Marketing mix is a collection of controllable factors that can be used to influence the behaviour of customers or consumers. In other words, marketing mix is a combination of controllable variables such as, product, price, distribution place and promotion which spells out the marketers’ strategy to satisfy the needs of the consumers and to increase the sales of the goods. The concept of marketing mix was popularised by Neil Bordon, and Mc Carthy uses a useful mnemonic: “the four Ps” to denote the four elements of the mix.
The organisation must also contend with some uncontrollable variables like competitors, the economy, consumers, technology, society, physical environment, suppliers and middlemen.
Elements of Marketing Mix
The elements of marketing mix are as follows:
a) Product: This is the merchandise/goods and services offered for sale.
- Product features.
- Packaging.
- Labelling.
- Product equality, etc.
b) Price: This is the value placed on a product.
It includes:
- Price level.
- Discounts.
- Payment terms.
c) Promotion: This is concerned with informing customers of product features and persuading them to buy the product. It consists of:
- Advertising.
- Sales promotion.
- Personal selling.
- Public relations.
d) Place: This is concerned with putting the right quantity of products in the right location at the appropriate them. It comprises:
- Market average.
- Channels of distribution.
- Inventory planning.
- Physical distribution (warehousing).
- Transport etc.
