Markets and Customers - Essay Example

Markets and s Introduction Marketing mix consists of a company’s service or product offerings, to consumers and the methods and the tools it selects to accomplish the exchange. The marketing mix consists of mainly the 4P’s. The 4P’s are product, price, place and promotion. (Tracy, 2010) The product or the service includes the product or the service being offered and the packaging. The price includes the list pricing, discounts, allowances and the payment methods. The place comprises the distribution of the product or service through specific store and non store outlets. The promotion consists of the advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and sales efforts designed to build demands and awareness of the product or service. (Cheverton, 2004) Though these elements are independent contributing to various strategies that can be developed from each P, it can be also said that, the variables are dependent or at least there is a common factor which is dependent on all these variables which is sales volume. This paper consists of some arguments put in favour of and against the dependency of marketing mix variables. Marketing takes care of the delivery of the product to the customers taking care of their needs as well as the organisations needs. Marketing mix can be explained as the different tactics adopted by a marketer to make the product more appealing to the customers. This involves certain critical decisions. Some of the examples are decisions regarding the products that should be offered for sale, price of the product, markets where products may sell and the means of communication with the consumer for the sale of the product. (Goi, 2009) Different weightings can be given to different elements leading to a better offer that attracts the customers of various styles. Now owing to the increased importance of marketing, these 4P’s have been transformed into 7P’s which are product, positioning, people, packaging, place, promotion and price, whose vivid combinations would determine the success of the product or the service. (Hisrich, 2000) For example, marketing mix can be compared to the ingredients of a cake, and the final outcome is the sum total of all the ingredients put into it. Depending on the kind of strategy adopted the combinations of marketing mixes will also vary as the main ingredient changes in accordance with the cake that is being manufactured. The combination is decided by many factors which are the marketing objectives of business, the access to finance, changes in technology, the feedback from marketing research, and other social factors. An adequate strategy of selection of the mixes are very important because the mixes are all inter dependent the dependent factor common to them all is the sales volume. When the strategy for one of the marketing mix is changed, all the others will be affected as the target segment and their expectation from the product also changes. And it is said that it is easier to launch a new product than trying to re establish a failed product to the market. In that case a proper study is necessary. One cannot force a customer to purchase a product. So for sales to be effective, it is important that these four variables are put in a proper way. An effective implementation of the 4Ps can be done by offering the right product at the right price at the right time and promoting it properly. These variables are interdependent and taken together they will constitute you a certain mix. This is what is often referred to as the marketing mix. The most important factor for determining this mix is the corporate goals. (Gronroos, 1994) It is also determined after doing a thorough verification of the competitors marketing mix so that a healthy competition prevails in the market. To explain the phrase retrieved that is ‘although we talk about the four Ps as separate parts of a firms marketing strategy, in reality product, price, promotion and place decisions are totally interdependent. Decisions about any single one of the four are effected by and affect every other marketing mix decision’, It is normal in an organization to see that the primary marketing mix variables are carried out by various departments which makes them very unique in its own perspective. Each mix variable is complicated more than enough so that it is almost impossible for a single department to take the main decision. Each department also conducts various researches to identify what would be their ultimate combination. But there is a dependant variable which is affected by the slight changes in all or one of them. The variable is the sales volume which is the ultimate goal of any organisation. When this is affected the profit of the firm is affected and prevalence in the market becomes a question. So the short cut to success is a combination of all these factors which is a product of high quality which is presented to the consumers through proper and distinctive advertising and communication at an affordable price in a place which is accessible to the public. A change in any of these will gradually change the target segment that the product is focused on and reduces the impact of the marketing mix. This explains that though marketing mix variables can be taken for independent variables, they are in turn dependent on each other because on further analysis these variables are dependent on each other. When one mix fails to create an impact, the others are doomed to fail. So an understanding is necessary and a research will also help in framing the best marketing mix. It can also be said that they are dependent on each other because, once the product is released in the market the components are all mixed so well that it is not easy to determine which mix has got more weight age. The mix elements will complement each other. The price of the element closely related to the product itself, will convey a value to the customers. Here choosing the adequate price is a key decision. And the place of sale also depends. Having an integrated marketing mix is very important and it requires input and effort of every people in the organisation. Product Functionality Appearance Quality Packaging Brand Warranty Service/support Price List price Discounts Allowances Financing Leasing options Place Channel members Channel motivation Market coverage Locations Logistics Service levels Promotion Advertising Personal selling Public relations Message Media budget (QuickMBA, 2010) On discussing the dependent variables on marketing mix, some of them are brand reputation, sales volume etc. and brand reputation of the right kind will lead to an increase in sales volume. Determining adequate standards will also face problems. Some of them are the main challenges that show their interdependency is that none of the mixes can be replaced by another. For example though the effort is to decrease the spent amount, the strategy may not always be successful as that is does not make the optimum combination of mixes. There are many other challenges which are faced and some of them is lack of availability of the data, lack of transparency, lack of preformed equations for calculating optimum combinations etc are some of the problems that are faced by them. Each marketing variable is supposed to serve a generic function and a promotional function. Of this some factors can be considered dependent and some independent. They can also be termed as primary and secondary functions. Conclusion To conclude marketing mix plays a very important role in the success of the product that is released. Though marketing mix variables seems to be different and independent, it is the final mixture that come comes out the end that matters. Till the point of the product launch, the variables can be treated for independent, after the launch the variables are so integrated that it is impossible to separate them from each other and they all becomes so dependent. The variables have to be parallel to each other also because of some of the dependent factors on them like brand image and sales volume. It is very much necessary to look at the marketing mix from the customer’s point of view and to give them a combination of what they prefer simultaneously integrated with the organisations goals. If one is successful in that, then the mix will attract the target segment and the brand image that is formulated from the image will be highly favourable to the product. The product must be attractive, price must be affordable promotion reachable and convincing and the place must be accessible to the customers. The companies are following this to increase the impact of their marketing mi combinations. It is that mix that differentiates ones product or service from another. And differentiation in terms of the mix will surge a demand in the mind of the customers, which is the ultimate goal of the firm. The demand simulation also plays an important part in this. The marketing mix variables not only influence the end user but also the intermediaries to a greater extent. Customisation of marketing mix has also become a trend today. And as we can look at it in the future the marketing mix variables are becoming dangerously interdependent to each other. The more distinguished the marketing mix is the more attractive the sales volume is. A successful marketing mix will be equally appealing to the customers as well as the organisation. Works Cited Brian, Tracy, 2010. The 7 Ps of Marketing. [Online] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/article70824.html [Accessed 8 May 2010] Peter, Cheverton. 2004. Key marketing skills: strategies, tools, and techniques for marketing success. 2nd ed. Kogan Page Limited. Robert, D. Hisrich., 2000. Marketing. 2nd ed. New York: Barron’s Educational Series Inc. William, D. Perreault., Jr., E. Jerome, McCarthy., 2007. Basic Marketing. 15th ed. India: Tata McGraw-Hill. Chai, Lee, Goi., 2009. A Review of Marketing Mix: 4P’s or More. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 1(1). Christian, Gronroos, 1994. Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a paradigm shift in Marketing. Management Decision, 32(2), pp. 4-20. Douglas, Brownlie, & Michael, Saren, 1992. The Four Ps of Marketing Concept: Prescriptive, Polemical, Permanent and Problematical. European Journal of Marketing, 26(4), pp. 34-47 QuickMBA, 2010. The Marketing Mix. [Online] Available at: http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/mix/ [Accessed 8 May 2010] Mike, Volker. 1998. Marketing & 4Ps of Marketing. [Online] Available at: http://www.sfu.ca/~mvolker/biz/mktintro.htm [Accessed 8 May 2010] Read More