7Ps OF MARKETING
of defining the marketing mix, and was first
MARKETING
– Marketing is communicating the value of a
product, service or brand to customers, for the
purpose of promoting or selling that product,
service, or brand.
It is the art of choosing target markets and getting,
keeping, and growing customers through creating,
delivering, and communicating superior customer
value” (Kotler & Keller, 2007)
It is also the performance of activities that seek to
accomplish an organization's objectives by
anticipating customer or client needs and directing
a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from
producer to customer or client (Canon, Perrault,
and McCarthy, 2008).
MARKETING MIX
– The term Marketing Mix was developed by Neil
Borden who first started using the phrase in 1949.
“An executive is a mixer of ingredients, who
sometimes follows a recipe as he goes along,
sometimes adapts a recipe to the ingredients
immediately available, and sometimes experiments
with or invents ingredients no one else has tried."
(Culliton, J. 1948)
– Simply put the Marketing Mix is a tool used by
businesses and Marketers to help determine a
product or brands offering.
4Ps OF MARKETING
– Data collection techniques in this research –
observations, interviews, open-ended
questionnaires, and focus group discussions
– Quantitative
The 4Ps is one way, probably the best-known way
expressed in 1960 by Edmund Jerome
McCarthy in his book, "Basic Marketing - A
Managerial Approach."
McCarthy was the first person to suggest the four
P's of marketing – price, promotion, product
and place (distribution) – which constitute the
most common variables used in constructing a
marketing mix. According to McCarthy the
marketers essentially have these four variables
which they can use while crafting a marketing
strategy and writing a marketing plan.
7Ps OF MARKETING
– Data collection techniques in this research –
observations, interviews, open-ended
questionnaires, and focus group discussions
– Quantitative
In the late 70’s it was widely acknowledged by
Marketers that the Marketing Mix should be
updated. This led to the creation of the Extended
Marketing Mix in 1981 by Booms & Bitner which
added 3 new elements to the 4 Ps Principle. This
now allowed the extended Marketing Mix to include
products that are services and not just physical
things.
PRODUCT
– The product is the primary though not the only
component of the 7 Ps of the marketing mix.
Marketing consultants will consider carefully which
features of the product are most likely to appeal to
its target market, as well as taking into account
factors such as the life span of the product, and its
potential for diversification and development.
– Anything that can be offered to a market that
might satisfy a want or need.
would provide their client with a completed hairdo
and an insurance company would give their
customers some form of printed material. Even if
the material is not physically printed they are still
receiving a “physical product” by this definition.

PRICE
– The price that is set for a product not only
determines the amount of profit the business will
be able to make from it (and therefore how many
units will need to be sold), but also affects the
value of the product as perceived by the consumer.
Many consumers will use the product’s price as a
means of judging its quality, and most will compare
the price with that of similar products before
deciding which to purchase.
– It is the cost consumers pay for a product

PLACE
– It is where your products and services are seen,
made, sold or distributed
– Products are not only sold in shops – they may
also be sold door-to-door, online, or in trade fairs
or markets.

PROMOTION
– These are the promotional activities you use to
make your customers aware of your products and
services
– This is an umbrella term, covering all the media
by which a business informs customers about its
product – including advertising, public relations and
sales promotion.

The extended 7 Ps:

PEOPLE
– All companies are reliant on the people who run
them from front line Sales staff to the Managing
Director. Having the right people is essential
because they are as much a part of your business
offering as the products/services you are offering.

PROCESSES
– The delivery of your service is usually done with
the customer present so how the service is
delivered is once again part of what the consumer
is paying for.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
– Almost all services include some physical
elements even if the bulk of what the consumer is
paying for is intangible. For example a hair salon