Mkt421 Marketing Mix

University of Phoenix

MKT421 - Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is comprised of four basic marketing strategies. The four strategies, which include product, place, price, and promotion, involve the decisions that a business must make to succeed. The marketing mix is reliant on how clear and defined the business’ target market is and how well the company directs the strategies towards its targeted market (Glenco McGraw-Hill, 3rd Edition). This paper will further define marketing mix, the four strategies, and conclude with a description of how the four strategies affect Polaroid’s decision to market the I-Zone camera.

Once the targeted market is clearly identified, a company is able to satisfactorily apply the four market mix strategies and make appropriate decisions to benefit the company. To first understand the market mix, one must know that the strategies are dependent on one another. Each strategy contains various choices, alternatives for management. The success depends on a company’s ability to successfully choose a combination of marketing mix decisions that will satisfy target markets, as well as, achieve the company’s desired goals (Glenco McGraw-Hill, 3rd Edition). In this case, Polaroid’s target market consists of males and females between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. http://www.polaroid-digital.com

The first of four strategies is product. This strategy includes what products a company chooses to make, how the company will present the product in ways of packaging, product naming, and the desired image for the product. For its target market, Polaroid chose a pocket-size instant camera, which includes an indoor flash, and produces self-developing miniature photos and/or stickers. The company also developed specialized film for the I-Zone camera. The company further considered its target market (12 – 18 year olds) as it chose to design the camera in trendy colors that would allow the youth creativity and self-expression. http://www.polaroid-digital.com

Once a company has chosen its product, the next strategy to consider determines how a company will reach its targeted customers. This is strategy is commonly known as place. This strategy determines how and where a company will distribute the designed product. Distribution is easily translated as how the company or service provider will reach its customers. For this strategy, a company must determine if the distributors are familiar with its target audience. In many cases, a company will use a testing group of distributors before possibly extending the distribution market. Additionally, companies must choose those distributors who have a positive track record regarding the company’s past products. Finally, the company must also determine if and how much training the distributor will require for distribution of the new product. As with many of its products in past history, Polaroid chose to distribute the I-Zone through mass market and specialty stores in the United States. A Few stores that carry the I-Zone include Sears, J. C. Penny, Best Buy, and Circuit City. http://www.polaroid-digital.com

The company has determined the product to manufacture and its distribution locations. The next strategy is to consider pricing. Pricing strategies should reflect what the customers are willing and able to pay for the product. Companies often use one of three pricing strategies: competitive pricing, cost-plus-profit pricing, or value pricing. Competitive pricing exist when a company considers the pricing of its competitors and sells its product at the lowest price. Furthermore, competitive pricing exist when companies provide consumers with identical products. Probably the most well-known example of competitive pricing is Conn’s, which guarantees the lowest price for the items supplied in Conn’s stores across the country. If for any reason a consumer finds the identical item from another distributor at a lower cost than that advertised by Conn’s the company will now only refund the difference to its customers, but will add an additional 15%. Conn’s call this practice their Price Guarantee. www.conns.com Cost-plus profit pricing is used when a company adds the desired