Promotional mix Essay

Introduction: The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by marketing professionals. The marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand’s offering, and is often synonymous with the four Ps: price, product, promotion, and place; in service marketing, however, the four Ps have been expanded to the Seven Ps or Eight Ps to address the different nature of services. Definition: The definition that many marketers learn as they start out in the industry is: Putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time. The marketing mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix. When marketing their products firms need to create a successful mix of: the right product sold at the right price in the right place using the most suitable promotion. To create the right marketing mix, businesses have to meet the following conditions: The product has to have the right features – for example, it must look good and work well. The price must be right. Consumer will need to buy in large numbers to produce a healthy profit. The goods must be in the right place at the right time. Making sure that the goods arrive when and where they are wanted is an important operation. The target group needs to be made aware of the existence and availability of the product through promotion. Successful promotion helps a firm to spread costs over a larger output. 1.Product: (refers to the item actually being sold) A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer demands. It is a tangible good or an intangible service. For example good will for intangible. Tangible products are those that have an independent physical existence. Typical examples of mass-produced, tangible objects are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass-produced service is a computer operating system. The marketer must also consider the product mix. Marketers can expand the current product mix by increasing a certain product line’s depth or by increasing the number of product lines. Marketers should consider the features and benefits you offer, your unique selling points (What makes your product/service different from everyone else’s) and what potential spin-off products of services might be. Marketers should consider how to position the product, how to exploit the brand, how to exploit the company’s resources and how to configure the product mix so that each product complements the other. The marketer must also consider product development strategies. 2.Price: (refers to the value that is put for a product/ the amount a customer pays for the product) Price is a critical part and is very important of your marketing mix as it determines the company’s profit and hence, survival. Choosing the right price for your products or services will help you to maximise profits and also build strong relationships with your customers. By pricing effectively you will also avoid the serious financial consequences that can occur if you price too low (not enough profit) or too high (not enough sales). When setting a price, the marketer must be aware of the customer perceived value for the product. Your overall pricing strategy will depend on your marketing, business and lifestyle objectives. Three basic pricing strategies are: 1. market skimming pricing, 2. market penetration pricing and 3. neutral pricing. The ‘reference value’ (where the consumer refers to the prices of competing products) and the ‘differential value’ (the consumer’s view of this product’s attributes versus the attributes of other products) must be taken into account. 3.Place: (refers to the point of sale/ refers to providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to access) In every industry, catching the eye of the consumer and making it easy for her to buy it is the main aim of a good distribution or ‘place’ strategy. Whether it’s a retail store, online shop or on social media ‘place’ refers to the channels and locations for distributing your product, related information and support services. This is how you will position your product or service in the marketplace. Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. This may include any physical store (supermarket, departmental stores) as well as virtual stores (such as ebay) on the Internet. Being in the right location can be a deciding factor in whether a customer buys from you or not. To find out where your ideal customer is buying from it’s worth doing some market research. 4.Promotion: (this refers to all the activities undertaken to make the product or service known to the user and trade) Promotion is the business of communicating with customers. It will provide information that will assist them in making a decision to purchase a product or service. How do you promote and market your business now (or intend to)? Regardless of how good your business is, if you don’t promote it and tell people you exist, it’s unlikely you will make many sales. Compare what your competitors do for promotion, noting what does and doesn’t work for them as well as yourself. Promotion is more than selling and advertising your business. It’s about attracting the right people to use and reuse your business. There are a number of techniques to use and they can be combined in various ways to create the most cost effective strategy for your needs. This can include online, branding, public relations and advertising. The additional elements that make up your marketing strategy are- 5.People: (the employees of the organization with whom customers come into contact) Every employee in your business (if you have them) can influence the marketing of your products and services. Knowledgeable and friendly staff can contribute to creating satisfied customers, and can provide the unique selling experience that an organisation is often seeking. If an outstanding team provides a competitive advantage, then the quality of recruitment and training becomes essential to achieving your marketing objectives. Make sure you have processes and training in place to get the most out of your team. 6.Process: Process represents the buying experience the customer gets when they buy your product or service. For example, the way a fine bottle of wine is presented and served in a restaurant, the reaction of a business to a complaint or the speed of delivery in a fast food outlet. A poor process can undermine the other elements of the marketing mix. Budget airlines, for example, may offer very competitive headline prices, but if the final price is inflated by additional charges such as baggage charges and administrative fees, customers may begin to feel they have been taken advantage of. Try to document your key processes and procedures so your staff and suppliers know what to aim for. 7.Physical evidence: (pertains to how you, your products, or your company is presented in the market place) The physical environment where your products or services are sold and delivered can have a significant impact on how your customers’ experience your business. The physical environment can be the quality of the furnishings in your consulting rooms, the design of your reception area or website. Creating a positive physical environment doesn’t have to be costly – a vase full of fresh flowers or a creative window display can make a big difference. Many marketing specialists are now seeing the 4Ps as too product-oriented and have adopted the 4Cs marketing mix. In recent times, the concept of four Cs has been introduced as a more customer-driven replacement of four Ps. And there are two four Cs theories today. One is Lauterborn’s four Cs- (consumer, cost, communication, convenience), another is Shimizu’s four Cs- (commodity, cost, communication, channel). â€Å"P†category â€Å"C† category â€Å"C† definition Product Consumer Products are likely to produce as consumer orientation. Price Cost reflecting the total cost of ownership. Many factors affect Cost, including but not limited to the customer’s cost to change or implement the new product or service and the customer’s cost for not selecting a competitor’s product or service. Promotion Communication represents a broader focus. Communications can include advertising, public relations, personal selling, viral advertising, and any form of communication between the organization and the consumer. Place (Distribution) Convenience With the rise of Internet and hybrid models of purchasing, Place is becoming less relevant. Convenience takes into account the ease of buying the product, finding the product, finding information about the product, and several other factors. Robert F. Lauterborn proposed a four Cs classification in 1993[7] which is a more consumer-oriented version of the four Ps that attempts to better fit the movement from mass marketing to niche marketing: After Koichi Shimizu proposed a four Cs classification in 1973, this was expanded to the Seven Cs Compass Model to provide a more complete picture of the nature of marketing in 1981. It attempts to explain the success or failure of a firm within a market and is somewhat analogous to Michael Porter’s diamond model, which tries to explain the success and failure of different countries economically. â€Å"P† category â€Å"C† category â€Å"C† definition Product Commodity It is not â€Å"product out†. The goods and services for the consumers or citizens. Price Cost There is not only producing cost and selling cost but purchasing cost and social cost. Promotion Communication Marketing communication : Not only promotion but communication is important. Communications can include advertising, sales promotion, public relations, publicity, personal selling, corporate identity. Place