Abstract
The marketing mix can be defined as a tool used by marketing professionals in marketing. Marketing mix is very important in determining the brand offering or a product itself. It is commonly referred by many professions as four Ps. These Ps stands for product, price, place and promotion. Recently further studies have improved thus theory and expanded it. Seven Ps or eight Ps are the recent expansion of the theory.
This term marketing mix was written in an article by Neil Borden. The article was called the concept of the marketing mix. Borden learnt this great concept from his friend who was known as James Culliton. James explained the role of any marketing manager should be to mix all ingredients carefully. These ingredients are recipes formed by other people or by own self. The ingredients maybe the ones which are readily available in the market or the ones which no one had tried them.
For the right marketing mix to be found, there are conditions that should be met. It is important for the product to be having features’ which are right. This means the product must be good looking and it should be working well. The price of the product must also be right. To make a good and healthy profit, the consumers will have to buy high quantity of the product. The goods produced must reach the right place at a time which is appropriate. The group which is being targeted by the product should be aware that the product exists and where is will be available. When the promotion is successful, the company is able to spread the production costs over an output which is large.
Product
A product is generally an item that will satisfy the want or need of the consumer. It can be a good which is tangible or a good which is intangible. The goods which are intangible are considered to be services. Examples include; the financial industry, the tourism industry and the hotel industry. The goods which are tangible are those who exist physically. They includes; a disposable razor, a motor car and computer hardware. They are produced in mass to cut production costs.
Each product that is produced has its life cycle. They have an early phase which can be referred to as the growth phase. They later enter the maturity phase. After that there is a period of decline due to the decrease in sales. The people who market the product make sure that they have calculated well the lifecycle of a product. This is to evaluate the problems facing the product at these phases. They come up with solutions early enough. The product mix is also considered by the marketers.
The product mix which is current can be expanded. This is done to increase the depth of the product. This is done by having the number of product lines increased. The marketers come up with good methods of exploiting that brand. A way of exploiting the resources of the company is sought. A way of configuring the product mix is searched. This is to make sure that a product complements other products. The ways of developing the products are also considered.
The price
The price refers to the amount of money a customer pays to get a product. The importance of price is that it shows the profit of a particular company. This shows the survival status of the company. When the price is adjusted, impacts the marketing strategy. This depends on the products elasticity. It also affects the demand and supply. A good price is the one that will complement the other elements.
Promotion
Promotion consists of elements which includes; public relations, personal selling, sales promotion and advertising. Advertising consists of all communication which has been paid for. They include internet and radio advertisements, cinema commercials and billboards. In public relations the services are not directly paid for. This includes; sponsorship deals, press release, conferences, exhibitions, trade fairs and seminars.
Individuals use the word of mouth to communicate about a certain product. The staff of a company plays a very important role in public relations and the word of the mouth. The company may subsidies the prices \of their products to make them affordable to the consumers and also making the consumers to get used to the product. Recently, the social media has been a good platform for advertising many products. This is due to the fact that many people have been introduced to social media.
The Place
Customers need their goods at definite places. This must be done at the right time. Here we look at the methods of transporting the goods. This will differ from one distributor to the other. Wholesale stores should provide after sale services to their customers. This however cannot apply to retailers. There are goods that the company should transport for the consumers. It is referred to as after sale service by businessmen.
An Example
Arsenal is a football club in London. It is one of the most attractive clubs in the world. It is one of the most successful club in the English premier league .the club is run on a strict business model. Looking the club in a marketing mix model, we are able to see how all the aspects of marketing mix are adopted by Arsenal FC. All the four aspects are closely looked upon below.
The Product
The product of arsenal is playing very exiting football. This has made the club to have fans all over the world. The fans want to see those players. Produce sublime moves and score fantastic goals. This is exactly what the fans get. Every time the stadium is full. Many fans have secured season long tickets. The arsenal products also include the clubs jerseys which they change every season for better marketing.
For the club to be stable the manager never buys expensive players. This has led to the club being the most stable in the world. It is also the third most valuable football club in the world. In the recent years arsenal FC moved from the 38000seater High bury stadium to the 60000 setter emirates stadium. This was to curb the rising number of fans who wanted to attend arsenal home matches.
Price
The fans have to pay so that they watch the arsenal games. Because arsenal is situated in London, the tickets are a bit expensive. It is still affordable to many fans. Arsenal have continually make a profit am at the end of every yeah. This is the opposite of other clubs who have been running at a loss.
The arsenal brand also has television rights and arsenal TV. Arsenal products are sold all over the world. This is via the clubs website and other sales in the media. The fans all over the world buy the clubs jerseys which are unique every year.
Place
Arsenal being in London is an added advantage. Many fans are able to attend league games. The fans who cannot make it to the stadium watch the games from the television where the host has transmission right from the club. During the league breaks the player travel many parts of the world selling their brand.
Promotion
The arsenal product is marketed through the internet. The club has its website where the information about the club. Apart from the domestic league there are other tournaments that the clubs engage in. These tournaments help sell the brand of arsenal. The club has signed locative deals with other companies so that they would market their brads. The shirt sponsors of the club are the emirates airline. The club is paid to market the gulf airlines. The new stadium is also named after the emirates airlines.
Conclusion
Marketing mix is a good tool in marketing. Where it has been adopted, the businesses have succeeded. This model has been improved but the four p are the core to successful marketing. Any marketer adopting the model must be careful to balance these four factors. The people marketing the products must make sure that they have calculated well the lifecycle of a product. This is to come up with a complete product mix.
References
- Needham, Dave (1996). Business for Higher Awards. Oxford, England: Heinemann. |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
- Borden, Neil. "The Concept of the Marketing Mix". Neil Borden. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- Kerin, Hartley and Rudelius "Marketing, the Core," NY: McGraw Hill Publishing 2001.
- Koichi S. (2003)"Symbiotic Marketing Strategy,"4th editionj, Souseisha Book Company.(Japanese)
- Brian S. (2011) Engage!: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate Success in the New Web, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp.201-202.
- Jerome McCarthy (1975)”Basic Marketing: A Managerial ApproachNY: Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
