Marketing mix is a familiar concept in the marketing field, but do you know what it means and why it is important for your business? Marketing mix is a combination of factors that a business can control to influence customer purchasing behavior. These factors are often represented by the 4P model: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Some other models also add elements such as People, Process and Physical evidence.
Marketing mix helps businesses identify core values and reach customer needs in the most skillful way. With a reasonable marketing mix strategy, businesses will create a perfect combination of products, promotions, prices, etc., and gain an advantage over competitors. Marketing mix also helps businesses monitor and update appropriately based on market information and new trends, thereby reaching customers and boosting sales.
To better understand marketing mix, let's look at the 4Ps and examples of how to apply them in practice.
Product
Product is one of the most important elements in the marketing mix, because it is what customers buy and use. Products can be goods or services, and can be physical or abstract. When building a marketing mix strategy for products, businesses need to pay attention to aspects such as:
- Quality: Does the product meet the customer's quality requirements? Is the product durable, safe and easy to use?
- Features: Does the product have any outstanding features and differences compared to other products of the same type? Can the product meet the customer's needs and wants?
- Packaging: Is the product packaged attractively and protects its quality? Does the packaging reflect the product's identity and value?
- Brand: Is the product named and logo designed in a memorable and unique way? Does the brand create recognition and trust from customers?
- Warranty: Is the product warranted for a reasonable period of time? Is the warranty service performed quickly and efficiently?
An example of a successful product in the marketing mix is Apple's iPhone. iPhone is a product with high quality, unique features, luxurious packaging, famous brand and good warranty. iPhone is not only a smartphone, but also a symbol of creativity, sophistication and fashion.
Price
Price is the factor that determines the level of business profit and customer satisfaction. Price must be determined based on many factors such as production costs, competition, value of the offering, customer demand and ability to pay. When building a marketing mix strategy for pricing, businesses need to pay attention to aspects such as:
- Pricing strategy: What pricing strategy will the business apply to attract and retain customers? It could be a high price to create an impression of quality and class, or a low price to compete and dominate the market, or an average price to balance profits and customers.
- Discounts: What types of discounts will the business offer to customers? It can be a quantity discount, a time discount, an object discount, or a combination of them.
- Credit: What form of credit will the business allow customers to pay with? Can be installment payment, card payment, online payment, or cash payment.
- Price adjustment: What factors will businesses adjust prices based on? It could be by season, by region, by customer, or by market situation.
An example of successful pricing in the marketing mix is Starbucks. Starbucks is a famous coffee brand in the world, with prices higher than other brands. However, Starbucks doesn't just sell coffee, it also sells an experience. Customers come to Starbucks to enjoy luxurious space, professional service, and diverse products. Starbucks also offers discounts and incentives for loyal customers, and allows payment in many convenient ways.
Place
Distribution is the factor involved in getting products to customers. Distribution includes activities such as selecting distribution channels, building distribution networks, warehouse management, transportation and delivery. When building a marketing mix strategy for distribution, businesses need to pay attention to aspects such as:
- Distribution channels: Which distribution channels will businesses use to bring products to customers? It can be a direct channel, when a business sells products directly to customers, or an indirect channel, when a business uses agents, distributors, or online platforms to sell products.
- Distribution network: How will businesses build a distribution network to ensure efficiency and cost? It can be an exclusive network, when a business only uses a single agent in one area, or a multi-channel network, when a business uses many different distribution channels to increase sales opportunities.
- Warehouse: How will the business manage its warehouse to ensure enough goods to supply customers? It can be a central warehouse, when a business only has one large warehouse to store products, or a distributed warehouse, when a business has many small warehouses in different locations to be closer to customers.
- Shipping and delivery: How will the business transport and deliver products to ensure speed and safety? Transport may be by road, rail, air, water, or a combination thereof. It can be door-to-door delivery, when the business delivers the product to the customer's address, or point-of-sale delivery, when the customer comes to pick up the product at the store or dealer.
An example of successful distribution in the marketing mix is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is a famous beverage brand worldwide, with an extensive and effective distribution network. Coca-Cola uses indirect distribution channels, when cooperating with agents, distributors, supermarkets, stores, restaurants, etc., to sell products. Coca-Cola also built a multi-channel distribution network, using many different means of transportation to bring products to distant markets. Coca-Cola also manages its warehouse scientifically, with many warehouses dispersed in different areas to meet customer needs. Coca-Cola also delivers products flexibly, allowing customers to choose home delivery or at the point of sale.
Promotion
Promotion is a factor related to communicating product information to customers. Promotion includes activities such as advertising, personal selling, online marketing, public relations, and sales promotions. When building a marketing mix strategy for promotion, businesses need to pay attention to aspects such as:
- Objective: What goal will the business promote the product with? It could be increased awareness, increased market share, increased sales, increased loyalty, or a combination thereof.
- Audience: Who will the business promote the product to? Can be potential customers, current customers, old customers, or different customer groups according to characteristics such as age, gender, income, etc.
- Content: What content will the business promote the product with? It can be information about the product, product benefits, competitive advantages of the product, or different messages according to each stage of the customer's purchasing process.
- Means: By what means will the business promote the product? It can be traditional media such as newspapers, radio, television, flyers, billboards, or modern media such as social networks, email, websites, videos, podcasts, etc.
- Budget: How much budget will the business promote the product with? It can be a fixed budget, when a business only spends a certain amount of money on promotion, or a flexible budget, when a business spends in proportion to revenue or market share.
An example of successful promotion in the marketing mix is Nike. Nike is a famous sports brand worldwide, with creative and effective promotional campaigns. Nike promotes products with the goal of increasing awareness, increasing market share, and increasing customer loyalty. Nike promotes products for people who love sports, have passion and desire to surpass themselves. Nike promotes products with inspirational and encouraging messages, such as “Just do it”, “Find your greatness”, or “Dream crazier”. Nike promotes products through many different means, such as television advertising, social networks, websites, videos, or collaborating with famous sports stars. Nike also promotes products on a large budget, spending billions of dollars each year on promotion.
Marketing mix is a useful tool to help businesses plan and implement effective marketing strategies. By analyzing and adjusting the 4P factors, businesses can balance product, price, distribution, and promotion, to create a unique and differentiated value for customers. You can apply marketing mix to your business by researching the market, analyzing customers, evaluating competitors, and testing different strategies. Hopefully this article has provided you with useful and interesting information about marketing mix. Thank you for reading! 😊
Reference source:
[What is marketing mix? What are the 4Ps in Marketing?]
[Marketing Mix: What are the 4Ps, 7Ps and 4Cs?]
[Why is Marketing Mix important for businesses?]
