Marketing Mix:
Introduction:
The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by the marketing professionals.The marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand's offering, and is often
synonymous with the four ps: price, product, promotion, and placer; in service marketing , however, the four Ps have been expanded to the seven Ps to address the different nature of services.In recent times, teh concept of four Cs has been introduced as a more customer-driven replacement of four Ps .And these are two four Cs theories today.One is Lauterborn's four Cs , another is shimizus's four Cs . The term marketing mix was coined in an article written by Neil Borden called The concept of the Marketing Mix .He started teaching the term after he learned about it from an associate, James Culliton, who in 1948 described the role of the marketing manager as a mixer of ingredients."
Product:
A product is defined as being a bundle of benefits.This means that the product is more than just the sum of its physical characteristics; it includes fringe elements such as the brand image, the
way the product is packed and delivered, even the color of the box it comes in. Primary characteristics are those core benefits of the product that it has common with its competitors;auxiliary characteristics are the features and benefits that are unique to the product. Marketers need to be aware of the ways in which the needs and wants of consumers are changing , so that the benefits offered by the product range can be tailored to fit those needs and wants.
Product Classifications:
product are classified broadly on the basis of durability, tangibility, and use.
a.On the basis of use, a product may be classified as:
1.Consumer products:
Products bought to satisfy personal and family needs are consumer products.
2.Industrial Products:
Products bought for the purposes of resale or to be used to make other products are industrial products.
Consumer products:
May be further classified as follows:
i.Convenience products:
Cheap, frequently purchased items that do not require much thought or planning.The consumer typically buys the same brand or goes to the same shop.Examples are newspapers, basic groceries and soft drinks.Normally convenience products would be distributed through many retail outlets, and the onus is on the retailer will not expend much effort on such low-priced items.
ii.Shopping Products:
The products consumers shop around for.Usually infrequently purchased items such as computers, cars, hi-fi systems or household appliances.From the manufacturer's viewpoint, such products require few retail outlets, but will require much more personal selling on the part of the retailer: so there is usually a high degree of co-operation between manufacture and retailer in marketing the products.
iii. Specialty Products:
Consumers plans the purchase of these products with accept no substitutes.Here the consumer's efforts bend towards finding an outlet that can supply exactly the item needed.This accentuates the exclusivity of the product, so some marketers deliberately limit the number of outlets that are franchised to sell the products.
iv.Unsought Products:
These products are not bought; they are sold. Examples are life insurance, fitted kitchens and encyclopedias. While most people would recognize the need for out looking for them; far more commonly the products are sold either through a sudden change of circumstances which forces the consumer to buy.
b.On the basis of durability , a product may be classified as:
i.Non-durable Goods:
Are tangible goods normally consumed in one or a few uses, such as salt, soap and shampoo etc.Because these goods are purchased frequently, the appropriate strategy is to make them available, in many locations , change only a small markup and advertise heavily to induce trial and build preference.
ii.Durable Goods:
Are tangible goods that normally survive many uses and examples are refrigerators, machine tools, and clothing etc.Durable products normally require more personal selling and service, command a higher margin and require more seller guarantees.
iii.Services:
Are intangible , inseparable, variable, and perishable products that normally require more quality control, supplier credibility, and adaptability. Examples include haircuts, legal advice, and appliance repairs.
c.On the basis of tangibility , a product may be classified as:
i.Tangible products:
Are in physical from and can be seen and touched.All items such as groceries, cars, machines, raw -materials, garments etc.thus fall under this category.
ii.Intangible products:
On the other hand , are those which cannot be seen or touched.Things like services download from the Internet would be classified as intangible, but the same music would become tangible if placed or burnt on a CD.
Industrial Products:
May be further classified as follows:
Industrial goods are classified in terms of their relative cost and how they enter the production process: materials and parts, capital items , and supplies and business services.
i.Capital Items:
Are long-lasting goods that facilitate developing or managing the finished product.They includes two groups:installations and equipment.Installations consist of buildings and heavy equipment .Installations are major purchases.They are usually bought directly from the producer, whose sales force includes technical personnel, whose sales force includes technical personnel, and a long negotiation precedes the typical sale.
ii.Materials and parts:
Are goods that enter the manufacture's product completely.They fall into two classes.raw materials, and manufactured materials and parts.
iii.Component Parts:
Enter the finished product with no further change in form, as when small motors are put into vacuum cleaners, and tires are put on automobiles.Most manufactured materials and parts are
sold directly to industrial users. Price and service are major marketing considerations, with branding and advertising less important.
iv.Equipment:
Includes portable factory equipment and tool and office equipment .These types of equipment do not become part of a finished product.They have a shorter life than installations but a longer life than operating supplies.
v.Supplies and Business Services:
Are short-term goods and services that facilitate developing or managing the finished product .Supplies are of two kinds:Maintenance and repair items and operating supplies (lubricants, coal, writing paper, pencils).
Managing the product Range:
product Life Cycle:
Product Life Cycle is the stages through which a product or their categories bypass.From its introduction to the marketing, growth, maturity to its decline or reduce in demand in the market.Not all products reach this final stage, some continue to grow and some rise and fall.The Product Life (PLC) is a useful concept to describe how products progress from introduction through to obsolescence.The theory illustrates that products, like living things ,have a natural life cycle beginning with introduction, going through a growth phase, reaching maturity, then going into decline, and finally becoming obsolete.
a.In the Introduction phase:
The product's sales grow slowly, and the profit will be small or negative because of heavy promotion costs and production inefficiencies.If the product is very new , there will also be the need to persuade retailers and others to stock the product.
b.In the Growth Stage:
There will be a rapid increase in sales as the product becomes better known.At this stage profits begin, but competition will also be entering the market so the producer may now need to think about adapting the product to meet the competitive threat.
c.In the Maturity Phase:
The product is well known and well established :at this point the promotional spend eases off and production economies of scale become established .By this time competitor will almost certainly have entered the market, so the firm will need to develop a new version of the product.
d.In the Decline Phase:
The product is losing market share and profitability rapidly.At this stage the supporting the product for a little longer, or whether it should be allowed to disappear; supporting a product for which there is little natural demand is very unprofitable, but sometimes products can be revived and re-launched, perhaps in a different market. The assumption is that all products exhibit this life cycle, but the timescale will vary from one product to the other.The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) developed a matrix for decision- making in these circumstances.
i.Stars:
Are products with rapid growth and a dominant share of the market.Usually, the costs of fighting off the competition and maintaining growth mean that the product is actually absorbing more money than it is generating, but eventually it is hoped that it will be the market leader and the profits will being to come back in.The most prominent example of stars at present are dot.com companies , which have shown astronomical growth in a rapidly expanding market, but which have yet to show a profit.
ii.Cash Cows:
Are the former stars. They have a dominant share of the market, but are now in the maturity phase of the life cycle and thus have low growth. A cash cow is generating cash and can be milked of it to finance the stars.
iii.Dogs:
Have a market share and low market share and low growth prospects .The argument here is not whether the product is profitable; it almost always is.The argument is about whether the firm could use its production facilities to make something that would be more profitable, and this is also always the case.
iv.The proble Child:
Has a small share of a growth market, and causes the marketer the most headaches since it is necessary to work out a way of building market share so as ti turn the products into a star.
v.War house:
Have high market share, but the market has negative growth;the problem for management is to decide whether the product is in an irreversible decline, or whether it can be revived ,perhaps
by re positioning into another market.
vi.Dodos:
Have a low share of a negative growth market, and are probably best discontinued.
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