the marketing mixer the 4 P's of marketing. Product is the entity that is for sale. Price is the monetary value that would be charged from a prospective buyer, in the market, in exchange for the product. Promotion refers to the avenues available in creating the right impression through the working environment, which includes advertising and personal selling. Place or distribution looks at the location and where a service is delivered. I will also mention how the four P’s can be applied to my organization,” The Real Estate Industry”.

The Marketing Mix

In order to succeed marketing objectives for a business or a person’s own business, an individual needs to have a strategy that includes different components that involve various parts of the marketing mix. The term “marketing mix” became popularized after Neil H. Borden published his 1964 article, “The Concept of the Marketing Mix”. Borden began using the term in his teaching in the late 1940’s. The ingredients in Borden’s marketing mix included product planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. Later E. Jerome McCarthy grouped these ingredients into the four P’s of the marketing mix, as we know them today. The four P’s are:

• Product. Defining the characteristics of an individual’s product or service to meet the customers’ needs.

• Price. Deciding on a pricing strategy. Identifying the total cost to the user (which is likely to be higher than the charge that is made) is a part of the price element. This includes, volume discounts and wholesale pricing, seasonal pricing, suggest retail price, bundling, price flexibility, price discrimination, and early payment discounts.

• Promotion. In the context of the marketing mix, promotion represents the various aspects of marketing communication, that is, the communication of information about the product with the goal of generating a positive customer response. This includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, public relations and publicity, marketing communications budget, and atmospherics.

• Place or distribution. Looking at locations and where a service is delivered. Distribution is about getting the products to the customer. These include: marketing coverage, inventory management, warehousing, order processing, transportation, distribution center and channels, reverse logistics, and specific channel members.

These four P’s are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that center the four P’s on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response.

If an individual wanted be more creative he or she can extend the number of P’s. The two P’s are usually seen as useful additions for services (including information services) are:

• People. Good information services are not likely to be delivered by people