Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix:
Marketing mix is a strategy which is used by a company to promote its product in the market. It is also known as 4Ps of marketing. The 4Ps consists of : (i) Product, (ii) Price, (iii) Place and (iv) Promotion.
Product: A product is an item being sold which satisfies the customer’s needs or wants. Product can be tangible (goods) or intangible (services). For example Procter and Gamble offers number of consumer products like detergents, baby wipes, Razors, Shampoo etc; Samsung electronics offers televisions, mobile phones, washing machines, etc; Pepsi Co. offers products like Cold drinks, Potato chips, oats etc. The product does not mean a physical product but also the benefits that a customer derived from it. It also includes the services to be provided after sales.
Price: It is the amount a customer is ready to pay for a product. The price of a product largely affects its demand. The price of the product should be in line with the value of the product.
Place (location): It refers to the point of sale. The product should be available to the target customers. Dealers or intermediaries to be selected to reach the targeted customers. The intermediaries should keep the proper inventories of the product, demonstrate the product to the customers and should provide after sales services. The decision also include the warehousing and transportation of the product from the place it is produced to the place it is required by the buyers.
Promotion: It includes demonstrating the product to the customers and encourage them to buy it. The demonstration of the product generally include its features and benefits. A substantial amount of money is been spent on advertising, personal selling and sales promotion by marketing organizations. An optimum combination of various promotional elements is applied to achieve the given objectives of an organization.