Explain the concept of marketing mix and its components

So, how do you make the most of the marketing mix?

First things first, you need to understand each of the four Ps, as understanding each element thoroughly will put you in good stead to improve the process.

Product
Put simply, the product is what you offer to your customers, be it a physical product or a service. According to the marketing mix, you need to know the life cycle of your product and why customers would want to buy it.


Price

Pricing is much more complex than you may initially think. The price of a product implies the value it brings to the customer but also factors in everything from competitor prices to the costs of supply.

By adding a third option, such as medium size, you pick the most expensive option as the price difference between medium and large appears minimal. Psychology also plays a key role in pricing, and it works, since we’ve all fallen for the decoy effect. If you’ve ever bought a large popcorn when you only wanted a small one, then you’ve likely fallen for it.


Place 

Place refers to where you sell your product. Ever wondered about product placement in the supermarket? There’s a reason why products are placed where they are, as they’re designed to draw the attention of shoppers.

Product placement is another popular marketing strategy which is when you feature your product in a TV show or movie, in the hope that by association with it, viewers consciously or not feel the urge to buy it.


Promotion

Promotion is the part of marketing most people first think of, as it’s a direct line of communication to the customer.

With the promotion of your product, you need to convince the customer as to why they should buy it. The promotion often goes hand-in-hand with place, as you want to target customers through the most appropriate mediums, be it social media or TV commercials.

Neil Borden in the year 1953 introduced the term Marketing mix, an extension of the work done by one of his associates James Culliton in 1948.

Marketing Mix - A mixture of several ideas and plans followed by a marketing representative to promote a particular product or brand is called marketing mix. Several concepts and ideas combined together to formulate final strategies helpful in making a brand popular amongst the masses form marketing mix.

Elements of Marketing Mix

The elements of marketing mix are often called the four P’s of marketing.

  1. Product
  2. Goods manufactured by organizations for the end-users are called products.

    Products can be of two types - Tangible Product and Intangible Product (Services)

    An individual can see, touch and feel tangible products as compared to intangible products.

    A product in a market place is something which a seller sells to the buyers in exchange of money.

  3. Price
  4. The money which a buyer pays for a product is called as price of the product. The price of a product is indirectly proportional to its availability in the market. Lesser its availability, more would be its price and vice a versa.

    Retail stores which stock unique products (not available at any other store) quote a higher price from the buyers.

  5. Place
  6. Place refers to the location where the products are available and can be sold or purchased. Buyers can purchase products either from physical markets or from virtual markets. In a physical market, buyers and sellers can physically meet and interact with each other whereas in a virtual market buyers and sellers meet through internet.

  7. Promotion
  8. Promotion refers to the various strategies and ideas implemented by the marketers to make the end - users aware of their brand. Promotion includes various techniques employed to promote and make a brand popular amongst the masses.

    Promotion can be through any of the following ways:

Lately three more P’s have been added to the marketing mix. They are as follows:

Four C’s of Marketing Mix

Now a days, organizations treat their customers like kings. In the current scenario, the four C’s has thus replaced the four P’s of marketing making it a more customer oriented model. Koichi Shimizu in the year 1973 proposed a four C’s classification.

Robert F. Lauterborn gave a modernized version of the four C’s model in the year 1993. According to him the four C’s of marketing are:


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Once you have identified your target audience and the competition, the next thing on your to-do list should be developing a marketing mix.

Every business needs its very own marketing mix to appeal to its customers. In this post, we will discuss the marketing mix definition, its importance, the elements of marketing mix and how to develop an effective marketing mix for your product or service.  

For the ultimate list of marketing strategy planning tools with editable templates, you can click here or visit our Marketing Solutions

What is a Marketing Mix?

Marketing mix is a set of actions a business takes to build and market its product or service to its customers.

It helps to make sure that you are able to offer your customers the right product, at the right time and at the right place for the right price.

Whereas traditionally the marketing mix was executed through the 4 Ps of marketing, nowadays 3 more  additional tools have been added to the mix, making it the 7 Ps of marketing. Businesses use a blend of these marketing mix elements to generate the response they want from their audience.

Importance of Marketing Mix

There are several benefits of the marketing mix that makes it important to businesses;

  • Helps understand what your product or service can offer to your customers
  • Helps plan a successful product offering
  • Helps with planning, developing and executing effective marketing strategies
  • Helps businesses make use of their strengths and avoid unnecessary costs
  • Helps be proactive in the face of risks
  • Help determine whether your product or service is suitable for your customers
  • Helps identify and understand the requirements of customers
  • Helps learn when and how to promote your product or service to your customers

What are the Elements of Marketing Mix

Developing the correct marketing mix for your product or service starts with understanding the Ps of Marketing.

The 4 Ps of Marketing Mix

Explain the concept of marketing mix and its components
4 Ps of Marketing Mix (Click on the template to edit it online)

Product

Product is a good (such as music players, shoes etc.) or service (such as hotels, airlines, etc.) that is offered as a solution to satisfy the needs of your customer.

When developing the product, you need to consider its life cycle and plan for different challenges that may arise during the stages of it. Once the product reaches its final stage (sales decline phase), it’s time to reinvent the item to win the demand of the customers again.

Price

The next element of the marketing mix is the price your customer is willing to pay for your product. This helps determine the profit you will be able to generate.

When setting a price for your product, consider how much you have spent on producing it, the price ranges of your competitors, and the perceived product value.

Place

This is about the distribution center of the product and the methods used in distributing it to the customer.

Wherever this is, it should be easily accessible to the customer. For example, if you have a physical store, it should be located in a place that can be easily discovered by the customer. If you own a website to market your product, make sure it is easily navigable.

Promotion

Promotion refers to the methods a business uses to gain the attention of the customers to their product. These includes sales promotions, customer service, public relations, advertising etc.

When creating your promotion strategy, consider the tactics used by your competitors, the channels that are most effective in reaching your customers, and whether they match the perceived value of your product.  

The AIDA model is a principle widely used in marketing and advertising. It describes the stages an individual goes through during the buying process to become a customer.

The 7 Ps of Marketing Mix

7 Ps of marketing mix is an extended, modified version of the 4 Ps of marketing. This model is widely used in the service industry. It adds 3 more elements to the 4 Ps discussed above.

Explain the concept of marketing mix and its components
Marketing Mix 7 Ps (Click on the template to edit it online)

People

This refers to the people – both your customers and employees – who are directly related to the product or service.

While you need to study your target market to understand whether they are in need of the type of product you are offering, you need to hire the right people who are capable of giving their best to build it.

Process

Systems and processes play an important role in building and delivering a quality service to your customer.

Make sure that you process is free of bottlenecks and blockers in order to reduce the unnecessary expenses associated with executing the service.

You can use process maps to map process steps and analyze them to identify where you need to make improvements.

Explain the concept of marketing mix and its components
Customer Support Process Map (Click on the template to edit it online)

Physical Evidence

Physical evidence refers to what the customers see when consuming your product or service. This could include your branding, packaging, the physical environment where you are selling your product etc.

Make sure that all physical aspects associated with your product or service adhere to its values.

How to Develop a Marketing Mix

Define Your Goal and Set a Budget

Developing an effective marketing mix starts with setting the right goals. Establish what you want to achieve with your marketing plan; is it to grow sales? Acquire more customers? Build brand awareness?

Once you have set realistic and measurable goals, determine how much you are willing to spend on achieving your objectives.

Study Your Target Customer

In order to build a product or service that your customers would want to buy, you need to know who they are.

Find different segments in your target audience and create separate customer profiles for each. Refer to these when you are developing your strategies.

Explain the concept of marketing mix and its components
Customer Profile Template (Click on the template to edit it online)

Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition

Clarify what your unique selling proposition is through customer surveys, interviews, focus groups etc.

Here you will identify the benefits your product or service will bring to your customer, and how you are better than anyone else in solving their problems.

Understand Your Competition

Carry out a competitor analysis to understand the different strategies and tactics used by your competitors. This knowledge will be especially helpful when you are creating your pricing strategy.  

Record important information about your competitors on a competitor profile like the one below

Explain the concept of marketing mix and its components
Competitor Profile Template (Click on the template to edit it online)

Learn how to conduct an effective competitor analysis.

Identify the Unique Features of Your Product

List down the unique qualities and the value of your product. You can build on these when you are marketing it to your customers.

You can use the mind map below when you are identifying the unique features of your product.

Explain the concept of marketing mix and its components
Product Feature Mind Map (Click on the template to edit it online)

Create a Pricing Strategy

Using the competitor research you have done, build a pricing strategy. Make sure that you have not overpriced or underpriced your product.

Choose Your Distribution Channels & Promotional Methods

Choose the channels you will be distributing your product through based on the type of your product or service and your target customer.

And select the promotional techniques you want to choose based on your budget, and again the customer and your product.

Create your promotion campaign with this editable mind map template,

Edit the Promotional Campaign Template

What are Your Thoughts on Developing an Effective Marketing Mix?

We’ve covered everything you need to know about a marketing mix and developing an effective one for your business.

What are your experiences in selecting the correct marketing mix for your business? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

What is marketing mix explain its components Class 12?

Marketing mix is a combination of four elements- product, price, promotion and place. Marketing mix refers to the tools or ingredients, which the marketer mixes in order to interact with a . particular market.

What are the 4 components of the 4Ps marketing mix and explain each component?

The 4Ps of marketing is a model for enhancing the components of your "marketing mix" – the way in which you take a new product or service to market. It helps you to define your marketing options in terms of price, product, promotion, and place so that your offering meets a specific customer need or demand.

What are the total components of marketing mix?

What are the 4 P's of marketing mix? The 4 P's are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Product: The product is an item or service for sale.

What are the 4 components of marketing mix strategy?

The four Ps are a “marketing mix” comprised of four key elements—product, price, place, and promotion—used when marketing a product or service.