Marketing is a creative way of business enhancement and thus marketing mix is the combination of various strategies in order to achieve this. It is believed that using a single specific strategy may not be as advantageous as a combination and this is what marketing mix aims at. Although there are many who actually don’t endorse this concept.
Marketing mix is usually compared by the marketing heads to that of the preparation of a cake, wherein a proportional mixture of various ideas are to be used to reap good outputs. Marketing mix is the way in which business is promoted and sales are increased by reaching the customers and making them learn about you the way you want them to.
Marketing mix involves the use of ingredients commonly known as 4Ps price, place, product and promotion.
Price: it is the value you give to your products or services. Pricing can be done in various ways. If your offer to the consumer is very rare, then you get the advantage of demanding high value. Pricing can be successful by the method of penetration i.e. when you are new in the market and have to deal with immense competition, keep you price low and eventually raise the value as and how you get a steady hold.
One more way could be increasing the value of your range of products once your customer starts to buy them.
Place: it is the path or mechanism through which you reach the customer.
Product: this is the most valued asset for good business and it can be classified as core, augmented and actual products. Core and augmented products are non physical products. Core product is the use of your product due to which the customer buys it. It is advantage he gets with your product. Augmented product is the various services you provide with the product like warranty, free services etc. due to which you keep your customers bound to you. The actual products are parts, which can be touched. Its quality, size, color, properties, makes your product attractive. Product life cycle (PLC) and Customer life cycle (CLC) are the two ways of marketing. In PLC, the sale increases, reaches its maxim, and slowly decreases due to many reasons. In CLC, the business offers different services to the consumer as and how his needs change.
Promotion: it is the way through which you get the customers aware of your products and services.
Some of them are:
People, on behalf of the companies can go to the consumers to sell their products. This is called Personal Selling.
Exhibitions and sales can be put up.
The Internet can be used to mail the concerned group of consumers.
The companies can provide sponsorships due to which more people get aware of them.
Media, press, advertisements are also useful.
Recently, the marketing mix is extended to 5Ps and 7ps, which includes people, process, and presence. This way, a proper marketing mix is a strategy of increasing sales and profits.
James Copper is a writer for http://www.ebmarketing.co.uk
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