Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix Paper

Marketing mix might be considered the most important term in marketing. The marketing mix components are basic foundation of a marketing plan. The marketing mix consists of the four P's which are price, place, product, and promotion. By using the marketing mix you can vary the offers of services that you give to your customers. For instance when you are a big name brand corporation you might focus more on promoting and desensitize the focus on price.

According to the marketing dictionary the marketing mix is a combination of marketing elements used in the sale of a particular product. The marketing elements center around four distinct functions, sometimes called the Four Ps: product, price, place (of distribution), and promotion. All these functions are considered in planning a marketing strategy, and any one may be enhanced, deducted, or changed in some degree in order to create the strategy necessary to efficiently and effectively sell a product (www.answers.com).

According to the business dictionary The term marketing mix refers to the four major areas of decision making in the marketing process that are blended to obtain the results desired by the organization. The four elements of the marketing mix are sometimes referred to the four Ps of marketing. The marketing mix shapes the role of marketing within all types of organizations, both profit and nonprofit. Each element in the marketing mixÐ'--product, price, promotion, and placeÐ'--consists of numerous sub elements. Marketing managers make numerous decisions based on the various sub elements of the marketing mix, all in an attempt to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers (www.answers.com).

The Four P's Of The Marketing Mix

Product - An object or a service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. A typical example of a mass produced service is the hotel industry. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system. Typical examples of a mass produced objects are the motor car and the disposable razor (wikipedia.org).

Price Ð'- The price is the amount a customer pays for a product. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. The business may increase or decrease the product if other stores have the same product (wikipedia.org).

Place Ð'- Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet (wikipedia.org).

Promotion Ð'- Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements - advertising, public relations, word of mouth and point of sale. A certain amount of crossover occurs when promotion uses the four principle elements together, which is common in film promotion. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from television and cinema commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards. One of the most notable means of promotion today is the Promotional Product, as in useful items distributed to targeted audiences with no obligation attached. This category has grown each year for the past decade while most other forms have suffered. It is the only form of advertising that targets all five senses and has the recipient thanking the giver. Public relations are where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events. Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often play an important role in word of mouth and Public Relations (wikipedia.org).

Broadly defined, optimizing the marketing mix is the primary responsibility of marketing. By offering the product with the right combination of the four Ps marketers can improve their results and marketing effectiveness. Making small changes in the marketing mix is typically considered to be a tactical change. Making large changes in any of the four Ps can be considered strategic. For example, a large change in the price, say from $129.00 to $39.00 would be considered a strategic change in the position of the product. However a change of $129.00 to $131.00 would be considered a tactical change, potentially related to a promotional offer (wikipedia.org).

The company that I decided to use for the market mix was Experian Credit Bureau. Experian did research on it's customers and singled out the customers that it wanted to mainly focus on. Then Experian put together a market strategy by using the market mix.

Product

The CreditExpert service enables members to check online that their credit report is accurate and up to date. It enables them to see their credit history online as often as they want. The CreditExpert alert service helps them to identify whether somebody has been asking for credit using their name and address, which enables them to spot identity fraud. If there is a problem, consumers get free phone advice from credit reference specialists. Members can also order a credit score based on their Experian credit report, which gives them an idea of how a lender would view the information if they were to apply for credit (http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-study--marketing-mi).

Price

As with most financial services, there is a charge. Before making a decision to use CreditExpert, consumers can take up a free trial for a 30-day period. During this time, they have to pay Ð'Ј4.99 to see a credit score. If they are happy with the service, they can use it to help manage their credit history for Ð'Ј5.99 per month. If they do not think the service