Marketing Mix

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Marketing Mix

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In the sequence of strategic analysis anddecisions, "marketing mix" analysis falls aftervarious external and internal environmentalanalyses such as PESTEL analysis, Porter'sFive Forces analysis, SWOT Analysis andeven formulation of competitive strategies(Porter's Generic Strategies).Marketing mix is an imperative concept inmodern marketing and academically it isreferred to as the set of controllable tools thatthe firm blends to produce the response itwants in the target market, so it consists ofeverything the firm can do to influence thedemand for its product (Kotler and Armstrong,2004). It is important to realise that marketingmix strategy of any company can have onemajor function, that is, strategiccommunication of the organisation with itscustomers (Proctor, 2000). It was furtherargued that marketing mix provides multiplepaths as such communication can beachieved either in spoken form and writtencommunications (advertising, selling, etc.) orin more symbolic forms of communication (theimage conveyed in the quality of the product,its price and the type of distribution outletchosen). However, the key element is that themain aspects of marketing mix that will bediscussed below "should not be seen asindividual entities, but as a set of interrelatedentities which have to be set in conjunctionwith one another" (Proctor, 2000: 212).

Main Aspects of Marketing Mix (100)

The easiest way to understand the mainaspects of marketing is through its morefamous synonym of "4Ps of Marketing". Theclassification of four Ps of marketing was firstintroduced and suggested by McCarthy(1960), and includes marketing strategies ofproduct, price, placement and promotion. Thefollowing diagram is helpful in determining themain ingredients of the four Ps in a marketingmix.

Product

In simpler terms, product includes allfeatures and combination of goods andrelated services that a company offers to itscustomers. So the Airbusproduct includes itsbody parts such as the engine, nut bolts,seats, etc along with its after-sales services

The following papers contain MarketingMix Analysis

C/M/951. International marketing strategyof Samsung ElectronicsC/M/943. Marketing for FMCG sector atAl-KbousC/M/927. To what extent do you believethat the current economic downturn willbring 'price' further to the forefront of themarketing mix?C/M/932. Body Shop: what is the role ofmarketing in the company and to whatextent do you think the marketing strategyof the company is effective?S/M/429. How does internationalmarketing mix of HSBC differ from theirdomestic marketing mix?C/M/921. Features and benefits ofCoolAutoCare products: competitivepositioning profileC/T/76. Encounter Festival in RoswellS/M/403. Discuss the interdependence ofmarketing mix variables in the context ofRoyal Bank of Scotland (RBS)C/M/827. Creativity and organisationaldevelopmentS/M/382. Marketing Management ofKellogg'sC/M/778. ASDA Supermarket: ElectronicBusiness AnalysisC/M/730. Impact of Internet and relatedtechnologies on Marketing MixC/M/723. Proposal. Exploring keymarketing mix requirements for an MMOgameC/B/888. Marketing Mix and Value Chainanalysis of British AirwaysC/B/901. Marketing at DellC/M/694. Promotional Mix in HospitalityIndustry: case study of Marriott InternationalIncC/M/696. Promotional Mix in the HospitalityIndustry: case study of Marriott InternationalIncC/M/663. SWOT and Marketing MixAnalysis of RMIT UniversityS/M/323. Southwest airlines and LondonHeathrow AirportC/M/605. Marketing in the Public Sector:

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and all are included in the productdevelopment strategy of the Airbus.However, a serious criticism can be raisedhere in terms of how marketing mix analysiswill cater for companies such as ABN AmroBank, Natwest Bank, British Airways andFedex Corporation as they don't possesstangible products. It was argued that is itfeasible to omit service-oriented companieswith the logic that the term "services" doesnot start with a "P", however, it was assertedthat these companies can use theterminology of "service products" undermarketing mix strategy making (Kotler &Armstrong, 2004).

Lazer (1971) argued that product is the mostimportant aspect of marketing mix for twomain reasons. First, for manufacturers,products are the market expression of thecompany's productive capabilities anddetermine its ability to link with consumers.So product policy and strategy are of primeimportance to an enterprise, and productdecisions dictate the scope and direction ofcompany activity. Moreover, the marketindicators such as profits, sales, image,market share, reputation and stature are alsodependent on them. Secondly, it isimperative to realise that the product of anyorganisation is both a component and adeterminant of the marketing mix as it has agreat influence on the other elements of themix: advertising, personal selling, channelsof distribution, physical distribution andpricing. So without proper product policy, acompany can not pursue for further elementsof marketing mix.

Pricing

Pricing is basically setting a specific price fora product or service offered. In a simplisticway, Kotler and Armstrong (2004) refer tothe concept of price as the amount of moneythat customers have to pay to obtain theproduct. Setting a price is not somethingsimple. Normally it has been taken as ageneral law that a low price will attract morecustomers. It is not a valid argument ascustomers do not respond to price alone;they respond to value so a lower price doesnot necessarily mean expanded sales if theproduct is not fulfilling the expectation of thecustomers (Lazer, 1971).

Generally pricing strategy under marketingmix analysis is divided into two parts: pricedetermination and price administration (ibid).

Price determination is referred to as theprocesses and activities employed to arriveat a price for a product including

case study of the British ArmyC/M/561. Global Advertising for BMWC/M/521. Women's Library: RetailMarketing MixC/M/475. Marketing Mix of easyJet andRyanAirE/M/204. 'Public Relations is the disciplinewhich looks after reputation, with the aim ofearning understanding and support andinfluencing opinion and behaviour',(Institute of Public Relations). Consider theabove and discuss where the discipline ispositioned within the marketing mix.S/M/250. Report on marketing strategies ofT-MobileE/M/208. Pfizer's position in pharmaceuticalindustryS/B/189. Bottled water market in IrelandE/M/202. Using one specific enterprise,examine the ways in which it has used theinternational marketing mix in its overseasoperations. Explain the reasoning behindthe choices it has made. Suggest anychanges it might make to the internationalmarketing mix over the next few years,explain your reasoningS/M/217. Strategic analysis of the role ofcultural factors in marketingE/M/193. Marketing Mix analysis ofMercedes-BenzE/M/187. Debenhams Marketing AnalysisC/M/416. Evaluate and discuss therelationship between the marketing conceptand public relations in relation tocommunication, the public and promotionas well as certain elements of the marketingmix.C/M/381. EasyJet: factors in the macro-environment and customer profilesE/M/138. MARKETING PRICIPLES FORBUSINESS: APPROACHES TO PRICINGE/M/131. IKEA marketing mix analysisP/M/791. Launching "clever milk":marketing projectC/M/345. Marketing Mix of ISPsC/M/311. Coca Cola: InternationalMarketing Mix (Using one specificmultinational enterprise with which you arefamiliar, examine the ways in which it hasused the international marketing mix in itsoverseas. Explain the reasoning behind thechoices it has made. Suggest any change it


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consideration of relative prices of productswithin the same line, and differences in pricefor similar products of differing grades andqualities.

Price administration is referred to as theactivities involved in fitting basic prices toparticular sales situations such asgeographic locale, functions performed bycustomers, position of distribution channelmembers, or special sales situations. Anexample of this is special discounted pricesat, for instance, GAP, NEXTetc or CocaColaandPepsiwheredifferent prices are set indifferent geographical areas considering thedifference in patterns of usage as well asvarying advertisement costs.

Placement

Placement under marketing mix involves allcompany activities that make the productavailable to the targeted customer (Kotlerand Armstrong, 2004). Based on variousfactors such as sales, communications andcontractual considerations, various ways ofmaking products available to customers canbe used (Lazer, 1971). Companies such asFord, Ferrari, Toyota, and Nissan usespecific dealers to make their productsavailable, whereas companies such asNestle involve a whole chain of wholesalerretailers to reach its customers. On a generalnote, while planning placement strategyunder marketing mix analysis, companiesconsider six different channel decisionsincluding choosing between direct access tocustomers or involving middlemen, choosingsingle or multiple channels of distributions,the length of the distribution channel, thetypes of intermediaries, the numbers ofdistributors, and which intermediary to usebased on the quality and reputation (Proctor,2000)

Promotion

Promotional strategies include all meansthrough which a company communicates thebenefits and values of its products andpersuades targeted customers to buy them(Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). The best wayto understand promotion is through theconcept of the marketing communicationprocess. Promotion is the company strategyto cater for the marketing communicationprocess that requires interaction betweentwo or more people or groups,encompassing senders, messages, mediaand receivers (Lazer, 1971). Taking theexample of Nokia, the sender of thecommunication in this case is Nokia, theadvertising agency, or both; the media used

might make to the international marketingmix over the next years, explaining yourreasoning)C/M/286. Warehouse Fashion: MarketingMixC/M/238. Harrow Oxygen Bar: MarketingQuestions and AnswersP/M/479. Designing wedding dresses forAsian brides in UKP/M/418. Marketing Mix: ProductmanagementE/M/16. Dixons Group. From 'Bricks andMortar' to 'Clicks and Mortar'S/M/117. Marketing Mix AnalysisC/B/190. Macro-environments Impact onSafeways 7PsC/M/128. Marketing mix strategies of UKHigh Street retailersS/M/37. Levi's Co. International MarketingMix StrategiesP/M/212. Ethics in Marketing MixP/M/204. How can market segmentationinfluence decisions about the marketingmix? Illustrate your answer with examples.P/T/17. Marketing Mix of tourism in SpainP/M/180. Standardisation versus adaptationof Marketing Mix


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in the process can be salesmen,newspapers, magazines, radio, billboards,television and the like. The actual messageis the advertisement or sales presentationand the destination is the potential consumeror customer, in this case mobile phoneusers.

Limitation of Marketing Mix Analysis (4Psof Marketing)

Despite the fact that marketing mix analysisis used as a synonym for the 4Ps ofMarketing, it is criticised (Kotler & Armstrong,2004) on the point that it caters seller's viewof market analysis not customers view. Totackle this criticism, Lauterborn (1990)attempted to match 4 Ps of marketing with 4Cs of marketing to address consumer views:

Product – Customer SolutionPrice – Customer CostPlacement – ConveniencePromotion – Communication

How to Write a Good Marketing MixAnalysis

To follow a simple and best approach formarketing mix analysis, it is imperative tounderstand the purpose of this analysis. Sothe basic key is to analyse the company'soverall marketing strategy primarily throughthe strategies it follows under the 4Ps ofmarketing.

So the approach should be to keep equalbalance in analysing all four elements ofmarketing mix. The following points shouldbe considered while carrying out analysis:

While analysing a company's product,a common fallacy can be focusing onthe final outlook of the product andthat gives rise to a naïve approach.Analysts should consider and analyseall major product decisions that thecompany may have carried outincluding quality, features, options,style, brand name, packaging, sizes,after-sales services, warranties,returns, etc. Moreover, the company'sposition, as well as marketing strategyin the market, can be judged on thebasis of its product mix includingwidth, length, depth and consistency(Proctor, 200). Width is the number oflines the firm carries, for exampleSony has various lines including TV,video, cameras and laptops. Length isthe number of items in the productmix, for example Toshibahas different


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types of TVs and laptops. Depth is thenumber of variants of each productoffered in the line such as clockradios, car radios and pocket radios.Finally, consistency is how closelyrelated the various product lines arein terms of the use to which they areput, more commonly includingelectrical and entertainment products.So, using these bases for productstrategy classification will lead to easyand effective analysis. Finally, oneshould attempt to identify what thecompany is actually aiming at throughits product. There can be threepossible product strategies in acompany's action (Proctor, 2000).Either it aims the product at themarket such as Erickson with newmobile phones to cater for thebusiness class; it can be given a "facelift" such as Marks & Spencer'sattempt with more customer-specificproducts; and it can be withdrawn,discontinued or eliminated such asMarks & Spencer closing down itsunprofitable units across the globe.

To write a valuable pricing analysis ofa company, the key is to correlate itspricing strategy with its productposition in the market. The companymay use various pricing strategiessuch as penetration, skimming,competition-based pricing,psychological pricing, price wars, etc(Proctor, 2000). A company usespenetration prices if its product isentirely new to the market so it maycharge low prices to increase marketshare. It may be observed thatPorsche and Ferrariuse skimmingpricing where they may charge ahigher price as they know theirspecific customers will buy theirproduct at any price. Sometimescompanies have more fluctuatingprices so an analyst should considerthat their might be competition goingon or a price war has broken throughbetween rivals. For instance, Pepsiand Coke often indulge in such pricewars. Sometimes psychologicaldimensions can be considered aswell. Customers easily find productsin Tesco, Asda or Sainsbury'swithprice tags of £2.99 or £4.99 ratherthan £3 or £5 as customers mayperceive them as £2 or £4. So thewriter must analyse which of thesestrategies a company is following andfor what reason.


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Similarly, placement analysis requiresthe knowledge of a company'sdistribution channels, for instanceanalysis of the fact that a company isinvolving any middleman or not. Ifanalysis of a consumer-goodproducer such as Nestle, Cadbury,and Colgate & Palmolive is carriedout, there are high chances that amiddleman will be involvedconsidering the size of the market intarget. However, industrial producerssuch as Airbus may opt for directdistribution considering the limitednumber of customers. Similarly, itshould be noted that a company maybe using a specific intermediary if theease, reliability, image of theparticular outlet, the way in which itperforms and the deals which can bestruck with the distributor aresatisfactory. So, a company maychoose C&A rather than Marks andSpencer, or Tesco rather than anyother retail outlet (Proctor, 2000). Ona general note, a very good analysiscan be made if the placement relatedthe six questions highlighted inprevious sections are tackled.

Finally, the basic step in promotionanalysis is to identify thecommunication objective that thecompany is aiming at. There can bemultiple communication objectivesthat can be identified. One shouldanalyse how the promotion strategy isaimed at creating awareness of theproduct or service, provision ofproduct information, brandrecognition, gaining access to a targetaudience that is inaccessible to asalesman, evoking desire for aproduct or service, merely making theselling task easier, overcomingprejudices, creating a reminder or toallay cognitive dissonance (Proctor,2000). Once the communicationobjective is identified, then it isimperative to analyse the messageand the promotional mix that is usedby the company includingadvertisement, sales promotion,publicity and personnel selling. ForInstance Nike very rarely usespersonal selling due to its establishedbrand awareness, however, itcontinually uses advertisements withcommunication objective of creating aproduct reminder. Contrary to that,Unilevermay use personal selling,advertisements as well as offering


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discounts (sales promotion) if itlaunches a new consumer good suchas toothpaste or soap to cater for thecommunication objective of creatingnew product awareness.

Information for Marketing Mix Analysis

Students may seek information regardingmarket mix analysis (4 Ps) from two basicsources: market and academic. For marketsources, information is easily available froma company's website, business reports,newspapers/published data on marketing,independent market survey reports and, insome cases, students may visit a retail outletto analyse a product, its pricing andpromotional strategies. However, to get morespecific details, marketing and advertisingacademic journals and secondary data in theform of case studies can be the ideal source.

Conclusion

Marketing mix analysis is a fundamental steptowards effective strategy. Where otheranalysis are more related to environmentand feasibility analysis, the 4 Ps of marketingincluding the product itself, pricing,placement and promotion are the fourwheels of the vehicle on which the path of anorganisation's marketing success is actuallydependent.

References

Kotler, P & Armstrong, G (2004),'Principles of Marketing', TenthEdition, New Jersey: PearsonEducation Inc

Lauterborn, R (1990), 'New MarketingLitany: 4P's Passe; C-Words TakeOver', Advertising Age, Oct 1,1990:26

Lazer, W (1971), 'MarketingManagement: A Systems Perspective'New York: John Wiley & Sons

McCarthy, E J (1960), 'BasicMarketing - A Managerial Approach',Illinois: Irwin

Proctor, T (2000), 'StrategicMarketing: An Introduction', London:Routledge

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