How the marketing mix helps businesses to achieve aims and objectives
Elements of the marketing mix
The main purpose of marketing is to increase sales. To do this, businesses create a marketing strategyPlanned activities designed to increase awareness or sales of a product or service. by integrating the elements of the marketing mixA description of marketing–product, price, promotion, place. - product, price, place and promotion.
Think of a marketing strategy as a cake that is baked using four ingredients. If the ingredients are mixed together in the right way, then the marketing campaign is more likely to be successful.
If one of the ingredients is not mixed in the right quantity, then the chances of success are lower.
Forgetting about one of the ingredients completely means the cake, or marketing campaign, is unlikely to succeed.
How the elements of the marketing mix work together
Each element of the marketing mix influences the others, so the messages across all elements need to be consistent. For example, a business selling luxury cruises to people who are retired would be unlikely to do well by advertisingThe method by which goods or services are promoted to their potential consumer base. them at very low prices, in magazines aimed at teenagers.
The need for consistency means that sometimes businesses have to compromise when making decisions about the different elements.
Element | How it influences product | How it influences price | How it influences place | How it influence promotion |
Product | If the product is expensive to produce, the price will have to be higher | If the product has to be tried on, it may be most successful if sold from a shop | A new product may need more promotion than a mature product | |
Price | If the price needs to be low, the quality of the product may be affected | It would not be advisable to sell expensive products through discount retailers | Expensive products may be best suited to being promoted with a free gift | |
Place | A product sold in luxury outlets needs to be high quality | A product that is sold cheaply may be sold in discount shops | A product that is only sold online may need a different approach from one sold in shops, eg more information about the product | |
Promotion | A buy-one-get-one-free offer would not be suitable for an expensive product | Promotions can be used to reduce the cost of products that have a high price | A promotional campaign that used national media would require the product to be available nationally |
Element | Product |
---|---|
How it influences product | |
How it influences price | If the product is expensive to produce, the price will have to be higher |
How it influences place | If the product has to be tried on, it may be most successful if sold from a shop |
How it influence promotion | A new product may need more promotion than a mature product |
Element | Price |
---|---|
How it influences product | If the price needs to be low, the quality of the product may be affected |
How it influences price | |
How it influences place | It would not be advisable to sell expensive products through discount retailers |
How it influence promotion | Expensive products may be best suited to being promoted with a free gift |
Element | Place |
---|---|
How it influences product | A product sold in luxury outlets needs to be high quality |
How it influences price | A product that is sold cheaply may be sold in discount shops |
How it influences place | |
How it influence promotion | A product that is only sold online may need a different approach from one sold in shops, eg more information about the product |
Element | Promotion |
---|---|
How it influences product | A buy-one-get-one-free offer would not be suitable for an expensive product |
How it influences price | Promotions can be used to reduce the cost of products that have a high price |
How it influences place | A promotional campaign that used national media would require the product to be available nationally |
How it influence promotion |