Question

The Extended Marketing Mix is a combination of elements that make up a campaign to sell a product. It is an expansion on the original marketing mix of product, placement, price, and promotion, adding additional factors that can influence the success of a campaign.

Q:Discuss the differing components of the marketing mix and its development from the 4Ps to the 7Ps, providing examples of how these are applied to a business known to you.

Answer 1

Marketing mix is used to describe the different kinds of choices the organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market. Marketing mix is all about putting the right product, at the right price, at the right place and at the right time.

Marketing mix is usually associated with 4P's of marketing, however there are additional elements that led to 7P's of marketing and are also known as Extended Marketing Mix.

The 4P's of Marketing Mix are:

1. Product: A product is an item which is produced to satisfy the needs of the consumers. The right type of product would lead to increase the demand in the market, hence the organisations need to figure out the right products which will infuence the customers and satisfy their wants. The firms must consider the life cycle of the product to address any issues and to stimulate the demand once it reaches the sales decline phase.

In developing the right product, following questions needs to be answered:

• What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy?
• What features does it have to meet these needs?
• How and where will the customer use it?
• What does it look like? How will customers experience it?
• What sizes, colors, and so on, should it be?
• What is the name of the product?
• How is it branded?
• How is it differentiated from our competitors?

2. Price: The price is simply the amount which the buyer is willing to pay to buy the product. Price is a very important component in the marketing mix as it determines the organisation's profit and growth. A lower price makes a product accessible to more customers, while a higher price appeals to customers to look for the other products.

Adjusting the price of the product has a big impact on the entire marketing strategy as well as greatly affecting the sales and demand of the product. Pricing always help shape the perception of your product in consumers eyes.

Product price helps us to find out the answers to the following question:

• How much did it cost to produce the product?
• What is the customers’ perceived product value?
• What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market?
• Do you think that the slight price decrease could significantly increase your market share?
• How will your price compare with your competitors?

3. Place: Distribution is a very important part of the product mix. Any physical location where the customer can use, access, or purchase a product. This includes distribution centers, transport, warehousing, inventory decisions, and franchises.

Organisations have to position and distribute the product in a place that is accessible to potential buyers. There are many distribution techniques which can be employed like intensive, selective, exclusive distribution etc.

Some of the questions to be answered includes:

• Where do buyers look for product or service?
• What kind of stores do potential clients go to? Do they shop in a mall, in a regular brick and mortar store, in the supermarket, or online?
• How to access the right distribution channels?
• How is our distribution strategy different from our competitors?
• Do we need a strong sales force?
• Do we need to attend trade fairs?

4. Promotion: Promotion is a very important component of marketing as it can boost brand recognition and sales. Advertising, direct marketing, and sales promotion. TV commercials, Internet ads, catalogs, trade fairs are all types of promotion. This category also includes public relations, such as the distribution of press releases or ongoing relationships with the media.

The promotion strategy or a combination to be employed in the distribution of the products and services depends primarily upon the budget and its effectiveness depends upon how well the message is communicated to the potential buyers.

Following questions need to be answered while creating effecting promotion strategy:

• How can we send marketing messages to the potential buyers?
• When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch or subsequent promotions?
• Will we reach your potential audience and buyers through television ads?
• Is it best to use the social media in promoting the product?
• What is the promotion strategy of your competitors?

The Extended Marketing Mix are that led to transition to 7P's Marketing model are:

5. Physical evidence. It is the physical evidence of a business' presence and establishment. Additionally, physical evidence pertains also to how a business and it's products are perceived in the marketplace.

Anything tangible related to a product or the physical environment in which a service takes place. Physical evidence may include product packaging, delivery receipts, signage, or the layout of a physical store.

This helps us to find out the answers to the following questions:

• What kind of stores do potential clients go to?
• How to use different modes of distribution channels?
• How is our distribution strategy different from our competitors?
• How to make product attractive using packaging etc?

6. People: It is important to hire and train the right people to deliver superior services to the clients. Employees, including those who interact directly with customers (such as sales, customer service, or delivery people) as well as staff recruitment and training. This category includes how well employees perform their jobs, how they appear to customers (for example, what their uniforms look like), and how customers feel about their experience.

Here are some of the questions that need to be answered:

• Who are the primary and secondary target buyers?
• What are the buying behaviors of your target buyers?
• Who are our competitors marketing to?
• What are the trends that your target buyers are following?
• What behaviors and preferences do your target buyers have, if any?

7. Process. The final P, process deals with customer service, and a company’s ability to offer a service, handle complaints, and foresee any issues before they actually happen. These clearly defined and efficient processes should garner customer confidence in the company’s ability to handle any issues. Anything within the organization that has an impact on how a product or service is handled by employees and delivered to consumers.

Some of the questions to make our process system better involves answers to these questions:

• How to create a better system?
• Do we have adequate quality feedback system?
• Is our system strong enough to handle the consumer grievances in real time?
• How to address the bottlenecks in the process?
• How is our system against our competitors?