Marketing is a comprehensive business process that includes design, development, production, and promotion. Marketing is usually associated with the promotion aspect of this process, but marketers should be engaged throughout all the production phases in order to refine marketability. The marketing mix is the combination of techniques used to market a brand: putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time.
To effectively market a product or service there are four things you need to get right: product, price, place and promotion. These four elements are known as the marketing mix or the 4Ps.
Product: A product (or service) is what we want to sell. It is an item that satisfies a need or a desire. It can be a physical item, a service or a virtual product. A successful product has to fulfil a specific need in the market, it must be able to perform its function as promised. Every product should have certain characteristics that separate it from its competitors. For this reason, it is vital to create a unique set of characteristics for any product.
Price: Price defines how much the product or service costs. If you get the price wrong, you will not sell your product. There are plenty of pricing strategies, but each of them must cover at least the production costs, unless it is used to attract customers to the business. Any pricing decisions for a product need to be made through proper research, analysis and an eye on strategic objectives for the organization and the product. A decision made too quickly with superficial assessment can result in a loss of revenue.
Place: Place is where you sell the product or service. This can mean the location of a shop or outlet, or the accessibility of the service. The place ensures that the product is distributed and made available for the consumer at the right location at the right time. If a consumer is faced with issues involving availability, it is almost certain that they will take their business somewhere else. This is why it is very important that the product makes it to the right place at the right time.
Promotion: Promotion is how you tell consumers about the product or service. The promotional mix is a blend of the promotional tools used to communicate about the product or service. Promotion is a very important component of marketing as it can boost brand recognition and sales, and creates brand loyalty. The three fundamental objectives of promotion are: to present information to consumers, to increase demand and to differentiate a product. There are different ways to promote a product in person or through different media. Both person and media can be either physically real or virtual.
The original Four Ps of marketing detail the important components of product marketing. Recently, some marketing specialists have added three additional Ps to help create a comprehensive framework for marketing services.
People: Many times, consumers rate a service based on their experience they get from the person delivering it, or how the staff is different from the competitor’s. Professionalism and courtesy are key elements in any service business.
Process: Process is the standard operating procedure in delivering the service. All services need to be underpinned by clearly defined and efficient processes. This will avoid confusion and promote a consistent service. In other words, processes mean that everybody knows what to do and how to do it.
Physical evidence: Physical evidence means how a service becomes tangible. In the service industry, there should be physical evidence that the service was delivered. Physical evidence comprises of the elements which are incorporated into a service to make it tangible and somewhat measurable. At the same time, it also helps in the positioning of the brand and for targeting the right kind of customers.
Marketing term definition finder. Match the words with the definitions!
| 1 | marketing | a | The technology and the art of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. |
| 2 | packaging | b | A thing that you can touch or a service that you can offer which is sold to your customers. |
| 3 | placement | c | The reason or the goal, the thing you are trying to accomplish. |
| 4 | premium | d | Promotional items that are linked to a product that often require box tops or other proof of purchase plus shipping and handling payment in order to acquire them. |
| 5 | price | e | The promotion of a favorable image between a business and the public. |
| 6 | product | f | Meeting a need with words or actions instead of tangible products.
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| 7 | promotion | g | The process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers. |
| 8 | public relations | h | The amount of money that a product or service will be bought or sold for. |
| 9 | purpose | i | The way in which you are going to advertise your product or service. |
| 10 | service | j | Where you sell your product; the stores you choose and the location in the store that you choose. |
Key: 1-g, 2-a, 3-j, 4-d, 5-h, 6-b, 7-i, 8-e, 9-c, 10-f
| comprehensive | esauriente, esteso, dettagliato |
| to be associated with | essere collegato con |
| aspect | aspetto |
| to be engaged | essere impegnato |
| to refine | perfezionare |
| marketability | commerciabilitá |
| item | articolo |
| to fulfil | compiere |
| as promised | come promesso |
| competitor | concorrente |
| vital | vitale, essenziale |
| to define | definire |
| objective | obiettivo |
| superficial assessment | valutazione supreficiale |
| revenue | reddito |
| accessibility | accessibilitá |
| to ensure | assicurare |
| to be distributed | essere distruboto |
| to be faced with | essere di fronte a |
| issue | questione, problema |
| to involve | coinvolgere |
| blend | mescolenza |
| promotional tools | attrezzi promozionali |
| component | componente |
| to boost | incentivare |
| brand recognition | riconoscimento di un marchio |
| brand loyalty | fedeltá a un marchio |
| fundamental | fondamentale |
| demand | richiesta, domanda (di) |
| to differentiate | differenziare |
| to detail | elencare dettagliatamente |
| framework | struttura |
| to deliver | consegnare |
| courtesy | cortesia, gentilezza |
| operating procedure | procedura di gestione |
| to be underpinned | essere corroborato |
| consistent | costante |
| evidence | evidenza |
| tangible | tangibile |
| to comprise of | comprendere |
| to be incorporated into | essere incluso/incorporato |
| measurable | misurabile |
| positioning | posozione, posto |
| to target | puntare su |
