Define Marketing Mix

The first thing that marketing students get to learn about the subject of marketing is usually how to define marketing mix.

To define marketing mix is not at all difficult; it merely refers to a set of actions that a company uses to promote its brand in the market. After all, this is what marketing is all about, getting people to notice a specific brand or product. In fact, it may even be said that this is the backbone of the whole study of marketing.

To define marketing mix, experts usually use the 4 Ps – price, product, place, and promotion. These are the four basic things that one needs to remember when marketing a product or a brand.
To start off, price is the value that distributors or manufacturers put to the product. The price is usually made up of the product’s actual cost, plus a little more so that the distributors or manufacturers could earn some profit. Various factors have to be considered when determining the price. Of course, there’s the actual production cost, as well as the target demographic of the product. If the product is being marketed to bracket C and below, then the price will definitely be cheaper than products marketed to bracket A or B.

The Next P is the product or brand itself. This is the actual item or image being sold to the public by marketing people. It must be remembered that the product must have some substance, or else, even the best marketing people will not be able to do sell it.

Place is the point of sale. A good “place” strategy enables the consumer to see the product or brand, and enable him or her to buy it on sight. Location is one of the most important facets of marketing, as this can spell the difference on whether the marketing strategy can translate into a sale or not. The ultimate goal of marketing is a sale, and if people don’t buy, then the marketing strategy cannot be considered a success.

Location is important because people tend to have a very short attention span. If something captures their attention, then chances are, five or ten minutes after, they will have forgotten it already. It is very important that there be a counter nearby so that once the promotion is seen, the consumer can immediately make the decision of whether to buy the item or not.

Furthermore, if the location of the item is such that is not easily seen by the consumers, then no matter how good the promotion of the product is, the public will not be able to buy the product.

The last P stands for promotion. These are the activities undertaken to make sure that the public gets to know the product or the brand. This is where the marketing person’s creativity is tested, as this is where they are given the freedom to make promotions for their brand or product. In determining a promotion that is appropriate for their product, various factors have to be considered.

Of course, they have to consider the target market of their product. They have to ensure that their promotions are something that could appeal to their target market. A raffle with appliances as prizes will most definitely not appeal to teenage girls. This is just one of the things that a marketing practitioner has to take note of when thinking of promotions for their product.

To define marketing mix is easy. However, making sure that your marketing mix is successful is a different story.