Abstract
This paper explores the concept of Marketing Mix as it applies to the effective selling of used textbooks. This product has been chosen because of its wasted earning potential for students who need to adapt to the rising cost of education. The Four Ps of Marketing – Product, Price, Place, and Promotion – are discussed in this paper as the application of each marketing component is vital to success in the sale of used school books. Like the four legs of a table, the four Ps complement each other and as such, weakness in one component can cause a collapse of the entire structure. The Product concerns the item or service that the seller is selling and for this paper, it pertains to used textbooks. In this section, it is explained that anything that adds value to the product must be applied by the seller in order to maximize profit. Therefore, the seller has to improve the current condition of the used textbooks so that more value can be created for the buyer. The Price pertains to any aspect of the business that is even remotely related to money. For this paper, the price of the product will be dependent on the current condition of the used textbook as well as the selling prices of competitors. The Place defines for the customer where the product can be purchased and in this aspect, face-to-face selling is recommended while other places of sale may be through local bookstores and online retailers. Promotion involves ways and means that enable a seller to capture the attention of the buyers and in regard to this, advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations can be helpful in selling used textbooks. This paper therefore examines how the principle of the Marketing Mix through the Four Ps can substantially maximize profits for students who want to sell their used books at the end of every school year, especially in light of the rising cost of education in the country. In this manner, knowledge in these concepts may enable students to earn much-needed cash while building upon a good foundation for future business endeavors.
Used textbooks are things that everyone needs to deal with at the end of every school year whether these items are thrown away in the trash bin or, less often than not, handed down for free to another student who will need them for the coming semester. Used textbooks are of interest to me because it has a yearly demand from incoming students taking a similar course and, thus, can easily be converted to cash. A seller can have the full earning potential of used textbooks through the concept of Marketing Mix, “a unique blend of product, place, promotion, and pricing strategies often referred to as the four Ps” (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2011, p. 47).
The Four Ps of Marketing
Each of the four Ps represents one of the important elements of marketing that needs to be considered when planning to sell used textbooks. Alone, none of them will be very helpful so the four Ps need to work together. They are like the four wheels of a car or the four legs of a table. If there is trouble in one or more of the four Ps, the effort will likely be unsuccessful. Each of the four Ps has to be geared toward a specific target market and work with each of the other Ps to do so. The following sections show how good profit can be made from selling used textbooks.
Product
As one of the elements of the four Ps, product pertains to the product item, “the lowest common denominator in the product mix” (Longenecker, Petty, & Palich, 2016, p. 796). In this instance, the product is used textbooks. It is important for a seller to understand that the product must have a quality that is acceptable to the buyer. In fact, anything that can add value to the product – such as variety, design, packaging, and branding – should be a concern (Baker & Saren, 2016). Books that look better can be sold at better prices and so it is important to handle books with care while it is being used. Because wear and tear may be unavoidable, it would help if damage is minimized throughout the semester. It is necessary to clean each book properly to make it look newer, especially the front and back covers when it has not been previously covered with transparent plastic. The general idea is to make the book look more valuable.
Price
Price pertains to “the amount of money charged for a product or service the sum of the values consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service” (Kotler, Burton, & Deans, 2015, p. 354). Careful consideration of this element is relevant in arriving at reasonable selling prices for used books, as compared to the prices of competitors and of brand new books. After cleaning a book, the next step is to assess its overall condition so that a price estimate can be made. Generally, it would be a good idea to sell a used book at half its brand new price [or even more depending on the buying capacity of the buyer] if it is still in excellent or very good shape, with the price lowering as its actual condition declines. Books may fall under one of the following categories: 1) good as new; 2) very good; 3) good, and; 4) acceptable.
Place
Place establishes where the buyers can find the product to get what they will pay for, “making the product accessible and available to target customers” (Kumar, 2008, p. 164). Identifying the most viable places for marketing and selling used textbooks equates to higher profits. The best place to sell used books is through face-to-face selling. This is because the seller can make the most profit due to the fact that there will be no shipping or commission fees involved as compared to online selling. As such, the price will be much more competitive than prices in bookstores or on any of the online sites on the Internet. However, the seller has to consider that many other fellow students or classmates may be selling similar used books at about the same time so there could be more competition in this aspect.
If face-to-face selling will prove to be difficult, selling used books to a local bookstore or even a retailer online can be a second alternative. However, the seller must first conduct an online survey or contact bookstores and retailers for the buying prices of used books in order to make the highest possible profit. It is highly likely that bookstores and online retailers make a lot of money buying from the yearly flow of students who sell their books at very cheap prices.
Promotion
Promotion involves “advertising, personal selling, public relations and sales promotion” (Reynolds & Lancaster, 2011, p. 56); these components can be relevant to the selling of used textbooks because it calls the attention of buyers. To compensate for a probable setback from having more competition from classmates selling their own used books, the seller may have to rely a lot on word-of-mouth promotion. Facebook and other social media sites can be helpful in this regard and so having many friends or followers on these sites can be a definite advantage. Otherwise, posting an announcement on the school message board or going around campus and spreading the word to friends and acquaintances or even directly asking incoming students who will be taking the same subjects would be a wise business strategy.
Conclusion
Unwittingly, students waste the earning potential of used textbooks when these items are tossed into the garbage bin after the completion of every school year. More students need to be aware that it is but logical to apply ways and means that can lessen the effects of the rising cost of education, if not just to avoid throwing money away. A basic knowledge of the Marketing Mix concept through the aspects of Product, Price, Place, and Promotion can go a long way in enabling a student to recover some expenses for college education, knowledge that can also provide good foundation for worthwhile business ventures in the future.
References
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