MARKETING MIX (4 P's of Marketing)

MARKETING MIX

The term "marketing mix" was first used in 1953 when Neil Borden, in his American Marketing Association presidential address, took the recipe idea one step further and coined the term "marketing-mix". A prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a 4 P classification in 1960, which has seen wide use.

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 after James Culliton had described the marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients". 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.

E. Jerome McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four categories that today are known as the 4 P's of

4 P's

Elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as 'the four Ps

1. Product  
   
2. Price
   
3. Place (distribution)
   
4. Promotion 

Product

The term "product" refers to tangible, physical products as well as services.

A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry or codes-based products like cellphone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system. Packaging also needs to be taken into consideration

Here are some examples of the product decisions to be made:

• Brand name
• Functionality
• Styling
• Quality
• Safety
• Packaging
• Repairs and Support
• Warranty
• Accessories and services

Price

 

The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product. 

Some examples of pricing decisions to be made include:

• Pricing strategy (skim, penetration, etc.) 
•  Suggested retail price
•  Volume discounts and wholesale pricing
•  Cash and early payment discounts
•  Seasonal pricing
•  Bundling
•  Price flexibility
•  Price discrimination

Place (Disrtibution)

 

Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet.

Distribution is about getting the products to the customer.

Place decisions include:

• Distribution channels  
• Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution)
• Specific channel members
• Inventory management
• Warehousing
• Distribution centers
• Order processing
• Transportation
• Reverse logistics

Promotion

 

Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, word of mouth and point of sale. A certain amount of crossover occurs when promotion uses the four principal elements together, which is common in film promotion.

 Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards.

Public relations are where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events.

 Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important role in word of mouth and Public Relations

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.

communication decisions include:

• Promotional strategy (push, pull, etc.)
• Advertising
• Personal selling & sales force
• Sales promotions
• Public relations & publicity
• Marketing communications budget

Limitations of the Marketing Mix Framework

The marketing mix framework was particularly useful in the early days of the marketing concept when physical products represented a larger portion of the economy. Today, with marketing more integrated into organizations and with a wider variety of products and markets, some authors have attempted to extend its usefulness by proposing a 7P's, such as adding packaging, people, process, Today however, the marketing mix most commonly remains based on the 4 P's. Despite its limitations and perhaps because of its simplicity, the use of this framework remains strong and many marketing textbooks have been organized around it.