The marketing mix, also referred to as the 4Ps, is the basic model in marketing. It refers to the set of marketing tools used by the firm for purposes of pursuing its marketing goals in the target (Borden, 2015). In other words, the marketing mix entails all the activities and strategies used by a business to promote its merchandises or brand in the market. A typical marketing mix thus refers to four major levels of marketing decision, that is, product, price, place, and promotion. However, contemporarily, the marketing mix increasingly encompasses in service marketing, which is an extended marketing mix that comprises 7Ps, consisting of the main 4Ps and other Ps such as positioning, packaging, and people as critical mix elements (Borden, 2015). According to Khan (2014), while marketing practice has been in place for millennia, marketing theory was developed in the late nineteenth century. The typical modern marketing mix, commonly known as the 4 Ps, which has formed the principal basis for decisions in marketing management, was first published in mid-1960.
The four major elements of the marketing mix, also referred to as the 4Ps, include price, product, place, and promotion. Price is the value attached for a particular product. The price of a product is dependent on the segment targeted, the cost of production, the market’s ability to pay, demand and supply, as well as a series of other indirect and direct factors (Khan, 2014). There exits various types of pricing strategies or approaches, each linked to the overall business plan. Moreover, pricing can be used as a demarcation, for purposes of differentiating and improving a product’s image.
According to Khan (2014), price may also refer to the amount paid for a product by a customer, or the sacrifice that consumers are ready to make in order to acquire a good or a service. Such sacrifice may include time and effort. As such, price encompasses considerations of the perceived value by customers. Price distinguishes itself as the only marketing mix variable that has implications for revenue (Borden, 2015). Overall, price denotes the total cost to customer to obtain a product, and can encompass both psychological and monetary costs such as effort and time consumed and expended in product acquisition. As an element of the marketing mix, price entails decisions surrounding credit terms, credit payment, discount pricing, as well as special offer pricing.
On the other hand, promotion is all the activities carried out to make a product or a service known to potential customers and convince them to explore the product further. As such, promotion refers to all forms of marketing communications. Promotion can take the form of advertising, incentives, press reports, word of mouth, awards and commissions to the trade (Borden, 2015). Additionally, promotion can include direct marketing, consumer schemes, contests and prizes.
Overall, marketing mix plays a critical role in businesses. All the components of the marketing mix significantly influence each other. Consequently, the elements of the marketing mix form the business plan for a corporation, and if handled appropriately, can lead to great business success. However, if wrongly handled, the business could possibly take years to recover and may fail to achieve its goals. As such, the marketing mix necessitates a lot of market research, understanding, as well as consultation with various people ranging from users, to traders, to manufacturers.
References
Borden, N. H. (2015). The concept of the marketing mix. Harvard Business school.
Khan, M. T. (2014). The concept of’marketing mix’and its elements (a conceptual review paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), 95.
