Marketing Mix and Nike

Marketing Mix and Nike

In order to determine the proper marketing method in delivering products it is vital to keep analyzing certain factors. These elements are often described as the Marketing Mix and consist of: product, place, price, and promotion.

Product

It is essential to have a product and to be able to market it successfully to consumers. A product does not necessarily have to be a tangible good, but instead could be some service based good. Whether the good is tangible or not, it is important to understand what aspects of the product allow the company a competitive advantage (essortment,com, 2008). Some relatable questions are: What separates the goods from others already on the market? Is it of better quality? Or, is there a warranty or guarantee that will convince customers to purchase the particular product? Understanding the product will greatly influence the elements going into the marketing mix. For example, a high quality, not readily available product, such as a diamond, would be priced and marketing differently than a readily available product such as a cubic zirconium. Once a product is established and questions like the ones above are answered the other parts of the marketing mix become important.

Price

As mentioned in the product element the type of good that will be marketed is going to affect the price of a product. What amount of price that is attached to a particular good will affect the public’s perception of an object? For example, high prices seem to portray a product has a higher level of quality, despite the fact that may not necessarily be the case. The pricing of wine is a good example. When a consumer purchases a more expensive bottle of wine, 50$ for example, the higher than average price suggests that this bottle of wine is indeed a superior bottle than the similar looking 20$ bottle. The majority of consumers would probably be unaware of the types of grapes that went into the wine, or perhaps even where it was from, but would most likely choose the more expensive bottle of wine as the better bottle (going from just the price, and perhaps the packaging.) Trader Joe’s (traderjoes.com, 2008), a retail store for natural products across the United States, is famous for its notoriously cheap 2-3$ wine, but surprisingly taste tests have it tasting better than wines that are much more expensive. In any case, pricing is important for perceptions and it also is important for promotion strategies.

Promotion

Promotion is often associated with advertising and television commercials, but can take on many different forms. Direct mail campaigns, free giveaways, and public relations are all used to help promote a product. Promotion is important, because not only does it get the word out about a product if it is in its initial stage, but once a product is established, promotion strengthens the name of the brand (essortment,com, 2008). An ever-present product such as Xerox has been through multiple promotion channels and has become a strong enough brand to where we refer to making copies as �Xeroxing.’ The power of this promotion is it gives an instant credibility and familiarity to a product. The promotion of a product is very much tied into the price and what type of product you are trying to promote (abcsmallbiz.com, 2008). . For example, for an item that is cheaper and sold in volume, like Pepsi for instance, penetration in the market and gross sales is very important. So a good promotion campaign for them may be a widespread advertisement, like we see with their Super Bowl commercial campaigns. A more high priced luxury good like a Bentley is promoted through upscale distribution channels and word of mouth, with maybe some selective marketing campaigns.

Place

Where will you find a product? In the case of the Bentley mentioned earlier, only a few select upscale places will be authorized to sell them. Depending on the pricing and promotion of the product, the distribution channels will vary. A more omnipresent product that is easily transported would like to be found in as many places as possible, Pepsi, for example. If a company is trying to market clothes it will think about the possible places it wants to distribute them (abcsmallbiz.com, 2008). For example, they could make them available