Table of Contents
Marketing Mix
In marketing, the marketing mix consists of applying a series of tools that will allow you to meet the objectives of your marketing and business plan.
This strategy has been based mainly on the model of the 4P’s that are Product, Price, Place or Distribution and Promotion, published in 1960. However, an extend version has also been use that includes People, Processes and Presence and, sometimes, Performative.
Development and Analysis of the Marketing Mix
In addition to knowing the marketing mix and its concept, you must know the essential marketing components with an international focus.
We present them below.
Design
It is the process of combining the concepts of product, promotion, price and distribution. These four constituents must be design to satisfy the market’s needs to which the product is directed and meet the proposed sales goals.
These elements are interrelated; their decisions will influence the others. Therefore, it is also essential to select which part is most important for the sale of your product so that the other factors serve to strengthen it.
Developing
It is the set of actions that are carried out to achieve the objectives of the marketing plan. In this sense, developing a marketing mix with the 4P’s will focus on creating a fair value offer for the product, choosing the right price, selecting the ideal distribution channels and promoting the product based on communication strategies that make it stand out from the crowd. Effective way.
Analysis
The analysis refers to the study and reflection of the different elements to work on the marketing mix. For example, when developing and designing a blend to increase a company’s sales, research should be done to provide the data to create a compelling marketing mix.
To achieve this, a market study must be carried out to determine how the environment that is going to receive the product operates, the clients’ need, and what cultural elements come into play.
Importance of the Marketing Mix
Defining the marketing mix elements is one of the functions of the marketing department. Through this set of variables, the plan of a company is creat, and, when properly developed, they provide great success to the company.
However, a poorly work plan without analysis or bases that support it could cause losses to the company that would take years to recover.
The marketing mix needs a broad understanding, market studies and consultation with a multidisciplinary team to generate a work plan that achieves the proposed objectives through the company’s activities.
Critical Elements of the Marketing Mix
The four main marketing mix elements are: pay close attention and become an expert!
Product
By product, we mean an item to satisfy the needs and desires of consumers. It can be tangible or intangible objects (in the case of services, ideas or experiences).
In the case of the product, a series of decisions must be taken into account that will affect how potential consumers will perceived the good or service. Among them is the product’s design, the assortment, the period of life of a product, the brand, the packaging and label, guarantee, returns and the service that accompanies it.
Price
The price will be the amount the customer will pay for the product. That is, the sacrifice that a consumer will be willing to make to acquire a good or service. Therefore, it is the only variable that will directly affect its income.
When considering the price of a product from the point of view of marketing, it must be taken into account that this will be part of the perceive value that consumers will have. That is, the price affects the public image of a product. The marketing strategy, cost for distributors, discounts and type of payment, whether cash credit or others, must also be consider.
Place
It refers to the place of sale of the product. The point of purchase of the product must be convenient for consumers. The type of distribution, the possibility of opening franchises, the different locations, transportation and logistics, inventory and storage, and other variables regarding the physical sale of the good or service offered by a company must also be considered.
Promotion
Promoting a business encompasses the communicative area of marketing and can include advertising and offers. Therefore, you must have a proper balance of advertising, public representation, direct marketing and promotions. In addition, it is essential to consider the content of the message to be communicate. The channels to be use and the frequency of these messages.
More Elements of a Successful Marketing Mix
Here are some extra components of the marketing mix that will help you apply it effectively and successfully.
People
People are indispensable for the marketing of any product or service. When we talk about service, people create the product, but sometimes they are the product itself. In companies where the staff represents the product, they impact their public perception in the same way that an object would.
From a marketing point of view, employees must represent a company according to the message to be convey. Creating a work environment that consumers perceive positively will depend on employees having a high quality of life with wages that meet their wants and needs.
Process
We refer to the group of activities that aim to distribute, deliver, and guarantee product satisfaction with this concept. In general, processes refer to an employee’s steps to offer a service sufficiently. In addition, the methods must be design to meet the needs of consumers and, in this way, generate more sales.
Presence
Presence primarily encompasses physical evidence that a product, company, or service performs optimally. It includes everything that is not human resources, such as equipment, furniture and premises. It also refers to more abstract elements in the environment where the product is obtain, such as interior design.
Some aspects of a company’s presence offer proof that the service has occurred, such as souvenirs, memorabilia, photographs, customer reviews, among others. An appropriate presence assures consumers that the product they purchase is precisely what they want or need.
Strategies of the Marketing Mix
Customer
A business can only sell items that consumers want to purchase. In this way, marketers must study the wants and needs of consumers to attract them to their products.
Cost
Price is the value assign to an object, while the cost will be the value in the context in which the consumer resides. It, then, includes the time in which a consumer can purchase a product. The guilt he may feel, the extra costs of buying certain items, and the cost of selecting this item and not another.
Convenience
it is essential to know the preferences of consumers to acquire a product. The product must be easy to buy, find, and get information.
Communication
The idea is to create a dialogue with the target audience based on their preferences and lifestyles. It can include advertising, public relations and social media.
Conclusion
“marketing mix” is a business foundation model historically center around the product, price, place, and promotion. The marketing mix has remained defined as the “set of marketing tools that the firm uses to follow its marketing objects in the target market”.