now, no signup required!
While organizations across the globe have always resorted to marketing to promote their products and boost sales, the term ‘marketing mix’ came into being only in the mid-20th century. One of its very first uses dates back to 1953, when Neil Bordon, a Harvard Business School professor and marketing expert, referred to it in his address to the American Marketing Association. Since then, the term has seen widespread usage in marketing, as organizations attempted to accelerate their business and strengthen their footing in a fast-paced business environment.
Let’s understand what a marketing mix is and examine the importance of a marketing mix. We’ll also look at a marketing mix example to better understand the concept.
-
Defining Marketing Mix: 4Ps And 7Ps Of Marketing
-
Elements Of Marketing Mix
-
Importance Of Marketing Mix
-
Marketing Mix Example
-
Identify The Right Marketing Mix
Defining Marketing Mix: 4Ps And 7Ps Of Marketing
Marketing mix refers to a marketing model that brings together several factors that help organizations promote their products and/or services in the market to attract new customers and boost sales. It’s an integral part of an organization’s overall marketing strategy and helps them make informed decisions while revamping existing products or launching new ones.
A marketing mix comprises four distinct factors or areas of focus—product, price, place and promotion. These four factors are known as the 4Ps of marketing. However, over the years, the four-factor marketing mix model has been extended to include three more factors that organizations use in their marketing strategies in the modern age. These additional factors are people, process and physical evidence. The four conventional factors and these three new additions are referred to as the 7Ps of marketing.
Elements Of Marketing Mix
To craft a compelling marketing strategy and gain a competitive advantage, organizations need to thoroughly understand the elements of a marketing mix. Let’s examine the traditional 4Ps of marketing along with the three new factors that are part of the 7Ps of marketing:
Product
The first basic element in the 4Ps of marketing is the product. Product refers to an organization’s offerings — a service or an item that the organization produces to help customers meet their needs. To develop a successful marketing strategy, organizations need to make sure they’re producing the right product to address the demand and requirements of their target audience. They need to be able to tell consumers what they stand to gain from using their product, what additional features the product brings to the table and how it’s different from other similar offerings in the market. This requires focusing on each stage of the product life cycle and investing time and resources into perfecting it.
Price
The second P of the marketing mix that’s part of the 4Ps of marketing is price or, in other words, how much consumers pay for a particular product. This aspect of a marketing mix requires organizations to determine a price point for their offering, considering the expenses borne by the business to produce the product. It’s also important to analyze the perceived value of the product in the eyes of consumers, the prices set by the organization’s competitors in the market and seasonal demand for the product while establishing price. The aim is to not only generate profit but also remain relevant in a competitive business environment.
Place
Next in the 4Ps of marketing comes place. Place determines where an organization decides to sell its product for maximum impact or how it intends to distribute its product to customers. Deciding on the perfect placement of a product depends on extensive market research. Organizations need to choose a place that garners attention and is easily accessible to their target customer segment. Identifying where the organization’s target audience spends most of its time — on e-commerce platforms, supermarkets or brick and mortar stores — can help.
Promotion
Often considered the most important element of the 4Ps of marketing, promotion refers to the various channels of communication organizations use to present their product in a favorable light to consumers and increase brand visibility. The different forms of promotion organizations use may include advertising, content marketing, public relations, email marketing and social media campaigns. The promotion aims to convince a customer why they should buy a particular product over another. Organizations must keep a tab on the promotional strategies used by their competitors, determine the best time to promote a specific product and brainstorm ways to convey their message to consumers in the most appealing manner.
People
A recent addition to the traditional marketing mix and the 7Ps of marketing, it refers to the employees of an organization. Employees are the ones who interact with customers, becoming the voice and face of their organization in many ways. Polite, professional, approachable, skilled and responsible employees go a long way in elevating the customer experience, making customers more likely to do business with the organization. Therefore, to successfully craft and implement a marketing strategy, organizations first need to hire the right people for the right roles.
Process
The next addition to the marketing mix model, which is also a part of the 7Ps of marketing, is process. The process comprises how an organization delivers its product to customers. Organizations need to analyze the various stages of the customer journey to develop the right processes that help them deliver a positive customer experience. Effective and formalized business processes help organizations increase productivity and efficiency and save time and costs.
Physical Evidence
The last P of the 7Ps of marketing is physical evidence. It encompasses everything a customer sees while purchasing or using an organization’s product and/or service. This can include packaging, the brand logo, the organization’s environment, its staff members’ appearance and behavior and its website. Each of these aspects helps an organization build and establish its brand for effective marketing.
When it comes to marketing, the components of a marketing mix — from the 4Ps to the 7Ps of marketing — help organizations align their business to customer needs. A marketing mix, therefore, lays the groundwork on which organizations build their marketing plan.
Importance Of Marketing Mix
Now that we know the meaning of a marketing mix and are familiar with the elements of a marketing mix, let’s look at the importance of a marketing mix:
- Competitive edge: Incorporating the marketing mix into an organization’s overall strategy helps it gain a significant competitive edge in the market
- Informed decision-making: Arranging the elements of a marketing mix in a well-thought-out marketing plan helps organizations make informed business decisions
- Value creation: The research that goes into establishing a marketing mix helps organizations better understand their target customers and create value for them
- Identify strengths and areas of improvement: A marketing mix allows organizations to assess their strengths to build on them while also helping them identify areas of improvement
- Make a winning pitch: Combining the components of a marketing mix helps organizations develop the right pitch for their product and/or service
Developing an effective marketing mix is key to implementing a successful marketing strategy and achieving organizational goals in the long run. Organizations must ensure the components of a marketing mix complement one another for maximum benefit.
Marketing Mix Example
Nivea is a leading personal care brand with many offerings, from beauty to skincare products. Let’s look at how Nivea incorporates the 4Ps of marketing in its business strategy:
- Product: Nivea has a global team of more than 1,200 scientists who strive to continuously improve its products and pioneer innovative breakthroughs in personal care. The extensive market research that Nivea conducts further helps the brand develop new products to address customer concerns.
- Price: Nivea claims to offer top-quality products at affordable prices, targeting middle-class consumers. Discounts, free gifts and minimum prices on bulk purchases further help it attract new customers and retain existing ones.
- Place: Nivea products are easily accessible because they’re found practically everywhere, be it on the shelves of retail outlets, supermarkets or online on e-commerce platforms. The brand has a global presence, its products being sold in more than 200 countries.
- Promotion: Nivea utilizes advertising campaigns across print and digital media channels to convey its message to customers. It also sponsors high-profile events to improve brand visibility and communicate with stakeholders.
Here we see a marketing mix example of how Nivea successfully caters to all the components of a marketing mix to differentiate itself from its competitors.
Identify The Right Marketing Mix
Identifying the right marketing mix that works for your organization can be challenging in more ways than one. That’s why we’re here to help. Harappa’s Select A Strategy pathway will guide you through selecting the right marketing strategy by allowing you to analyze the various components of the marketing mix critically. You’ll be able to ask the right questions and identify and weigh criteria before rating possible options. Frameworks such as First Principles Thinking and Second-Order Thinking will teach you to challenge assumptions and examine the broader implications of a situation. When you pick up Thrive Skills such as Assimilating Knowledge, you’ll learn to continuously seek, absorb and interpret new information through proper inquiry and reasoning.
Sign up today for Harappa’s Select A Strategy pathway and zero in on the right marketing strategy.
