The Four P’S
Marketing
decisions generally fall into the following four controllable categories:
·
Product
·
Price
·
Place
(distribution)
·
Promotion
The term
"marketing mix" became popularized after Neil H. Borden published his
1964 article, The Concept of the Marketing Mix. Borden began using the
term in his teaching in the late 1940's after James Culliton had described the
marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients". The ingredients in
Borden's marketing mix included product planning, pricing, branding, distribution
channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display,
servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy
later grouped these ingredients into the four categories that today are known
as the 4 P's of marketing, depicted below:
The Marketing Mix
These four P's are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that center the four P's on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response.
Product Decisions
The term "product" refers to tangible,
physical products as well as services. Here are some examples of the product
decisions to be made:
·
Brand
name
·
Functionality
·
Styling
·
Quality
·
Safety
·
Packaging
·
Repairs
and Support
·
Warranty
·
Accessories
and services
Price Decisions
Some examples of pricing decisions to be made
include:
·
Pricing
strategy (skim, penetration, etc.)
·
Suggested
retail price
·
Volume
discounts and wholesale pricing
·
Cash
and early payment discounts
·
Seasonal
pricing
·
Bundling
·
Price
flexibility
·
Price
discrimination
Distribution (Place) Decisions
Distribution is about getting the products to the
customer. Some examples of distribution decisions include:
·
Distribution
channels
·
Market
coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution)
·
Specific
channel members
·
Inventory
management
·
Warehousing
·
Distribution
centers
·
Order
processing
·
Transportation
·
Reverse
logistics
Promotion Decisions
In the context of the
marketing mix, promotion represents the various aspects of marketing
communication, that is, the communication of information about the product with
the goal of generating a positive customer response. Marketing communication
decisions include:
·
Promotional
strategy (push, pull, etc.)
·
Advertising
·
Personal
selling & sales force
·
Sales
promotions
·
Public
relations & publicity
·
Marketing
communications budget
Limitations of the Marketing Mix
Framework
The marketing mix framework
was particularly useful in the early days of the marketing concept when
physical products represented a larger portion of the economy. Today, with
marketing more integrated into organizations and with a wider variety of
products and markets, some authors have attempted to extend its usefulness by
proposing a fifth P, such as packaging, people, process, etc. Today however,
the marketing mix most commonly remains based on the 4 P's. Despite its
limitations and perhaps because of its simplicity, the use of this framework
remains strong and many marketing textbooks have been organized around it.
Conclusion :
The four P is the parameter that marketing managers can control, subject to
the constraints of internal and
external marketing environment. The goal
is to make decisions that center the four P's to customers in the target market
to create perceived value and generate a positive response.
Source :