The Elements of the Marketing Mix

The elements of the marketing mix

This paper will cover the elements of the marketing mix with an organization which I have

selected that I have been familiar with. The company that I have selected will be United

Parcel Service. I will breakdown and describe the marketing mix and discuss in detail the

product, place, price and promotion parts of this mix.

Let us first start with what a marketing mix is defined as. A marketing mix is known as

one of the most used phrases in the marketing industry. The marketing mix is also well know as

the four P’s. What is interesting about her marketing mix is that the customer is not part of the

marketing mix. (Perrault, Jr & McCarthy, 2005, 7/ch 2)Looking at the first element of the

marketing mix will be the product or product life cycle... The product is what the company is

known for and is normally a good or service that is sold to the customer. The product life cycle is

in theory the same as the product. According to www.marketingteacher.com, the product cycle is

put into motion by having a developmental stage introduced. This stage is released into the

market. The idea is that the product will gain more and more customers as the product grows.

Once the market stabilizes and the product becomes mature during the development period, then

the product is overtaken by the introduction of superior competitors. The product then goes into

decline and is withdrawn. In some instances, the product maybe promoted again to regain

customers. Some strategies that are used to promote are there for awareness. If the competition

is few a skimming price schedule is employed. The three major factors of the product are

growth, maturity and decline.

The next marketing mix piece that will be described is the pricing strategies. With pricing

strategies, there are many different ways that pricing strategies can be used, depending on the

policy and strategy of the company. Some examples of pricing include premium pricing,

economy pricing, price skimming, and value pricing. Other pricing strategies that can be used

are penetration, psychological, product line, optional product, captive, product bundle,

promotional and geographical pricing, For example, product pricing is where there is a range of

product or services the pricing reflect the benefits of parts of the range. Another example is

geographical pricing where pricing is evident where variations in price differ around the world.

The next part of the marketing mix that will be discussed will be the place. The place is

also known as a channel, distribution, or intermediary. According to www.marketing.com,

this is the mechanism through which goods and or services are moved from the manufacturer or

service provider. There are six basic channel decisions that must be made. After the first six

channels are decided, then a selection consideration is selected. The distributor must be familer

with the companies target consumer and segment. Lastly, the channel intermediaries must be

selected. These consist of wholesalers, agents, retailers, and even the Internet. There are four

steps to setting up the place in the marketing mix. Special planning and consideration should be

exercised when planning the place considerations.