1. Product
This element of the marketing mix considers the technical features, benefits and limitations of the product or products offered by the business. Depending on the nature of the business, products can be physical goods or services.
2. Price
This refers not only to the price of the product, but to all costs related to the purchase. It may be expressed in monetary terms, a rate of interest, costs, fees, or a combination of all these elements. The price may be a one-off payment, or a series of payments over time. It may be subject to time limits (such as a special deal for a limited period). It may also be conditional on purchasing other products, or a minimum ‘lock in’ period, such as a mobile telephone contract with a minimum duration.
3. Promotion
Promotion refers to all activities that are intended to inform the customer and influence the purchasing decision. The range of promotional media deployed by an organisation is sometimes referred to as the promotional mix. This includes:
■ advertising
■ direct selling, such as face-to-face interactions and telephone or online sales
■ public relations
■ merchandising
■ sponsorship.
4. Place
This refers to all activities related to moving the product from the producer to the consumer. It is concerned with distribution through the producer’s channels to market. Distribution may involve physically moving the product to the consumer, or to intermediaries who take responsibility for different stages of distribution, such as agents and wholesalers. In retail industries, distribution was once only concerned with transferring goods from the point of production to the point of sale, but the logistics have now changed as more companies embrace online orders and home delivery alongside (and, in some cases, instead of) their stores.
5. People
This component of the marketing mix is especially important:
■ when goods offered are considered to be homogeneous by customers
■ for services, which are intangible and therefore have to be differentiated in an
effective manner.
6. Processes
Processes are vitally important when they can impact on the effectiveness of delivering benefits to the customer. Automation and the linking of processes have parts to play here. Successful businesses capitalise on the use of technology to undertake tasks that are performed better by machines than people, while at the same time asking their people to fulfil roles that only people do well.
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