The Marketing Mix

Before embarking on your marketing journey, familiarise yourself with the fundamentals of marketing. The basic elements of the marketing mix originated in the 1950’s at Harvard University. It was formally presented as the Four P’s model of marketing by Jerome McCarthy in 1960.  The model proposed that product, price, promotion and place are key to successful marketing. Later, it was extended to include the elements of people, physical and process. To this day businesses utilise this model as a vital strategy to market their products and services.

The Four P’s Model of Marketing

Product:  All marketing activities start with the product since it is the centre of the marketing mix. Product refers to the goods or service that a company offers to customers and the processes to ensure that your products are ready for selling. Your product or service should fill a gap in the market, meet customer needs, and set itself apart from the competition. When marketing your product consider design, features, brand name, product variety, product quality, services and the life cycle of your product. Know what makes your product unique and use it to generate sales.

Price: Refers to the amount you charge for your product or service. Decide carefully on your pricing model. At this stage of the marketing mix you elect methods of pricing; policies; strategies, allowances, discounts, rebates, payment period and credit policy. Your pricing will vary due to many factors such as supply and demand, supply costs (of material and production), market fluctuations, seasonal discounts, and pricing of your competitors.  If you are launching a new product and you want your product or service to make its entry into the market then cost it low but if you intend for your product to be perceived as being luxury or premium then you can charge a high fee. Pricing is vital to the amount of profit your business generates, so give this aspect of marketing careful thought.

Promotion:  Refers to how you present your  goods and services to consumers with the goal of generating leads or getting consumers to  make a purchase. This is the creative element of the marketing mix and includes concepts such as advertising, email marketing, social media marketing, creating brand awareness, video marketing, participating in sponsorships and involving influencers. The main elements of a promotion mix are:

• Advertising
• Personal selling
• Public relations
• Direct marketing
• Publicity -social media, print, etc.
• Sales promotion

Place: Refers to how and where products are sold. It can be digital or physical. You must make the decision whether you will sell at a physical store, or online, or both. Note that when selling online you are not restricted since you can sell to the global market.  In  the case of service businesses, do you expect clients to come to your location for your services rendered or will you go to them? Distribution decisions are part of your overall marketing process.

Elements of a distribution mix :

• Channels of distribution
• Warehousing decision
• Product handling
• Transport
• Inventory control
• Order processing
• Coverage

These four P’s interact with each other and are influenced by internal and external factors. They have formed the pillars of market strategy for decades and have evolved over time to include other P’s such as process, physical and people (Jerome McCarthy).

Bear in mind that there are laws that you need to abide by when marketing such as the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act).