1. What is marketing mix? Explain the components of marketing mix with examples.

Answer:

As part of a comprehensive marketing plan, a marketing mix covers several aspects. The term frequently refers to a common category that started with the four Ps: product, price, placement and promotion.

The following are the four main ingredients of the marketing mix:

Component #1 Product: Any product that the consumer wants is any good or service. It is a package of tools or a cluster of tangible and intangible traits. The marketing mix product component includes the planning, development and production of the correct type of products and services. It addresses product line dimensions, durability and other qualities. A company’s product policy also addresses correct branding, good packaging, suitable colour and other product attributes. The overall product should actually meet the needs of the target market.

In summary, product mix requires decisions on:

(i) product size and weight;

(ii) product quality;

(iii) product design;

(iv) production volume;

(v) brand name;

(vi) product range;

(vii) product test;

(viii) warranty and service aftersale, etc.

Component #2. Price:

Price is a key component that affects a company’s performance. Pricing decisions and policies affect sales volumes and corporate earnings directly. Consequently, price is a significant aspect in the marketing mix. It is quite difficult in practise to set the proper pricing. Pricing research and test marketing helps establish the right price.

A lot of practise and ingenuity is needed to decide the pricing that will enable the company to successfully sell its items. Demand, costs, competition, government regulation, etc. are the key considerations to be taken into account while pricing. The mix of prices includes basic pricing, discounts, allowances, freight payment, credit, etc.

Component #3. Promotion: The promotional part of the marketing mix is to bring products to customer knowledge and persuade them to buy. It is the function of providing customers with information and influence. The promotion mix includes decisions on advertising, personal sales and promotion. All of these strategies serve to enhance product sales and combat competition on the market.

Advertising is an important instrument used by newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and others to transmit a message (called a copy of advertising). The promotion mix’s advertising component needs a range of judgments on the subject of advertising, to use the medium, advertising budget, etc. Large companies use advertising agencies and specialists to conduct advertising campaigns and develop individual ads.

Component #4. Place (Distribution):

This component of the marketing mix includes the choosing of locations to exhibit the products and make them available to customers. The decision concerns wholesale and retail shops or distribution methods. The aim of selecting and maintaining business channels is to ensure that items are continuously delivered to the correct client at the right time and place. When determining where and by whom to sell, management should consider the customer’s availability of the items.

A manufacturer may distribute the items by its own outlets or use wholesalers and retailers to do so. Regardless of the channel chosen, management should regularly assess channel performance and make changes when performance falls short of intended objectives. Management must also establish a physical distribution system for processing and transportation of products via the chosen channels.

When determining a distribution mix or marketing logist, a firm must decide on the way in which goods are being shipped to intermediaries, the way company carriers or carriers are to be shipped, the kind of warehouses in which goods are to be housed, etc.

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