What is marketing?
The
definition that many marketers learn as they start out in the industry is:
Putting the right
product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time.
It's simple! You just
need to create a product that a particularly group of people want, put it on
sale some place that those same people visit regularly, and price it at a level
which matches the value they feel they get out of it; and do all that at a time
they want to buy. Then you've got it made!
There's a lot of truth
in this idea. However, a lot of hard work needs to go into finding out what
customers want, and identifying where they do their shopping. Then you need to
figure out how to produce the item at a price that represents value to them,
and get it all to come together at the critical time.
But if you get just one
element wrong, it can spell disaster. You could be left promoting a car with
amazing fuel-economy in a country where fuel is very cheap; or publishing a
textbook after the start of the new school year, or selling an item at a price
that's too high – or too low – to attract the people you're targeting.
The marketing mix is a
good place to start when you are thinking through your plans for a product or
service, and it helps you avoid these kinds of mistakes.
Understanding the Tool
The marketing mix and
the 4 Ps of marketing are often used as synonyms for each other. In fact, they
are not necessarily the same thing.
"Marketing
mix" is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices
organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or
service to market. The 4 Ps is one way – probably the best-known way – of
defining the marketing mix, and was first expressed in 1960 by E J McCarthy.
The 4Ps are:
·
Product (or Service)
·
Place
·
Price
·
Promotion
