Why the marketing mix is important in business strategy?

8 min readDec 6, 2020

The philosophy of planning is more important in the business and it is equally important in a person’s life. The same way needs a plan to achieve its objective. That is called a marketing plan.

The marketing plan helps a business to segment and target its market. After segmenting and targeting are done then the role of market mix modeling comes and helps the company to achieve its objective.

what is the marketing mix?

4p marketing can change the product or can develop a new product or can modify the place say distribution channel.

4 p’s of marketing example

Only in the long run for marketing mix example, a company may reduce the price of its products by just announcing it through advertisements on the contrary if you wanted to launch a car.

Ford EcoSport it can take up to four to five years in making again if you are Unilever or Ford you need to develop your distribution channel and it can take up months together.

Product — 1stp’s of the marketing mix

Product is anything that can be offered to a customer to satisfy his or her need or want. Whether it’s a television or an insurance policy the product offers a total bundle of benefits to the customers.

In marketing terms or I would say a product mix example is what goods or services or other entity that can be marketed.

product mix strategies

When a company finalizes its product mix strategies that depend on certain parameters. Proper designing, brand name with a clear understanding of the various quality features, service, return policy, pre and post-sales information need to be mentioned.

Apart from this essential information, there should be an installation and service guide along with maintenance guidance that can improve a better understanding of any end-users.

A company needs to have a product that can run a business or if a company is having an existing product or product line, then marketers need to do product segmenting and targeting the potential market by creating an attractive offering for its buyers.

Attractive offerings can differentiate from its competitors in the market. But, if it is unmet needs that a company is offering in the market then that is a good way to target your competition and gain an advantage.

That is how a company can balance an effective way of doing product mix.

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Price — 2ndp’s of the marketing mix

It is one of the easiest ways which can be adjusted in the short-run to drive revenue. In this way, the company can communicate the value proposition.

According to David Sorge, price is the money you pay for any product or service the name may be different for example you may pay.

Price is different for every company as per their product. It can be a hotel tariff, air ticket, or an insurance premium, etc. The company can play around to gain its short-term goal in the market.

A company can easily modify its marketing mix price which also can be incorporated in today’s era of hyper-competitive pricing to get a quick response and fast way can react in the market.

Now when a business is thinking about marketing mix 4p price is one of the easiest ways to react in the market.

Pricing doesn’t take into consideration only the MRPs (maximum retail price). It depends on a few areas like discounts, payment terms, finance options. These options can be decided on the market, how your competition behaving in the market, and the actual cost of your product or services.

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All these factors will come during your pricing strategy. This is another and most important marketing mix strategy under the price or 2nd ps of marketing.

Place — 3rdp’s of the marketing mix

The third and another essential process in marketing mix is place. It is one of the most critical for the success of a business. It means a marketing channel or trade channel or distribution channel which ensure the reach of a product to the customers.

According to Lewis Stone, a marketing channel is an independent process of making products or services available for use or consumption.

It is one of the defined channels and a set of mechanisms that uses the marketing channel to fulfill demand and create the demand for the business. It can also provide important feedback to the company derive from the customers.

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Let’s talk about one example from one of the largest car manufacturer in India. Maruti has approx. 940 dealers across 670 cities to sell 14 brands of cars and its 150 variants scattered almost 3000 service points make Maruti a comprehensive distribution channel.

24×7 logistic support makes the Maruti available to every Indian customer.

Promotion — The final p’s of the marketing mix

Now come to the last part that is the promotion mix. That includes advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, personal selling, and now digital marketing.

It is now called the Integrated Marketing communication process that integrates all its communication efforts to get the maximum ROI on their promotional expenditure.

Once the product, price, and place finalized according to customers need now it is time to make aware of the product that is available in all touchpoints.

It majorly depends on how the company prepares its communication mix to drive customers over the competitor’s products.

The elements of promotion mix need to be planned through various channels like print, TV commercials, leaflets, posters, etc. But over and above in today’s scenario most admirable elements of promotion mix is the digital campaign plan.

This is the much-needed element in 4p marketing. The promotion also included several other things like trade shows, catalog marketing, seminars, online shopping experience, etc.

A complete promotion plan with an attractive digital campaign can make a product or service to reach its customers. The company’s success mainly depends on how effectively marketing mix promotion is designed.

So I have explained the 4 ps of marketing and how can marketing mix build competitive advantage on the business.

We have discussed the 4 ps of marketing and how marketing mix helps the business firms. Now a further leap towards marketing mix that we will discuss now.

7ps of marketing that we will be going to discuss now. 4 ps of marketing ruling the marketing mix but in the case of services and knowledge base economy suggested another 3ps beside the 4 ps.

7ps of marketing is an additional mix modeling element of the marketing mix. 7 p’s of service marketing is mainly required for the service industry. Intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability are what service marketing offers.

Service sectors like airline, hotel, insurance, banking, etc. accept these additional three p’s of marketing.

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People — People are the utmost priority.
Process — A mechanism that satisfies the customer.
Physical Evidence — Physical evidence deals with the direct sensory experience of a product or service.

7ps of marketing that we will be going to discuss now. 4 ps of marketing ruling the marketing mix but in the case of services and knowledge base economy suggested another 3ps beside the 4 ps.

Service sectors like airline, hotel, insurance, banking, etc. accept these additional three p’s of marketing.

The marketing mix 7ps -

What do you mean by people? Here all people who directly or indirectly influence the perceived value of the product or services including knowledge workers employ management and consumers come under the fifth P of the marketing mix.

A process produces a mechanism and flow of activity that satisfy the customers in a better way like Pizza delivery within 30mins by Dominos.

If you see all the McDonald’s outlet has the same burger or a French fry delivery took as minimum as 2–3mins is a perfect example of a process that ensures customer satisfaction.

Now come to the physical evidence that deals with a direct sensory experience of a product and service. For example, if you buy an air ticket in business class and expect sufficient leg space or a variety of services.

Or if you visited a five-star hotel or restaurant you expect high ambiance. All these factors directly influence the additional p’s of the marketing mix.

If you see the banking sector where services that offer differently for every customer. The service can vary from employee to employee depending on how that person or an employee’s current state of mind.

Bank has to ensure and follow the process where no customer gets dissatisfaction during branch visits. If a customer doing a transaction that will not take more than 15 to 20 mins the bank needs to set up a robust system where the proper process in place.

Same thing when we visit any McDonald’s outlet we see the same form and taste that another outlet is providing. They have a set of suppliers who understand the need and supplies the item like potato, bread, meat, or milk products.

For that robust process, we see the same quality burger or French fry in all the outlets.

A piece of physical evidence is like when you visit a five-star restaurant and you know that the charges are not at per with a three-star restaurant. That is a classic example of physical evidence.

A successful business marketing plan depends on how you plan and execute your marketing mix. I have explained why marketing mix is important in strategy formulation. Businesses need to analyze their competitors’ approach and consider their 7ps of marketing.

Originally published at https://www.growwleaf.com on December 6, 2020.