The Extended Marketing Mix

The Extended Marketing Mix

In last weeks assignment the writer identified the concept in Marketing that a business person should never confuse advertising and marketing. In a successful business Marketing is more of a complete process. Advertising is still just a portion of what goes on in that process. The Marketing process starts early and continues on through the very conclusion of any sale. In fact the main reason anyone buys a product or service is because someone marketed the product/service effectively. Like last weeks assignment when we talk about the "marketing mix" it's all about knowing your customers. The customer driven marketing plan (unlike advertising) is very much like a strong first paragraph. The plan has to include the five W's (who, what, why, when, where, and how) to be accurate and effective. In this case the four P's (Product, Price, Presentation, and Promotion) represent the five W's of the marketing mix.

In the Marketing Mix a business has to use those four principals effectively in order to be successful. The mix has to be able to identify what customers want and desire. Also the mix has to be shaped to the needs of its intended market. A business has to be properly positioned to give customers what they need, on a personal level, rather than forcing something that is unwanted. "Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they don't want is extremely expensive and seldom successful (Answers, 2006). In the old days we were a society of consumers who were product-focused. As people developed their own tastes and more avenues to obtain products were developed the business world became more market-based. In other words businesses became customer centered. Marketing is most commonly referred to as either advertising or promotion. As it was mentioned earlier promotion (or advertising/branding) is just one of the P's. If a business "overlooks any of the three additional portions of the marketing plan then the company will lose the opportunity to control and develop over 75% of all marketing, which must be done well first, to allow advertising to succeed (Dueease,2006)." The remaining three P's (product, placement, and pricing) are discussed further in the next few pages.

The first P segment is Product. This area included product management and initial product marketing. In this phase the business identifies just how the product will be built, or exactly what service will be provided. In addition the customer centered aspect of the research will be utilized to make sure the product/service meets the projected need that was identified in the market research. The successful sales transaction depends on this first step. If the customers do not want the product or service then no sales will occur and the project will fail.

The second P segment is Price. It is imperative, and obvious, that a successful business earns profits. Pricing is the process of adjusting the price of an item to recoup any cost involved with the production of the item. Additionally, in order to ensure that the projected customer base actually wants the product/service and that the business makes money, the price has to be adjusted so that the consumers realized price (after all discounts and rebates) is less than the perceived value they get in return for their purchase. The consumer has to feel that they got a good product at a fair price (Dueease, 2006).

The third P segment is Promotion. This area is generally considered first when speaking about marketing. This area includes all of the following: advertising, sales promotion, publicity, personal selling, promotion of the company, the brand, and the product (wikipedia, 2006). In this area of the market mix the business attracts potential customers by promoting their strengths and advantages. In this area the business is supposed to interact with clients with media and print methods to entice them into the points of sale. The customers have to be given a reason to choose the product offered by the company. Today's businesses are customer centered. Customers have to be shown the benefit of conducting business with the company.

There are three main ways to give the customer those same reasons to buy the intended product. First, focus on "Branding." It is imperative for customers to be emotionally tied to their purchases. In every case, when it comes to marketing, play up the company brand. Give consumers something to hold onto subconsciously. Find a handle, jingle or catch phrase that makes people remember your product. In the writers case he works for a company that builds things "Ford tough." In other cases things are built "like a rock." The most successful businesses (locally or globally) push the brand name as far as it will go. The Ford Logo is arguably the most recognized brand emblem in the world.

The second way to give a customer a reason to purchase is Identity. Any successful business has to find their own identity and differentiate themselves from their competition. Here again know your customer. Carefully define your projected market and then position yourself in a way that demonstrates superiority. All customers shop before they purchase. The more you know about your projected market the easier it will be to position your product in a competitive way so that everyone is capable of buying (Dueease, 2006).

The final way to increase a customer's likelihood in making that purchase is Innovation. In this scenario a company focuses on "The Next Big Thing (Marketing, 2006)." In other words a company (like Ford) never rests on past success. Each year they try to focus on creating new technology that will set them apart from the competition. In these cases the companies create the next big thing and then try to develop an existing market for it. Innovation means that customers may not know what they want from year to year. They don't know what is available around the corner so companies shouldn't expect them to be able to make a buying decision until the consumers have been given all the available options and innovations. It all ties into the promotion of the marketing plan. The company's brand name and identity (to include innovation) is a major reason customers buy. Brand recognition is a major advantage in marketing (Marketing, n.p., 2006).

The forth and final P segment of the marketing mix is Placement. This is the "where" in the five W's. It usually refers to how the product is distributed. In the distribution phase of the marketing plan locations for the actual sales are identified in advance. From the Ford perspective this means two things: Which zone and what demographic? Ford has 20 sales zones covering the