Marketing Mix is one of the best ways of learning about the basics of marketing. It is primarily based on the four famous ‘P’s.
- Price
- Product
- Promotion
- Place
Having signed up for a marketing internship or job, one of the first things that you learn is that marketing cannot be contained within four sections of the marketing mix. Yet, the benefits that can be obtained by a company by organizing the work into the framework of the marketing mix are undeniable.
If you completely neglect the four Ps, then you tend to lose the sole purpose of being a marketer; marketing is all about individuals working as a team for the promotion of a product at the right place and at the right price. The world beyond these is limitless, but these build the foundation.
Here, we will discuss the components of a marketing mix and how companies can benefit from its use.
The Marketing Mix Basics
Marketing Mix is termed as the actions undertaken by a company to promote or market its products/services to its potential audiences. In simple words, it is a framework for implying the four Ps – Price, Product, Promotion, and Place.
Marketing Mix helps companies in organizing their marketing strategies to produce results through effective marketing campaigns.
This framework was first introduced way back in the 1940s and has gone under various changes over the past few decades. While some new components have been brought to the scene, some irrelevant elements have been removed. However, the four core elements viz. the four Ps are still present.
The Marketing Mix Elements
1. Product
Product refers to the items or services that your company is selling. This component focuses on extensive R&D – realizing the need of the manufactured products/services, developing strategies to market the products, and letting the customers and the employees know about the purpose of the products/services.
2. Price
This component refers to the price at which your company will sell the products/services to the customers. Arriving on this point needs several pricing strategies, research on the prices of similar products, and survey reports obtained from consumers. A proper price point helps your company in earning a position in the market.
3. Place
Place refers to the location where your company’s products/services are going to be sold. In the case of tangible products, physical locations, or retailer shops are required for selling. E-commerce websites also come under this category.
4. Promotion
Promotion refers to the activities of a company that makes the customers aware of the products/services and their benefits. This component includes advertising and promotional campaigns, word-of-mouth promotion, and PR marketing.
Other components
The components of Marketing Mix are often presented in the form of the four Ps; however, with each passing year, the framework has changed and many more Ps have been added to the list.
- People: This refers to the buyers, re-sellers, consumers, employees, and target audiences.
- Process: This refers to actions to be undertaken in order to support product/service launches.
- Partners: This refers to those people who are working for your company from the outside viz. marketing partners, field sales representatives, distributors, etc.
- Packaging: This refers to the overall look of the product/service to be sold.
- Payment: This refers to the process of transaction to be done for the selling of products/services.
- Physical Evidence: This refers to the components that are required for the completion of the provided services/products.
The Development of a Marketing Mix Strategy
To generate more revenues, a company must always follow a distinct marketing mix strategy for each new product/service launch.
1. Focus on Research and Development
The success of your company depends upon the quality of the products/services offered. To maintain and upgrade the quality of the products/services, you must always focus on research and development.
You may follow the below-mentioned practices for the betterment of the products/services:
- Understand the need and desires of the consumers by conducting market research.
- Ask for feedback from your current consumers to get detailed knowledge about the changes or modifications that need to be brought in.
- Focus on the industry trends to know about the pattern of demand in the market.
- Closely examine the activities of the market competitors.
- Collaborate with the product development team to make sure that the features fulfill the requirement of the buyers.
- Get the newly launched or updated products/services tested by your existing customers.
Such actions make sure that you are always trying to improve your products/services, which helps in building a strong foundation for the company.
2. Determine the Price Point of the Products/Services
A lot of market research needs to be done in order to determine the price point of the offered products/services. The following steps will help you in deciding the perfect price point so that the consumers do not feel that your company is overcharging them for its items.
- Talk to the consumers to know about what price they expect from your company.
- Collaborate with the product development team to make sure that the products can be manufactured in a budget-friendly way so that your company gets to make a profit at the determined price point.
- Meet with the sales team to determine the maximum discount that can be offered to the consumers.
- Determine the price slab that can be offered to the resellers of your products.
Always capitalize on the value perceived by the consumers. Even if the manufacturing cost of the offered products/services is low, you will be able to increase the marked price whenever your products/services face competition and provide advantages to the consumers.
3. Determine Distribution Channels of the Company
The place component of Marketing Mix refers to the places where the products/services will be sold. Places include distributors’ stores, company’s physical stores, or e-commerce websites. You can refer to the following points for more details:
- Determine which option will bring in more benefits – own physical store, retailer store, e-commerce website, or combination of all of these.
- Choose the geographical location wisely; make sure the demand for the products/services offered is high in the chosen location.
- Draft agreements with resellers, distributors, and retailers on markups, margins, and MSRPs.
- Determine the number of salespersons required to meet company goals.
4. Determine Promotional Strategies
At the end of all this, you arrive the point of promoting your products/services. People think that this component is similar to marketing, however, both are different, and this component must be completed at the end of everything. You must always build a foundation for the products/services before promoting it to the consumers.
You mustn’t jump right into it – conduct vigorous research to understand the recent scenario of the market and what draws the attention of the consumers. You can take note of the following points to know about the effective promotional strategies.
- Content marketing stands the tallest here – content creation, blogging, and PR marketing.
- Collaborating with industry influencers and strengthening public relations.
- Social media marketing through the platforms of Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
- Search engine optimization through advertisements on Google.
- Running advertisement campaigns through TV commercials or on YouTube.
- Attending and hosting industry events to draw media coverage.
There are innumerable promotional ideas that can put into effect in order to catch the attention of the target audiences.
Whether you are an intern who is eager to learn about marketing or ahead of an organization that demands more from its team, the framework of the Marketing Mix will always bring in great benefits and help you get your job done.
