CHAPTER FOUR

MANAGING MARKETING

MIX ELEMENTS
Product Mix
Price Mix
Promotion Mix
 Promotion Mix…
 There are different promotion mix. Theses includes:
1. Advertising
 Paid form of non personal communication about an organization or its products that
is transmitted to a target audience through a mass/broadcast medium.
 Advertisements are important for:
 Standardized products
 Products aimed at large markets
 Products that have easily communicated features
 Products low in price
• Advantages of Advertising
 Flexibility allows you to focus on a small, precisely defined segment.
 Cost efficient-reach a large number at a low cost per person, allows the message
to be repeated, and can improve public image.
 Allows for repeating the message-lets the buyer receive and compare the
messages of various competitors.
 Also used to build a long term image of a product .
 Promotion Mix…

Steps for Developing an Advertisement Program

Step 1: Set Advertising Objectives

• To Inform; To Persuade; To Remind

Step 2: Decision on the Advertising Budget

Stage 3: Determine the Key Advertising Messages

Stage 4: Decide which Advertising Media to Use

Stage 5: Evaluation of the Advertising Campaign

 Promotion Mix…
2. Public Relations/Publicity (PR)
– Public relations involve the cultivation of favorable relations for
organizations and products with its key publics through the use of a variety
of communications channels and tools.
– Traditionally, this meant public relations professionals would work with
members of the news media to build a favorable image by publicizing the
organization or product through stories in print and broadcast.
Advantages of PR
1. PR is often considered a highly credible/tustworthy form of promotion.
2. Media sources often provide more space and time for explanation of a
product.
3. A story mentioning a company may be picked up by a large number of
additional media, thus, spreading a single story to many locations.
4. Public relations objectives can be achieved at very low cost when
compared to other promotional efforts.
 Promotion Mix…
3. Sales Promotion
• Sales promotion is a marketing technique used by businesses to stimulate consumer
demand for a product or service. This can include discounts, coupons, contests, samples,
or any other type of incentive that encourages people to purchase a product or service.
• There are several objectives of sales promotion, including informing consumers about
products, influencing the perceived value of that product, and encouraging the
consumers to purchase the product. The main goal of sales promotion, however, is
to increase sales in the short-term.

 Sales promotion advantages

– Bring in new customers. Attract new customers with discounts, free trials, or free
products.
– Launch products or service offerings. Allowing customers to try out new
solutions at a reduced rate can help you lock in the positive reviews and word-of-
mouth recommendations that attract a wider audience.
– Offload inventory—fast. Many companies use promotions to get rid of aging
inventory—whether that’s due to seasonality, poor performance, or a last-minute
push to hit sales targets at the end of the quarter.
– Boost long-term loyalty. Sales promos help you nurture relationships with loyal
customers, keeping them happy, engaged, and informed about upcoming releases &
updates.
 Promotion Mix…
4. Personal selling
• Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e.g.,
salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with
another party (e.g., those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both
parties obtaining value.
• In most cases the “value” for the salesperson is realized through the financial
rewards of the sale while the customer’s “value” is realized from the benefits
obtained by consuming the product.
 Advantages of Personal Selling
– Interaction with audience will help to tailor customer response and
feedback.
– It is helpful to create long-term relationship with customers.
– Suitable for expensive items
– Marketer can develop and maintain strong relationships with members of
the purchasing company.
– Most practical promotional option for reaching customers who are not
easily reached through other methods
 Selecting Promotional Tools
• A marketer must do the following while planning and sending communications to a target
audience:
1. Identify the Audience
– Individuals, groups, special publics or the general public, intermediaries, Consumer
2. Identify the Stage of Product Life Cycle
– Introduction- Inform- Publicity/Advertising/Sales force (interim.)/Sales promotion
(free samples)
– Growth- Persuade- Differentiate from competitors offering
– Maturity- Remind- Reminder advertising, Sales promotion (coupons)
– Decline- Cut budget
3. Product Characteristics
– Complexity: the more complex the message, the greater the need to use personal
selling.
– Risk: greater risk, greater need for personal selling
4. Stages of Buying Decision
– In many cases the final response sought is purchase, but purchase is the result of a
long process of consumer decision making. Need to know where the target
audience now stands (in the process), and what state they need to be moved to.
 Place/Distribution Mix
• Place in marketing mix refers to the geographical location in which the
company sells its products and provides its services. It is said that location is
one of the most important parts of marketing strategy.
• Place in marketing mix refers to the geographical location in which the
company sells its products and provides its services. 
• Place mix or distribution mix is an arrangement of channels, both physical and
non-physical, through which the product is made available to customers for
purchase.
• It is the set of decisions a company undertakes to make the product accessible
to its target customers conveniently in the most cost-efficient manner.
• It is focused on ensuring that everything falls into its right place and all the
processes flow smoothly.
• Introducing an inappropriate place mix has the potential of affecting business
adversely by:
– Increasing complexity and cost of operations
– Reducing flexibility and agility
– Increasing operating costs significantly
 End Of
Chapter Four