Marketing mix refers to a combination of marketing tools businesses use to market goods or provide services to targeted customers.
What Is Marketing Mix?
Businesses have used instruments for marketing to advertise and sell their product however,” marketing mix” is the name that “marketing mix” was coined around the turn of the century. One of the first instances occurred in 1953 in a message addressed to the American Marketing Association, in which Harvard professor and expert in marketing Neil Bordon outlined how marketers can create and implement a winning marketing strategy. 1
Understanding and arranging the various elements of its marketing strategy allows the business to make successful business decisions on every level. These choices help businesses:
- Build on its strengths and reduce the weaknesses
- Be more competitive and adaptable in the market
- Increase the efficiency of collaboration between partners and departments
In the years since 1950, elements of the marketing mix have gone through different changes in response to technological advancements and other shifts in best practices for marketing.
The Four Ps of Marketing Mix
From the early 1960s onwards, the term “marketing mix” has been correlated with the Ps: price promotion, product, and place.
- Price. The price you pay for the product. Prices are based on the consumer’s opinion of the product’s value and could dramatically alter your strategy for marketing. A lower-cost makes the product more accessible to consumers, while a higher price attracts customers who want exclusiveness. In either case, the price should be more than the production cost which will allow your business to make an income.
- Products. What is being advertised? Marketers need to take into consideration the duration that the item will have to be able to tackle any problems that might arise after it is in the hands of the user. For instance, the first model of the iPod was plagued by a battery-life issue that became apparent after a specific amount of time. Apple had to come up with strategies to address the issue.
- Promotion. Direct marketing, advertising, and sales promotions. Television commercials, Internet ads, catalogs and billboards, trade shows, and even advertisements placed on top of taxicabs are all forms of promotion. This also covers public relations, for example, the publication of press releases, or ongoing partnerships with media. Promotion refers to what information is shared to whom it is sent, how the audience is reached, and the frequency at which promotion occurs.
- Place. Any physical place where the customer is able to access, use or buy a particular product. These include distribution centers, transportation and warehousing facilities, inventory management, and franchises.
The Seven Ps of the Marketing Mix
Sometimes the four Ps are extended to include the seven Ps. Alongside the standard four Ps The seven Ps comprise physical evidence, individuals, and processes.
- Evidence physical. Anything that is tangible and connected to a particular product or the physical space where a service takes place. Physical evidence can include packaging and delivery receipts, signs, or the layout of a store.
- Humans. Employees, including employees who are directly in contact with customers (such as sales customers, customer service, or delivery staff) and personnel recruitment and training. This includes how employees are performing their duties and how they present themselves to customers (for instance, what their uniforms are like) and how they are feeling about their experience.
- Process. Everything within an organization affects the way in which a product or service is performed by employees and is then made available to customers. A few examples include the order employees have to perform their duties and the number of questions sales reps receive and the locations they contact customers to get assistance or help, or how the performance of employees is measured and tracked. It also explains which aspects that are standard and which are able to be individualization on a per-customer basis.
What Is a Digital Marketing Mix?
Digital marketing is the method a company uses to achieve its marketing objectives through technological advancements. Since more and more businesses are conducted online Digital marketing tools become crucial to all kinds of companies, not just those that are in the tech industry.
Digital marketing has the same basic principles as the classic marketing mix. However, the elements are adjusted to how the Internet impacts the use of new technologies and consumer behavior.
The Four Cs of a Marketing Mix
In the early 1990s The four Ps were changed in the context of the four Cs in order to put less emphasis on the business and more focus on your customer. 3 The four Cs are customer convenience, cost, and communication. In certain instances, the four Cs might be more suited to the digital marketing strategy rather than all four of the Ps.
- Consumer. The wants and requirements of the customer. In this way, the business must be focused on solving issues that consumers face rather than creating products. This means studying the behavior of consumers and their needs and talking to prospective customers to learn what they’re looking for.
- cost. The total cost of purchasing an item or service exceeds the cost. Cost covers the amount of time needed to research the product and purchase it. Also, it could comprise the cost of trade-offs customers have to take, such as avoiding buying another item or the guilt that they feel for purchasing or not purchasing a particular product.
- Convenience. How simple or difficult it is for shoppers to purchase and locate an item. The advent of Internet buying and marketing has brought convenience to the forefront of the buying decisions of customers than physical location.
- Communication. A dialogue that is heavy on the customer as the company. This can include marketing, advertising media appearances, and marketing. In the digital age However, it can also include emails that consumers can choose to opt-in or initiate brand ambassadors blogs, blog posts, websites as well as sponsored product placement as well as social media platforms.
How to Identify Your Marketing Mix
In order to increase sales and build a base of customers, businesses must start by identifying their marketing strategy. The initial step is to identify your potential customers.
Once you’ve identified who your customers are then you’ll be able to study their relationship with your company.
- What issue does your ideal client have?
- What’s getting impeding the solution to the issue?
- What is your product or service meets this requirement?
- What does your ideal customer like your competition? What about you?
- What is the primary reason for your client to purchase?
The next step is to determine your goals for growth and sales and also the budget you have set for marketing efforts. Next, select a marketing strategy that can help you connect with your people and reach your objectives.
For instance, if you require 25 leads to sell a single product and you plan to sell 1000 products in the month of April, you’ll need 25,000 leads. Your target market has a tendency to visit two websites, one that has more than 25,000 monthly visitors and the other with one million visitors per month. The site with only 25,000 visits per month is much cheaper to promote, however, it is highly unlikely that the 25,000 visitors be new leads. So, a website that has 1 million monthly visitors is the best use of money for advertising, even though it’s more expensive.
Through analyzing the components of your company’s individual marketing strategy You’ll be able to design a strategy that connects with customers, generates sales, and grow your company’s revenue.
