The Marketing Mix (The 4 P's of Marketing)

Marketing decisions generally fall into the following four controllable categories:

Product Price Place (distribution) Promotion

The term "marketing mix" became popularized after Neil H. Borden published his 1964 article, The Concept of the Marketing Mix. Borden began using the term in his teaching in the late 1940's after James Culliton had described the marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients". The ingredients in Borden's marketing mix included product planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four categories that today are known as the 4 P's of marketing, depicted below:

The Marketing Mix

These four P's are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that center the four P's on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response. Product Decisions The term "product" refers to tangible, physical products as well as services. Here are some examples of the product decisions to be made:

Brand name Functionality Styling Quality Safety Packaging Repairs and Support Warranty Accessories and services

Price Decisions Some examples of pricing decisions to be made include:

Pricing strategy (skim, penetration, etc.) Suggested retail price Volume discounts and wholesale pricing Cash and early payment discounts Seasonal pricing Bundling Price flexibility Price discrimination

Distribution (Place) Decisions Distribution is about getting the products to the customer. Some examples of distribution decisions include:

Distribution channels Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution) Specific channel members Inventory management Warehousing Distribution centers Order processing Transportation

Reverse logistics

Promotion Decisions In the context of the marketing mix, promotion represents the various aspects of marketing communication, that is, the communication of information about the product with the goal of generating a positive customer response. Marketing communication decisions include:

Promotional strategy (push, pull, etc.) Advertising Personal selling & sales force Sales promotions Public relations & publicity Marketing communications budget

Limitations of the Marketing Mix Framework The marketing mix framework was particularly useful in the early days of the marketing concept when physical products represented a larger portion of the economy. Today, with marketing more integrated into organizations and with a wider variety of products and markets, some authors have attempted to extend its usefulness by proposing a fifth P, such as packaging, people, process, etc. Today however, the marketing mix most commonly remains based on the 4 P's. Despite its limitations and perhaps because of its simplicity, the use of this framework remains strong and many marketing textbooks have been organized around it.

Some definitions focus on marketing in terms of what it means to an

organization, such as being the key functional area for generating revenue, while other definitions lean more toward defining marketing in terms of its most visible tasks, such as advertising and creating new products. There probably is no one best way to define marketing, however, whatever definition is used should have an orientation that focuses on the key to marketing success customers. For the purpose of this tutorial we will define marketing as follows: Marketing consists of the strategies and tactics used to identify, create and maintain satisfying relationships with customers that result in value for both the customer and the marketer.

MARKETING HISTORY It is hard for many to believe, but when compared to economics, production and operations, accounting and other business areas, marketing is a relatively young discipline having emerged in the early 1900s. Prior to this time most issues that are now commonly associated with marketing were either assumed to fall within basic concepts of economics (e.g., price setting was viewed as a simple supply/demand issue), advertising (well developed by 1900), or in most cases, simply not yet explored (e.g., customer purchase behavior, importance of distribution partners). Led by marketing scholars from several major universities, the development of marketing was in large part motivated by the need to dissect in greater detail relationships and behaviors that existed between sellers and buyers. In particular, the study of marketing led sellers to recognize that adopting certain strategies and tactics could significantly benefit the seller/buyer relationship. In the old days of marketing (before the 1950s) this often meant identifying strategies and tactics for simply selling more products and services with little regard for what customers really wanted. Often this meant companies embraced a sell-as-much-as-we-can philosophy with little concern for building relationships for the long term. But starting in the 1950s, companies began to see that old ways of selling were wearing thin with customers. As competition grew stiffer across most industries, organizations looked to the buyer side of the transaction for ways to improve. What they found was an emerging philosophy suggesting that the key factor in successful marketing is understanding the needs of customers. This now famous Marketing Concept suggests marketing decisions should flow from FIRST knowing the customer and what they want. Only then should an organization initiate the process of developing and marketing products and services. The marketing concept continues to be at the root of most marketing efforts, though the concept does have its own problems (e.g., doesnt help much with marketing new technologies) a discussion of which is beyond the scope of this tutorial. But overall, marketers have learned they can no longer limit their marketing effort to just getting customers to purchase more. They must have an in-depth understanding of who their customers are and what they want.

Situation Analysis

In order to profitably satisfy customer needs, the firm first must understand its external and internal situation, including the customer, the market environment, and the firm's

own capabilities. Furthermore, it needs to forecast trends in the dynamic environment in which it operates. A useful framework for performing a situation analysis is the 5 C Analysis. The 5C analysis is an environmental scan on five key areas especially applicable to marketing decisions. It covers the internal, the micro-environmental, and the macro-environmental situation. The 5 C analysis is an extension of the 3 C analysis (company, customers, and competitors), to which some marketers added the 4th C of collaborators. The further addition of a macro-environmental analysis (climate) results in a 5 C analysis, some aspects of which are outlined below. Company

Product line Image in the market Technology and experience Culture Goals

Collaborators

Distributors Suppliers Alliances

Customers

Market size and growth Market segments Benefits that consumer is seeking, tangible and intangible. Motivation behind purchase; value drivers, benefits vs. costs Decision maker or decision-making unit Retail channel - where does the consumer actually purchase the product? Consumer information sources - where does the customer obtain information about the product? Buying process; e.g. impulse or careful comparison Frequency of purchase, seasonal factors Quantity purchased at a time Trends - how consumer needs and preferences change over time

Competitors

Actual or potential Direct or indirect Products Positioning

Market shares Strengths and weaknesses of competitors

Climate (or context) The climate or macro-environmental factors are:

Political & regulatory environment - governmental policies and regulations that affect the market Economic environment - business cycle, inflation rate, interest rates, and other macroeconomic issues Social/Cultural environment - society's trends and fashions Technological environment - new knowledge that makes possible new ways of satisfying needs; the impact of technology on the demand for existing products.

The analysis of the these four external "climate" factors often is referred to as a PEST analysis. Information Sources Customer and competitor information specifically oriented toward marketing decisions can be found in market research reports, which provide a market analysis for a particular industry. For foreign markets, country reports can be used as a general information source for the macro-environment. By combining the regional and market analysis with knowledge of the firm's own capabilities and partnerships, the firm can identify and select the more favorable opportunities to provide value to the customer.

Market research and marketing research are often confused. 'Market' research is simply research into a specific market. It is a very narrow concept. 'Marketing' research is much broader. It not only includes 'market' research, but also areas such as research into new products, or modes of distribution such as via the Internet. Here are a couple of definitions: "Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information - information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the methods for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes, and communicates the findings and their implications." American Marketing association - Official Definition of Marketing Research Obviously, this is a very long and involved definition of marketing research. "Marketing research is about researching the whole of a company's marketing process." Palmer (2000). This explanation is far more straightforward i.e. marketing research into the elements of the marketing mix, competitors, markets, and everything to do with the customers.

The Marketing research Process.

Marketing research is gathered using a systematic approach. An example of one follows: 1. Define the problem. Never conduct research for things that you would 'like' to know. Make sure that you really 'need' to know something. The problem then becomes the focus of the research. For example, why are sales falling in New Zealand?

2. How will you collect the data that you will analyze to solve your problem? Do we conduct a telephone survey, or do we arrange a focus group? The methods of data collection will be discussed in more detail later. 3. Select a sampling method. Do we us a random sample, stratified sample, or cluster sample? 4. How will we analyze any data collected? What software will we use? What degree of accuracy is required? 5. Decide upon a budget and a timeframe. 6. Go back and speak to the managers or clients requesting the research. Make sure that you agree on the problem! If you gain approval, then move on to step seven. 7. Go ahead and collect the data. 8. Conduct the analysis of the data. 9. Check for errors. It is not uncommon to find errors in sampling, data collection method, or analytic mistakes. 10. Write your final report. This will contain charts, tables, and diagrams that will communicate the results of the research, and hopefully lead to a solution to your problem. Watch out for errors in interpretation.

Sources of Data - Primary and Secondary

There are two main sources of data - primary and secondary. Primary research is conducted from scratch. It is original and collected to solve the problem in hand. Secondary research, also known as desk research, already exists since it has been collected for other purposes. We have given a general introduction to marketing research. Marketing research is a huge topic area and has many processes, procedures, and terminologies that build upon the points above. (See also lesson on market research, primary marketing research and secondary marketing research)