MARKETING MIX

Marketing Mix



Marketing Mix

Marketing mix

The marketing mix is a set of actions a firm performs to meet to meet consumers needs effectively. The term was originally developed by Neil H Borden in the 1950s (Kotler,1986, 112-122) who were inspired by James Culliton. The marketing mix is also commonly known as the four P's of marketing which are Price, Place, Promotion and the Product itself (Vaughan, Judd, 2003, 1301 - 1313). It is essential to keep in mind that the customer should be the target of all marketing efforts. The 4Ps consist of:

Product - including services, people, places and ideas.

Place - where consumers access the products.

Promotion - the way we communicate with consumers about our product.

Price - includes all financial and non financial costs exchanged for the product.

In 1981 Booms and Bitner (Baungartner, 1991, 25-36) extended the services of the marketing mix to the 7P's. This was in order to recognise the human factors in all parts of the marketing concept, and that service marketing receives the attention it deserves (Vignali, Davies, 1994, 11-16).

Relevant in today's society

Since the mid 90s, it has been argued by various researchers that the marketing mix should consist of a customer centric model of the four C's (Goldsmith, 1999, 178-185). However, the majority of text books are the 4Ps or 7Ps orientated then the cycle seems like it will never be broken. Critics have suggested changes due to the problems that arise in marketing areas such as the industrial and services industries (MaGrath, 1996, 45-50).

Critique

Some criticisms argue over the merit of the 4Ps model and that it is not appropriate for today's business environment. It is the critiques who believe that the marketing mix is too simple of a tool to make too much of a difference in the marketing planning, and in strategic thinking to make much of a difference (Culliton, 1948, 65-71).

Strengths

The marketing mix is a diverse tool allowing the company to compile the basic information to make a product to that ended of the customer. In addition to this tool identify market trends and evaluates competitor's strategy. The marketing mix keeps a watchful eye on the consumer buying behaviour, making the producers able to make a product in a way that is most preferred by the customer (Borden, 1965, 386-397).

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