Marketing Mix Definition

The marketing mix is one of the things that you are sure to encounter when devising your business plan. If you are unfamiliar with the marketing mix definition, it is a set of essential elements that you will have to consider when developing your marketing strategies to make it a success. It is sometimes called the 4Ps because it consists of these four important elements – product, price, place, and promotion.

Although each of these areas are very important, you must not forget the term “mix”, which indicates that these four must be assessed carefully to work together and attain a balance in order to achieve your goal. This marketing mix definition may be difficult to grasp for those who are just starting a business with no marketing background, or for those who have just started looking for their first jobs and want to market their services. To make it simpler, it would be better to go through each of these elements and learn various tips in assessing them.

Product

This pertains to the product that you plan to offer to the market. In some cases, such as for those who are offering their services, it may refer to the set of skills that they are willing to offer to their clients.

There are a couple of questions that you may want to ask yourself when assessing this element. First is “what do you want to sell?” and second “will it be received well by the consumers?”

When deciding what product you want to offer to the market, pick one that you are passionate about or something that you know you are an expert on, but do not stop there. You also have to consider the demand for that product or skill, hence, the second question. If, for example, you are passionate about shoes, yet you already know that dozens of stores offer them, would you still join the bandwagon when you already know that you will have difficulty beating those old players?

Now, this does not mean that you should entirely turn your back away from shoes. What you can do instead is be specific about your product. Maybe you should find a specialty that you know your competitors have not ventured into yet, which could mean also that you are filling a gap in the market by offering a product that people are currently looking for from other producers. In other words, do not just focus on your passion or in the demand, but balance them together to come up with the ideal product.

Price

Pricing is important because this is where the life of your business depends on or, in other words, where your profit will come from. You have to understand that the three other elements have costs attached to them (cost to produce, promote, and distribute). Hence, you have to come up with a reasonable pricing for your product that will cover those costs, give you some profit, and still make your product affordable to your market.

These factors may be difficult to address simultaneously and that is one of the biggest challenges that you have to face. Here is a good tip, though. If your business is new, use the penetration pricing strategy. This means that you can start by offering your products at a low price until such a time that you have acquired a certain level of sales and have won a huge part of the market share. Once you attain that, you can slowly increase your price to make it competitive with your rivals.

Place

This refers to how you plan to distribute your product or services. Decades ago, this may be limited to putting up brick and mortar stores in several states or even abroad to get your products closer to your market. Fortunately, today, with the help of the internet, everything has become easier and you must take advantage of that. An online presence for marketing your product or service is very important nowadays and it is a good thing because it lessens your expenses as well.

If you really want to have physical stores, you can still do so, but now, you can limit them to those places where you know your market is huge. One thing you must remember, though, is that you must be quick in providing your product to your customers, especially if you have committed to a specific schedule.

Promotion

Promotion is important in order to attract attention to your products. It is like yelling to your customers “Look here! See my products and how great they are!” Your business will not succeed without strategic promotion, which is why it is included in the mix. Again, with the advent of the internet, several venues have been opened for entrepreneurs when it comes to promoting their products or to providers in offering their services.

There are the various social media sites, email marketing, online press releases, websites, blogs, and many more. These are all less expensive compared to print ads, but that does not mean that you must totally forego using printed media. If you can afford it, having billboards, brochures, and flyers for your business is still a good investment. Do not forget those business cards, too.

You must be more clarified about the marketing mix definition now that it has been discussed in detail, and various tips have been given relating to each element. As a final reminder, keep in mind that your marketing mix is dependent on the goal of the business. Therefore, be clear about your goals first and design your mix to achieve those objectives.