What is Marketing Mix? What are the 4 Ps of Online Marketing??

Marketing Mix, a term that has been around since the 1950s when Neil Borden popularized the term with ten elements of marketing.

The fundamental elements of marketing were the 4 Ps – Product, Price, Promotion and Place. It was later in the 1960s that Jerome McCarthy devised the 7 Ps model that refined essentials from the marketing mix. Many Ps have been crystallized with time, such as 5 Ps, 8 Ps etc.

But the 4 Ps of marketing doesn’t seem to have changed their place in the list of top priority Ps. Every other Ps are either modification or expansion of the original 4 Ps.

In this article, we bring to you the definition of Marketing Mix and its’ fundamental 4 Ps.  

Marketing Mix – The Definition

As the term suggests, it is the right mix of various marketing tools. Marketing Mix basically refers to the set of actions used by a company to promote the brand or its products. The set of factors that a company can leverage to make customers purchase the products. It is usually referred to as the set of 4 Ps – Product, Price, Promotion and Place.

But if we look at it theoretically, it is a broader concept. Generally, there are three new Ps have additionally done – Process, People and Physical Evidence, but the priority of the top 4 remains the same. 

The major purpose of marketing is to develop awareness about your products among your customers. The role of marketing is to amalgamate all the qualities of the products keeping the targeted clients in mind. 

Always remember, the marketing mix of a product will be different from service. 

The 4 Ps of Marketing Mix

Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Let us discuss it all and gain better information.

Product

The product is known to be the heart of the Marketing Mix. Every marketing activity begins and ends with the product. It is not the only physical entity though, it basically captures all the aspects such as services, personality, organization as well as ideas. With no product, there is no price, promotion or place. Therefore, it is necessary to know the Product mix concerning marketing. The product mix is a wide range of products that a company offers. 

Any decision regarding product mix depends on a bundle of factors such as design, features, brand name, packaging, quality, services, returns etc. 

Price

Price is the monetary value that is supposed to be paid by customers in order to purchase the product. This is a very important factor for revenue generation for the firm. Pricing decisions are required to be taken with care. If it is too high, it may repel the customers away and it may exude the feeling of high quality. At the same time, it also makes your product placing to limited and standard stores. Hence the marketers must be an expert at this factor.

All the decisions regarding pricing mix require keeping the factors such as methods of pricing, policies, strategies, allowances, discounts, payment period, credit policy into consideration. 

This pricing strategy must be in alignment with the overall goals of the organization. 

Promotion

Promotion of the product generally aims at serving two objects. It informs the potential customers about your product and it persuades them to buy the product. The promotion mix includes various means that can be used to communicate with target audience. An effectively managed promotion mix will make sure there’s good sale of your products. 

The main elements of the Promotion mix are advertising, personal selling, public relation, direct marketing, publicity – social media, print etc, sales promotion. 

Place

Place/distribution deals with the transfer of ownership of the product from the manufacturer to the customer. 

The margin of the profit totally depends on how quickly the goods can be turned over. The more quickly the products reach a point of sale, the higher the chances of satisfying customers and increased brand loyalty. 

The major elements of Place mix are channels of distribution, warehousing decision, product handling, transport, inventory control, coverage etc. 

Concluding Thoughts

The marketing mix is basically a context-based discipline. The marketing we see today is highly evolved from the day it began. The internet-based technologies facilitate deeper penetration into the very individual. Feel free to reach us with any query!