Marketing_Mix

Marketing Mix 2 A marketing mix is what makes up the plan to bring a product or service to the market. There are four terms which are involved in this marketing mix idea and each term has an important role in the introduction of a product or service to consumers through the market place. The four terms are called the four P’s of marketing. These terms are product, price, place, and promotion. Each of these terms represents a step in the journey to creating an effective marketing plan. The first P of marketing is product. This term represents the initial concept or idea for a new product or service. When deciding whether to bring a product or service to market, several factors must be considered. It is important to consider what the product or service has to offer to consumers, and if it is beneficial enough to initiate a profit. In order for a product or service to be considered marketable, it must offer something to the consumer which has an appeal which will make the consumer feel a desire and need for the product or service. When discussing product or services, decisions about how a marketing strategy will be formed working with them are also important. Some of the things that must be considered are the style, function, packaging, branding, safety, quality, and accessories. The style of a product is important because it must be appealing to the consumer, and good styling can help a product sell for a higher price. The functionality of a product must also be considered because a quality product must be something that is convenient and productive. The packaging of a product should also be appealing to the consumer, just as with the style. Environmentally friendly packaging is more appealing to today’s consumers, so this is an important consideration. The branding of a Marketing Mix 3 product is a very important detail in an effective marketing plan. This includes the name and logo of the product, and the name should be catchy while the logo should be simple and easy to remember. Safety and quality are sort of in the same category. A quality product has passed any necessary safety tests and quality checks. As a part of bring a product to the next phase in marketing, any accessories or services that might be a profitable addition to the product or service should be brainstormed and created. The second P of marketing is price. The price of a product is a very important aspect to consider when deciding how to market a product or service. The price of a product or service can determine whether the product or service will be successful or not. If a product or service is priced too high, it may not be successful even if the product or service would otherwise be desirable to the consumer. If a product or service is priced to low however, it may not be as profitable as it could be, and the company could end up losing profits. Finding the right balance concerning pricing is very important to the success of a product. Some of the other pricing decisions to consider during the process of creating a marketing strategy are the suggested retail price, wholesale pricing, seasonal pricing, and pricing flexibility. The suggested retail price of a product or service is important because a successful marketing campaign will offer the product or service at a price that is less than or equal to the suggested retail price, but not higher than it. Wholesale pricing is important to ensure that retailers will want to offer the product or service. A wholesale price should be set at a level which allows room for the producers of the product or service and the retailers to profit. A seasonal price Marketing Mix 4 should be set based on the way that seasonal influences affect the desirability of a product or service. For instance, a swimsuit would most likely be more expensive to buy in the winter because they are not sold as often in the winter. In the summer however, there would likely be big sales on swimsuits because they are at a higher demand. The price of a product or service should also be set to be flexible when necessary. For instance, in the service industry, many times the price of a product or service may be negotiable. The third P of marketing is place. This term refers to the place in which a product or service will be offered. It is important for a good marketing plan to consider whether a product would be best sold in stores, or on the internet, or through a mail order catalogue, or even through television. Every new product or service is different and requires a different type of place for it to be sold. For instance, some new products are best to introduce on television through the use of infomercials, even though at a later time the same product or service might be introduced into retail stores. Some of the factors which must be considered when making decisions about the placement of a product or service include inventory, ordering, warehouses, and transportation. Inventory is important to consider in order to ensure that there is enough of a product to meet the demands of the consumer. If there is not enough products available, a company can lose money and customers. Ordering is an important aspect as well because the ordering process should be organized and simplified as much as possible. By using this type of ordering system, costly mistakes can be avoided. A company which has a large supply of product which will be sold on Marketing Mix 5 the market should also have a functional and efficient warehouse system. The more productive a warehouse is, the faster the consumers receive their purchases, and this will result is satisfied customers and higher profits. Transportation is also an important factor when making decisions about the place where a product will be sold because it is necessary to transport products from the warehouse to the customers. The fourth P of the marketing mix is promotions. Promotions are important to the success of any new product on the market. When a product or service is brought to market, consumers are more likely to purchase the products if they are getting a better price than the suggested retail value. If a product has a good promotion it is more likely to be profitable than if the product was being offered at the regular price, Promotions is a part of the marketing mix which involves many aspects including advertising, sales, public perception of the product, and the budget for marketing the product. Advertising is important to promotions because one of the most efficient ways to pitch the product or service to the public is through advertising. Sales are important to marketing a product because the more sales there are, the more desirable the product will be to the consumers. Public perception is important because if a product is not popular with the public, it will not have successful sales. A reasonable budget must also be set for promotions of a product. This will help the company network without losing profits. The American Express credit card company has built a strong brand and product by utilizing the four P’s of marketing. The product that American Express offers is credit. People are interested in gaining credit through credit cards for many different reasons. Some people just want to build their credit up, while others want a way to pay for something that they cannot fund elsewhere, so a credit card is convenient because they can pay for a product up front and then pay for it at a later time The price of an American Express credit card can be varied depending on the specific card. Some cards have no fees, while others have large fees such as annual membership fees. The Placing of American Express products are varied. Some ads are on the internet, while some are on television. These different ways to present the product and sell it are important to consider when deciding on placement for the card products. Promotions are also important to American Express because the better the offers, the more customers American Express has. By having sales and utilizing different advertising techniques, a product or service can become a big seller on the market and the company will see the profits overall.