Marketing mix

Presented by- Dr. Sudipta Kumar Jana

Assistant Professor
IIPM, Kansbahal
• Marketing management means management of the marketing function.

In other words, marketing management refers to planning, organising, directing

and control of the activities which facilitate exchange of goods and services
between producers and consumers or users of products and services.
Philip Kotler has defined Marketing management as the art and science of
choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers
through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer values of
management.
A need is a state of felt deprivation or feeling of being deprived of something. If
unsatisfied, it leaves a person unhappy and uncomfortable.

For example, on getting hungry, we become uncomfortable and start looking for
objects that are capable of satisfying our hunger.
• Needs are basic to human beings and do not pertain to a particular product.
Wants, on the other hand, are culturally defined objects that are potential
satisfiers of needs.

• In other words, human needs shaped by such factors as culture, personality

and religion are called wants.

• A basic need for food, for example, may take various forms such as want for
dosa and rice for a South Indian and chapatti and vegetables for a North
Indian person.
• Wants backed by willingness and purchasing power is known as demand.
Maslows need hierarchy theory
 MARKETING MIX

• It was James Culliton, a noted marketing expert, who coined the expression
marketing mix.

• Culliton (1948) suggested to Borden, the definition of a business executive as a

“mixer of ingredients” who then used the term “marketing mix” for the very
first time in theory (1965).

• Marketing mix is the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its
marketing objectives in the target market.
• McCarthy clarified Borden’s (1965) concept further and explained the
marketing mix as a consolidation of all factors in the command of a marketing
manager so as to meet the consumers’ demands. He re categorized Borden’s
12 elements into four elements or 4Ps, namely product, price, promotion and
place.

• McCarthy classified these tools into four broad groups that he called the four
Ps of marketing : product, price, place and promotion.
• Particularly since the 1980s, a number of new introductions were made in the
marketing mix. A fith P-People, was suggested by Judd (1987).

• Booms and Bitner (1980) introduced 3 new Ps (process, participants and

physical evidence) to the existing 4 Ps to make the marketing mix framework
applicable to services.
• Kotler (1986) recommended the addition of public opinion formation and
political power to the existing 4Ps.

• MaGrath (1986) introduced another 3 Ps (process management, personnel

management and management of physical facilities).

• Goldsmith (1999) recommends 8Ps (product, price, place, promotion,

personalization, participants, process and physical evidence).

• Vignalis and Davis (1994) recommend the S of services to the marketing mix.
• In the words of Philip Kotler, “Marketing Mix is the set of controllable variables
and their levels that the firm uses to influence the target market.”

• Marketing mix is a combination of various elements, namely, Product, Price,

Place (replaced by Physical Distribution) and Promotion, people, process and
physical evidence. The various important elements of marketing mix are
briefly discussed as follows;
PRODUCT: Goods, service, or idea that offers a bundle of tangible and intangible
attributes to satisfy consumers of marketing, because they can be controlled and
manipulated by the market.

• It is the thing possessing utility. It is the bundle of value the marketer offers to
potential customers. Today manufacturers are realizing that customer expects
more than just the basic product. Therefore, the product must satisfy the
consumers needs.

• The manufacturer first understands the consumer needs and then decides the
type, shape, design, brand, package etc. of the goods to be produced. The
product is a marketer’s primary vehicle for delivering customer satisfaction.
In developing the right product, you have to answer the following questions:
• What does the client want from the service or product?
• How will the customer use it?
• Where will the client use it?
• What features must the product have to meet the client’s needs?
• Are there any necessary features that you missed out?
• Are you creating features that are not needed by the client?
• What’s the name of the product?
• Does it have a catchy name?
• What are the sizes or colors available?
• How is the product different from the products of your competitors?
• What does the product look like?
PRICE: The amount of money or other consideration—that is, something of value
—given in exchange for a product.

• it is the amount of money asked in exchange for product. It must be reasonable

so as to enable the consumer to pay for the product.

• While fixing the price of a product, the management considers certain factors
such as cost, ability of the consumers, competition, discount, allowances,
margin of profit etc.
Here are some of the important questions that you should ask yourself when
you are setting the product price:

• How much did it cost you to produce the product?

• What is the customers’ perceived product value?
• Do you think that the slight price decrease could significantly increase your
market share?
• Can the current price of the product keep up with the price of the product’s
competitors?
 PLACE (PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION):

Place (distribution) : The element of the marketing mix that encompasses all
aspects of getting products to the consumer in the right location at the right
time.

• It is the combination of decision regarding channel of distribution

(wholesalers, retailers etc.), transportation, warehousing and inventory control.
Here are some of the questions that you should answer in developing your
distribution strategy:

• Where do your clients look for your service or product?

• What kind of stores do potential clients go to?
• Do they shop in a mall, in a regular brick and mortar store, in the supermarket,
or online?
• How do you access the different distribution channels?
• How is your distribution strategy different from your competitors?
• Do you need a strong sales force?
• Do you need to attend trade fairs?
• Do you need to sell in an online store?
PROMOTION: The element of the marketing mix that includes all forms of
marketing communication. It consists of all activities aimed at inducing and
motivating customers to buy the product.

• The selection of alternatives determines the success of marketing efforts.

Some firms use advertising, some others personal selling or sales promotion.

• Thus promotion includes advertising public relations, personal selling and

sales promotion.
In creating an effective product promotion strategy, you need to answer the
following questions:

• How can you send marketing messages to your potential buyers?

• When is the best time to promote your product?

• Will you reach your potential audience and buyers through television ads?

• Is it best to use the social media in promoting the product?

• What is the promotion strategy of your competitors?

People: People reflects, in part, internal marketing and the fact that employees are
critical to marketing success.

• Marketing will only be as good as the people inside the organization. It is an essential
ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people.

• Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their
service is essential if the organization wants to obtain a form of competitive
advantage.

• Consumers make judgments and deliver perceptions of the service based on the
employees they interact with.

• Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude, and service
knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for.
People Everyone who comes into contact with your customers will make an
impression.

Many customers cannot separate the product or service from the staff member
who provides it, so your people will have a profound effect — positive or
negative — on customer satisfaction.
• The reputation of your brand rests in the hands of your staff. They must be
appropriately trained, well-motivated and have the right attitude.

• – All employees who have contact with customers should be well-suited to the
role.

• – In the age of social media, every employee can potentially reach a mass
audience.

• Formulate a policy for online interaction and make sure everyone stays on-
message
• Likewise, happy customers are excellent advocates for your business. Curate
good opinion on review sites.

• – Superior after sales support and advice adds value to your offering, and can
give you a competitive edge. These services will probably become more
important than price for many customers over time.

• – Look regularly at the products that account for the highest percentage of
your sales. Do these products have adequate after sales support, or are you
being complacent with them? Could you enhance your support without too
much additional cost?
Process: Processes reflects all the creativity, discipline, and structure brought to
marketing management. It refers to the systems used to assist the organisation
in delivering the service.

• Imagine you walk into Burger King and you order a Whopper Meal and you get
it delivered within 2 minutes.

• What was the process that allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery?
Banks that send out Credit Cards automatically when their customers old one
has expired again require an efficient process to identify expiry dates and
renewal.

• An efficient service that replaces old credit cards will foster consumer loyalty
and confidence in the company.
• Many customers no longer simply buy a product or service - they invest in an
entire experience that starts from the moment they discover your company
and lasts through to purchase and beyond.
• That means the process of delivering the product or service, and the behaviour
of those who deliver it, are crucial to customer satisfaction.

• A user-friendly internet experience, waiting times, the information given to

customers and the helpfulness of staff are vital to keep customers happy.
• – Customers are not interested in the detail of how your business runs, just
that the system works.

• However, they may want reassurance they are buying from a reputable or
‘authentic’ supplier.
• Remember the value of a good first impression. Identify where most
customers initially come into contact with your company - whether online or
offline - and ensure the process there, from encounter to purchase, is
seamless.

• – Ensure that your systems are designed for the customer’s benefit, not the
company’s convenience.
• Do customers have to wait? Are they kept informed? Is your website fast
enough and available on the right devices? Are your people helpful? Is your
service efficiently carried out? Do your staff interact in a manner appropriate to
your pricing?

• – Customers trying to reach your company by phone are a vital source of

income and returning value; but so often they are left on hold. Many will give
up, go elsewhere and tell their friends not to use your company - just because
of the poor process.
Physical Evidence: Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the
element of the service mix which allows the consumer again to make judgments on
the organization.

• If you walk into a restaurant your expectations are of a clean, friendly environment.

• On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be able to lay
down! Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix;

• consumers will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision
which will have an impact on the organisations perceptual plan of the service.
• Choosing an unfamiliar product or service is risky for the consumer, because
they don’t know how good it will be until after purchase.

• You can reduce this uncertainty by helping potential customers ‘see’ what they
are buying.
• – A clean, tidy and well-decorated reception area – or homepage - is
reassuring. If your digital or physical premises aren’t up to scratch, why would
the customer think your service is?

• – The physical evidence demonstrated by an organisation must confirm the

assumptions of the customer

• — a financial services product will need to be delivered in a formal setting,

while a children’s birthday entertainment company should adopt a more
relaxed approach.
•–

• Some companies engage customers and ask for their feedback, so that they
can develop reference materials.

• New customers can then see these testimonials and are more likely to
purchase with confidence.
• – Although the customer cannot experience the service before purchase, he or
she can talk to other people with experience of the service.

• Their testimony is credible, because their views do not come from the
company.

• Alternatively, well-shot video testimonials and reviews on independent

websites will add authenticity.
• Each of the ‘ingredients’ of the marketing mix is key to success. No element
can be considered in isolation — you cannot, for example, develop a product
without considering a price, or how it will reach the customer.
 Market Forces Bearing on the Marketing Mix
1. Consumers' Buying Behavior, as determined by their:

a) Motivation in purchasing.
b) Buying habits.
c) Living habits.
d) Environment (present and future, as revealed by trends, for environment
influences consumers' attitudes toward products and their use of them).
e) Buying power.

f) Number (i.e., how many).

2. The Trade's Behavior—wholesalers' and retailers' behavior, as influenced by:

a) Their motivations.

b) Their structure, practices, and attitudes.

c) Trends in structure and procedures that portend change

 3. Competitors' Position and Behavior, as influenced by:
a) Industry structure and the firm's relation there to.
1. Size and strength of competitors.
2. Number of competitors and degree of industry concentration.
3. Indirect competition—i.e., from other products.
b) Relation of supply to demand—oversupply or undersupply.
c) Product choices offered to consumers by the industry —i.e., quality, price,
service.
d) Degree to which competitors compete on price vs. non price bases.
e) Competitors' motivations and attitudes—their likely response to the actions
of other firms.
f) technological and social trends, portending change in supply and demand
 4. Governmental Behavior—Controls over Marketing:

a) Regulations over products.

b) Regulations over pricing.
c) Regulations over competitive practices.
d) Regulations over advertising and promotion.
 Long vs. Short Term Aspects of Marketing Mix
• The marketing mix of a firm in large part is the product of the evolution that
comes from day-today marketing. At any time the mix represents the program
that a management has evolved to meet the problems with which it is
constantly faced in an ever changing, ever challenging market.

• There are continuous tactical manoeuvres: a new product, aggressive

promotion, or price change initiated by a competitor must be considered and
met; the failure of the trade to provide adequate market coverage or display
must be remedied;
A faltering sales force must be reorganized and stimulated; a decline in sales
share must be diagnosed and remedied; an advertising approach that has lost
effectiveness must be replaced; a general business decline must be countered.
All such problems call for a management's maintaining effective channels of
information relative to its own operations and to the day to-day behavior of
consumers, competitors, and the trade.

Thus, we may observe that short range forces play a large part in the fashioning
of the mix to be used at any time and in determining the allocation of
expenditures among the various functional accounts of the operating statement.
• But the overall strategy employed in a marketing mix is the product of longer
range plans and procedures dictated in part by past empiricism and in part, if
the management is a good one, by management foresight as to what needs to
be done to keep the firm successful in a changing world.

• As the world has become more and more dynamic, blessed is that corporation
which has managers who have foresight, who can study trends of all kinds—
natural, economic, social, and technological—and, guided by these, devise
long-range plans that give promise of keeping their corporations afloat and
successful in the turbulent sea of market change.
• Accordingly, when we think of the marketing mix, we need to give particular
heed today to devising a mix based on long-range planning that promises to fit
the world of five or ten or more years hence.

• Provision for effective long-range planning in corporate organization and

procedure has become more and more recognized as the earmark of good
management in a world that has become increasingly subject to rapid change.