Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is a tool used to make the best of marketing. Companies must determine their marketing strategies correctly in order to grow and make a profit, and that is to apply the marketing mix effectively.
In other words, marketing mix is the name given to all of the basic variables that the marketing manager or director has to decide.
It is an efficient method for companies to use the marketing mix in order to manage their marketing processes effectively. There are many names leading the marketing mix. One of them is Jerome Mccarthy's book "Basics of Marketing". At the same time, Neil H. Borden is one of the names that deals with the concept of marketing. Philip Kotler, the management guru, is also one of the pioneers who made the marketing mix concept a trend in the business world.
What is Marketing Mix?
There are basically two types of the marketing mix;
- Product marketing mix
- Service marketing mix
When it comes to the marketing mix, the first thing that comes to mind is the 4P concept. Explanation of 4P concept;
- Product
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
The 4 Ps of Marketing
1. Product
Product refers to the good or service a company offers to its customers. Ideally, a product should meet a current consumer demand. To be successful, marketers need to understand the life cycle of a product and business managers need to have a plan for dealing with products at every stage of their life cycle. The product type also partially determines how much businesses can charge for it, where they should place it, and how they should promote it in the market.
Things to pay attention to are;
- Benefits
- Specifications
- Product interaction
Many questions can be asked in detail when making product marketing decisions. Here are a few of the most important:
- What does your product cover?
- What problem does it solve or what problem does it help the customer overcome?
- In other words, what will the customer gain by using your product?
- How will your product benefit?
- What features does the product have that help meet your customers' needs?
- What is the competitive advantage of your product?
- How is your product different from your competitors?
- Why should the customer buy your product instead of your competitors' product?
2. Place
The points to be taken into consideration at this stage of the 4P concept are as follows;
- Location
- How to get the product on the market
- Distribution
Questions to ask about the place vary from how it will be distributed to what market it will be found in. The questions that can be asked about the place are as follows;
- Where will your potential buyer search for your product?
- Will it be found in a catalog in a brick-and-mortar store, on the web only, or in a combination of one or more locations?
- If your product is to be sold in a brick-and-mortar store, what features will the store have? Will it be sold in a boutique or a discount store? Used in home supply store, grocery store, kids store, etc. Will it be found in places like?
- What is your marketing plan to launch your product?
- Will you sell directly to your customers or will you use a distributor or sales team?
When a company makes decisions about the location, it tries to determine where to sell a product and how to get the product to the market. The goal of marketing managers is to bring products in front of the consumers most likely to buy.
In some cases, this may mean placing a product in specific stores. At the same time, innovative actions such as placing the product on the screen of a certain store can be taken.
3. Price
The items to be considered in the price step of the marketing mix are as follows;
- Price strategy
- Discounts
- Profit margin
When considering at what price to set your product, keep in mind that your customer must perceive the value in your product, and this means that customers cannot be won over price alone. When trying to determine the price of the product, the following questions should be considered:
- How much are your competitors selling the product?
- Can you set and maintain a competitive market price?
- How will your price be compared to your competitors?
- Will you offer discounts or buying benefits?
- Will you be offering a loyalty program or rewards program?
- Will your product be offered at more than one price point? If so why?
- What is the lowest price you can set for your product and still maintain the profit margin you need?
Price is the cost consumers pay for a product. Marketers should link the price to the real and perceived value of the product, but also consider procurement costs, periodic discounts, and competitors' prices. In some cases, marketing managers may increase the price to give the product a luxurious look. Alternatively, they can lower the price so that more consumers can try the product. Another important point is; marketers need to determine when it's appropriate to give a discount.
4. Promotion
The points to be considered in the promotion step are as follows;
- Marketing channels
- Marketing strategy
- Season
If your customer doesn't know about them, you may have a hard time selling even the best products. The questions to ask when considering how to promote your product are;
- In what ways will you deliver your marketing message to your potential customer? For example; direct mail, billboards, web, social media, etc. will you use
- When will you start promoting your product and what is the reason for promoting it at that time?
- How many months before you launch the product?
- Is the product seasonal? If so, how will that affect when, where and how you introduce it?
The promotion step includes advertising, public relations, and promotion strategy. The purpose of promoting a product is to explain to consumers why they need it and why they have to pay a certain price for it.
Hence, the 4Ps of marketing are the main factor involved in marketing a good or service. 4P is the product, price, location, and promotion of a good or service. Often referred to as the marketing mix, 4P is limited by internal and external factors in the overall business environment and interacts significantly with each other.
4P is used by companies to determine some key factors for their business, including what consumers want from them, how their products or services meet these needs or not, how their products or services are perceived in the world, and their stance.
7Ps of The Marketing Mix
In companies, salable factors are divided into two. These; product and service. When it comes to marketing mix for the product, 4P comes to mind. When it comes to service, 3P is added to the 4P concept and 7P concept comes into play. So what is the 7P concept? The first 4P of the 7P concept is the marketing mix used in product marketing;
- Product
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
The remaining 3P is;
- People
- Processes
- Physical Evidence
5. People
The "people" element of 7Ps includes everyone directly or indirectly on the business side of the business. It's no use building a brand, innovative product, or great social media presence if there are no right people. An integral part of the survival of your business is that all your employees need to take dynamic and high-quality actions behind the scenes or in their communication with the customer.
Just as you can't have a customer service representative who doesn't have empathy for your audience's problems, you shouldn't have a manager lacking human skills. Ask yourself: will these employees share the company's vision and also understand the expectations and needs of customers?
Hiring and retaining the right people is essential to the long and short-term success of your business.
6. Processes
The 7th component "process" in the marketing mix defines a set of actions taken while providing the service to the customer. Examining the process means evaluating things like the sales funnel, your payment systems, distribution procedures, and managing customer relationships.
However, it is not enough just to do the transactions. Every step you take and the methods you choose to use for these processes should be done by you in a way that minimizes costs while at the same time maximizing benefit and value for your customer.
Evaluating, adjusting, and optimizing different parts of your process will help you streamline your business efforts, while at the same time ensuring your methods are up to date and in line with current trends.
7. Physical Evidence
When we get to the point, consumers need to know that the brand they are buying or interacting with is legal and exists in real life. This is where physical evidence comes in.
Physical evidence usually takes two forms:
- Proof of service or purchase
- Proof or endorsement of your brand's existence
For example, all services or products received count as physical evidence. Your receipts, packaging, tracking information, invoices, brochures or PDFs, etc.
What about your brand's approval or verification? What do we mean by verification? Verification basically refers to the visual aspects or measurable features of your brand, such as your website, your logo, your business cards, signage in your building, the brand's headquarters and equipment, and your presence on social media. These are the elements the customer is likely to see before actually interacting with you or your offers.
Documenting their interactions and transactions for both brands and customers is always important to the GDPR.
Difference between Service Marketing Mix and Product Marketing Mix
| Product marketing | Service marketing | |
| Meaning | Product marketing refers to the process by which marketing activities align to promote and sell a particular product in a particular segment. | Service marketing refers to the marketing of economic activities offered by the business to its customers for adequate evaluation. |
| Marketing mix | 4P: Product, Price, Place, Promotion | 7P: 4P + People, Process, Physical evidence |
| What Does It Sell? | Value | Relationship |
| Who is coming to whom? | Products go to customers. | Customers come to the service. |
| Transfer | It can be owned and resold to another party. | It is neither owned nor transferred to another party. |
| Return | Products can be returned. | Once the services have been processed, they cannot be returned. |
| Tangibility | They are tangible so the customer can see and touch them before coming to the purchasing decision. | It is difficult to promote services because they are abstract. |
| Separability | The product and the company that manufactured it may be separated. | The service cannot be separated from its provider. |
| Visibility | They are visible and therefore get quick responses from customers. | They do not contain images and do not get quick responses from customers. |
| Quality comparison | The quality of a product can be measured easily. | Service quality cannot be measured. |
| Customizability | Products cannot be customized according to requirements. | Services vary from person to person and can be customized. |
5 Golden Tips to Develop a Profitable Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is of great importance in achieving business goals. As we mentioned, you have to make sure that each element of the marketing mix works with others to support your goals. For example, you need to support a premium product with a high price and location, and your promotion should convey that value. You may encounter obstacles when even an element is "closed".
Some companies with noticeable growth are experiencing the effects of leveraging the individual elements of the marketing mix. As we'll see in some of these examples, one item can even help upgrade others.
1. Companies that grow with word of mouth become lush like tropical trees.
The most distinctive feature of the tropical climate is that the soil, air, and temperature are very suitable for a seed to grow. Even a seed that has dropped so hard can sprout after a few weeks. Word of mouth suggestions for companies also has this effect. Without your knowledge, a customer who is satisfied with your product and service recommends you are considered one of the best marketing strategies, and your sales start to sprout. For the other party, the interpretation of an experienced person is very valuable and gives confidence. However, your advertisement will be made most effectively without spending any budget.
The most important thing you need to do to be recommended word of mouth is to keep your current customer satisfied by taking into account their wishes. Subsequently, in case of any complaint, it will be responded in the fastest way to solve the problem and your customer will reconnect to you.
2. Marketing is the art of making sales unnecessary.
Social media, advertising, billboard, word of mouth, catalog, product placement, etc. There are many techniques such as. Each of these applications, when done in the right place at the right time, brings sales with it. When you determine and apply your marketing strategies correctly, you can add that customer to your body without even having to talk when your sales team goes to the customer. The customer has seen your ad or heard your praise before and is ready to be convinced.
One of the mistakes made in companies; It is the lack of attention paid to the sales department to the marketing department. Although the marketing team is the first step of the process, turning more towards the sales team will extend the time your product reaches the customer. Instead, you can make your sales team's job easier by keeping your marketing team strong.
Today, marketing can be done in every field in all ways and the era is the age of creativity. You can add value to your company by enabling your sales team to use the time it will spend to speak to customers more efficiently, and you can deliver your products and services to customers faster.
3. Those who do not try until they find the product and service and market fit will be willing to stay small.
Your product and service must be compatible with the market. If you produce a demanded and needed product, you can develop your marketing strategies more efficiently in a competitive environment and get results. Selling a sweater that you produce from quality material in the summer house will not give you an advantage. The more your product and service are in line with the market, the more your company grows, and the more preferred your service and product are.
Today, markets and industries may be changing rapidly with the digital age. What you need to be aware of here is that what is changing is the way they do business. As long as the products and services meet the needs of the market, they do not change. is the way you market them.
4. The marketing battle is given at the desk, with the marketing mix and marketing strategies. The sale is just the signing of the peace agreement.
Marketing is a process in which brainstorms are made, implementations are planned, the audience is determined and the strategies for reaching the audience are created. When you design this process at the beginning and implement it successfully, the only thing left to your sales team will be to sign with the customer. The more accurately and intelligently you market your products and services, your sales team will be the one who gets the job done flawlessly and with minimal effort in the field.
The marketing process has a structure that includes many factors and can get complicated if no plans are made. For this reason, managing your process correctly and determining your strategies wisely is one of the most important factors in reaching your product and service to the customer.
5. Service users are the ones who buy according to the trust they have in the other person by looking at the price.
One of the most important reasons why your service is preferred by the customer is the trust you give. Price is a factor that affects during the choice, but if you do not give confidence, even if you keep your price affordable, it is unlikely that you will be preferred by the customer. The customer wants the service received to be worth the money and thinks this is directly proportional to the trust you will give.
Providing your service in a reassuring way will give you a good start in your customer's eyes. Therefore, it is very important for both your company and your customer to highlight the value you will create before the price.
You can look at the What is Marketing Automation and What is Email Automation to learn how is marketing in the digital age.
