The term “marketing mix” has been a cornerstone framework for many companies, historically focused on price, product, location, and promotion. Today the marketing mix is becoming more recognized for its ability to support an organization’s brand development efforts. The marketing mix is the “combined set of marketing resources, the company uses to achieve its marketing goals in the target audience”.
It is a very important marketing concept, which can determine if your company is moving in the right direction. Businesses of all sizes use the marketing mix in deciding their marketing approach even if all they are doing is to buy YouTube likes to boost visitors to their business YouTube account. Let’s take a look at a few key components within this marketing concept and how they impact your marketing mix.
Price:
The pricing of your products or services directly impacts your marketing mix. Pricing is ultimately affected by the customer’s demand, which then drives competition. As such, you need to consider pricing across all channels. Be sure to review pricing from your suppliers as well as third-party services. Price varies widely between vendors and often changes little in a given year.
Product:
This is the end-user experience and can vary dramatically from person to person. In the services marketing mix, products often include Digital Marketing, Print and Web Content, Software Development, and Other Business Processes. In the consumer marketing mix, products include Gas Stations, Auto Detailing, Grocery stores, Health and Beauty, Travel, etc. Again, depending on the end-users, the product offerings in each vertical may vary significantly.
Promotion:
Promotion refers to the various forms of communication that bring customers to your organization. Promotions can be either physical (i.e. a “store visit”) or non-traditional (i.e. on the Internet). Generally, in the consumer marketing mix, promotions refer to the sale of a product or service and include brochures/ catalogs, mailings, television, radio, Internet, etc. In the digital marketing mix, promotions refer to any form of digital marketing, including e-mail campaigns, PPC, search engine marketing, etc.
4Ps:
In the services marketing mix, 4Ps include Publicity, Public Relations, Direct Mail, and Customer Service. In the consumer marketing mix, they include Advertisements, packaging/retail promotions, point of sale promotions, etc. In the digital marketing mix, they include Blogs, article marketing, social media promotions, etc.
The Marketing Mix in each vertical should be evaluated relative to its strength and weakness. This includes evaluating what are the strengths and weaknesses of the company in each vertical. An example of a weaker area in a Direct Marketing business might be the fact that consumers are bombarded with TV commercials. A strong area where this strength can be exploited would be through advertising on the Internet. Also, in the Financial Services Marketing vertical, a good example would be to position yourself as an expert advisor to financial institutions. The Marketing Mix in Health care should also be appropriate depending on the sector and the product being offered.
The Marketing Mix in each vertical can also be compared on the strength and weaknesses of the product in each vertical. For instance, in physical products, a lower price would be more appropriate for products such as cosmetics where the ‘dominant’ promotion method is price comparison via the retailers. Similarly, in digital products, the promotion method should be price promotion via email, or direct marketing via websites. On the other hand, in the Financial Services Marketing vertical, products such as cheques, savings accounts, and credit cards would have a higher place in an effective marketing mix since these products are bought on a regular basis by the general public.
Marketing Mix in each vertical is not set. Instead, it is determined by balancing out the strengths and weaknesses in each vertical to provide the best solution to a problem and create a long-term position in each vertical. In conclusion, marketing mix refers to the entire mix of factors that should be considered before formulating a marketing strategy for a new product, service, or idea. This includes everything from pricing, advertising to promotions and customer relations.