Marketing mix is a concept in which the four essential elements are include to achieve a marketing goal.
Thus, for the attainment of the marketing goals, the instrument used is marketing mix. Marketing Mix comprises mainly of four elements. These are referred to as 4P’s. They are:
- Product
- Price
- Place
- Promotion
So, the above four makes up the marketing process.
Let us discuss each of them:
Product:
It is something that must satisfy the wants and needs of the potential customer. Product might be a physical product. Any kind of services being offered is also a product. It includes everything from planning and development of the product to its modification. It is indeed , one of the most important and vital element of the marketing process.
Price:
Essentially, it comprises of determining the price of the product. This is with respect to the volume generation of the product/services. It includes everything from discounts, concessions to price margins.
Place:
First of all, it determines if the location of the product/ services is within the reach of the target audience/market. It takes into consideration all the factors including storage facility, transportation, distribution, etc.
Promotion:
Promotion is the method followed to make the customers aware about the product/services . It includes all the promotional activities like personal propaganda, promotional activities, professional organizations, media campaign and advertisement. These are all done to attract the customer and persuade them to buy the product.
The above four are inter-related. Any of the above factors have an influence on the others in some way. All the decisions taken on the above 4P’s must be balanced and co-ordinated to attain the optimum results.
The 4 P’s are also associated with the 4C’s keeping the customer at the center. These are:
Product: Customer Value
Price: Customer Cost
Place: Convenience
Promotion: Communication
Hence, it can be said that controlling the market mix is the key to successful marketing.