Marketing Mix

the 4 Ps describing the strategic position of a product in the marketplace.  optimizing the marketing mix is the primary responsibility of marketing. By offering the product with the right combination of the four Ps marketers can improve their results and marketing effectiveness. Making small changes in the marketing mix is typically considered to be a tactical change. Making large changes in any of the four Ps can be considered strategic. For example, a large change in the price, say from $129.00 to $39.00 would be considered a strategic change in the position of the product. However a change of $131 to $129.00 would be considered a tactical change, potentially related to a promotional offer.

The four Ps are:

• Product:  what are you selling?
  • branding,
  • product design, 
  • production, 
  • packaging, and
  • product life cycle management.
  • The scope of a product generally includes supporting elements such as warranties, guarantees, and support.  
• Pricing:   key component that earns revenue. (all other factors cost money).    
  • This refers to the process of setting a price for a product, including discounts.
  • The price need not be monetary - it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services, e.g. time, energy, psychology or attention.
  • see our in-depth discussion on pricing and strategy
• Promotion:   getting the word out
  • (includes advertising) ,
  • sales promotion,
  • publicity, and
  • personal selling,
  • branding and refers to the various methods of promoting the product, brand, or company.
• Placement (or distribution): 
  • making the product available through distribution, Wholesaler, retailer outlets.   
  • Placement refers to how the product gets to the customer; for example, point of sale placement or retailing. 
  • This refers to the channel by which a product or services is sold (e.g. online vs. retail), which geographic region or industry, to which segment (young adults, families, business people), etc.

Creating the right marketing mix is key.  

Consistancy is key

Services Marketing

Seven Ps  - (add 3 more for services marketing)

Services marketing must account for the unique nature of services.

As well as the standard four Ps (Product, Pricing, Promotion and Place), services marketing calls upon an extra three, totaling seven and known together as the extended marketing mix. These are:

• People: Any person coming into contact with customers can have an impact on overall satisfaction. Whether as part of a supporting service to a product or involved in a total service, people are particularly important because, in the customer's eyes, they are generally inseparable from the total service . As a result of this, they must be appropriately trained, well motivated and the right type of person. Fellow customers are also sometimes referred to under 'people', as they too can affect the customer's service experience, (e.g., at a sporting event).
• Process: This is the process(es) involved in providing a service and the behaviour of people, which can be crucial to customer satisfaction.
• Physical evidence: Unlike a product, a service cannot be experienced before it is delivered, which makes it intangible. This, therefore, means that potential customers could perceive greater risk when deciding whether to use a service. To reduce the feeling of risk, thus improving the chance for success, it is often vital to offer potential customers the chance to see what a service would be like. This is done by providing physical evidence, such as case studies, testimonials or demonstrations.

see our discussion on Services marketing