Marketing Mix

Promotion is about how the customers are informed about a particular product or service and plays a vital role. So promotion basically carries the 3 Ps of the marketing mix by presenting that all important information to the right target market.

Product, distribution, promotion, and price are what make up the mix, while the marketing managers are the ones who control the variables. It is their job to match the needs of the customers with the desired marketing mix, and it’s crucial for the marketing managers to look at their target group and decide the level each variable needs to be used to achieve maximum return on a product.

I’m going to develop a new soft drink as part of Coca Cola, the drink is aimed to attract customers aged 13- 19.

Identify consumer priorities, needs and preferences. In what ways do they impact the marketing mix.

As per Ian Ruskin Brown and Greg Clark “ Marketing mix is the term used explaining the different elements comprising the offer that the different companies makes to their customers”. (Brown and Clarke, 2000:44). E.Jerome McCarthy in early 1960s came up with the four Ps in the marketing mix. According to him these 4ps are “ Product, price, place and promotion”.( McCarthy and Shapiro 1975: 35). Refer Appendix I for the pictorial representation. But the view of Richard Sandhusen is that the four marketing mixes should be ‘price, product, promotion and distribution’ (Sadhusen, 2000:319). According to Steven Stralser ‘in order to create a marketing strategy and plan that touch all the areas of marketing to position a product, maximise revenue etc a few more components have to be considered which are, Marketing segmentation, Marketing Strategy, Marketing research , Pricing, placement and value chain.’(Stralser,

A macro business environment is inclusive all elements, that are out of the business’ control, that has direct and relative influence on strategic planning and goals. The microenvironment, includes current and any changes in local, state, federal and international laws and regulations. Laws and regulations literally dictate how a business regardless, of its sector, the guidelines of its operations. The state of the economy, consumer market and spending trends are also a major factor in the macro environment equation. The purchasing power, of the consumer, is vital for any business sector to succeed. In today’s technology driven society, it is utmost importance, that a business is, within the established perimeters of technology for their industry, or on the cusp of the cutting edge of technology. If a business has effective and efficient technology, across the board, in force, it can potentially cut costs and drive consumers to them. A business’ demographics

Companies and industries are constantly impacted by their surroundings. For example, "all companies operate in a macro environment shaped by influences [including threats] emanating from general economic conditions; population demographics; societal values and lifestyles; legislation and regulations; technology; and closer to home the industry and competitive environment in which the company operates

Product, Price, Place and Promotion also commonly known as the 4P’s are the major factors or tools with which a firm or an organisation operates in the market by offering a superior value proposition to its clients and customers and thus earning value back from them in return to achieve the objectives of its shareholders. These 4P’s are combined together to form the marketing mix of a firm.

Identifying influencing factors of a company’s macro-environment helps in the strategic development and management within a company. The macro-environment outlines an industry and the competitive environment as seen in figure 3.1, (Gamble, Peteraf, Thompson, 39). Within the macro-environment there are the political factors, economic conditions, sociocultural forces, technological factors, environment forces, and legal/regulatory factors. All of these factors blanket the habitat an industry and its competition thrive in. Inside the industry and competitive environment there are five factors that influence an individual company. The five factors are suppliers, rival firms, new entrants, buyers, and substitute products. The biggest impact on a company are these five factors. For example, Under Armour focuses on their industry and competitive environment to survive and grow. Their strategy to win over the market share from Nike and Adidas consists of expanding a stable and original brand within record time, taking an innovative approach to their product line-up and brand-name appeal where the market seemed to be barren, and lastly, the company enters in the foreign market early on to establish its brand and influence markets outside of the US.

Marketing mix can be describes as "the use and specification of the 4 Ps describing the strategic position of a product in the marketplace… A prominent person to take centre stage was E. Jerome McCarthy in 1960; he proposed a four-P classification which was popularized. (wikipedia.com)" The marketing mix approach to marketing is a model of creating and implementing market strategies. The marketing mix stresses the mixing of different factors in a way that both organizational and consumer or target markets objectives are attained. The 4 Ps of marketing are Product, Place, Promotion and Price. Each plays a key factor in the overall successful marketing of a product or service.

1. What are the four variables of the marketing mix? Why are these elements known as "variables?"

A company operates within a larger framework of the external environment that shapes the opportunities and threat to an organization. The external environment for global and domestic marketing decisions is comprised of forces that are part of a

Its goal is to make decisions that aim the four P's on the customers in the target market in order to generate perceived value and a positive response from customers. Marketing decisions generally include the following four controllable categories:

The four P’s of a marketing mix are as follows, product, price, place, and promotion. Each of these offers a marketing parameter for the management and company team to control. With each marketing tool there are decisions that should be met as far as the business is concerned. Therefore, there is a list for each one that should be analyzed to meet the business standards.

Microenvironment- microenvironment surrounds the factors that are close a company that affects their ability to serve their customers, this would include; Customers, suppliers, competitors, other departments within the company, general public, marketing intermediaries and finally members of the distribution channel. These are all forces that closely influence the company and they have a direct affect on the organizations relationship. The suppliers of a company are a part of the microenvironment as even if there is a slight delay in receiving any supplies off the suppliers can result in the customers not being satisfied. Marketing intermediaries are the people that are helping to promote and sell the companies products. Competitors include companies that are offering the same or similar products, for example; Morrisons, Tesco and Asda are all in competition with each. It is in the company’s best interest to develop a strategic advantage over their competitors, encouraging customers to come to them not their competitors. This would include Tesco giving you vouchers for any price difference with their competitors ( if your total bill comes to more than it would in one of the competitor stores then you are given the