Marketing mix
The Marketing Mix is the combination of marketing activities. They are usually
known as 'The Four Ps': Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
Product
This is the most important part of the marketing mix. Today, most companies are
market-oriented: they invest a lot of money in researching consumer habits.
When companies decide which product they want to sell, they need to choose the
function, appearance and most likely cost to make a product appeal to the target
market and stand out from the competition. This is called 'product differentiation',
which is created by:
establishing a strong brand image for goods or a service
making clear the unique selling point (USP) of goods or a service
offering a better location, features, functions, design, appearance or selling
price than rival products
This refers to the image or impressions that a company creates for its products.
Customers are willing to pay more for branded goods because they are sure that the
quality will always be the same and because branded goods are usually highly
advertised. Companies use brands to encourage consumers to continue buying their
products instead of trying out other similar products.
Many brands face strong competition from retailers and are usually cheaper than
equivalent branded products.
Brands are very important. They tend to be short, descriptive and easy to
pronounce.
Logos are another crucial aspect of corporate marketing. They are intended to be
the 'face' of a company and provide essential information that allows customers to
identify with the company’s brand.
Brand image is also very important. The brand image is usually developed over time
through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme, which is authenticated
through direct consumer experience.
A single point of sale is a factor that differentiates a product from its competitors,
such as the lowest cost, the highest quality or the first product of its kind. A USP
could be thought of as 'what a company has that competitors don’t'.
