The marketing mix is essentially about meeting the needs of the customer. Companies must make determinations about what “works” and what does not “work”. In order to assess where the company stands with their product or service, a marketing mix that is focused on the customer will help in addressing the changes that should be made. Companies can address such things as the packaging of the product or service. Warranties can be added to the product or service. Companies can also advertise through different mediums such as television, radio, billboards, and newspapers. Pricing and special discounts are also ways to enhance the marketing mix. The marketing mix is made up of the “Four P’s”. The “Four P’s” are Product, Place, Promotion, and Price (Armstrong & Kotler, 2011).
All of the pieces of the marketing mix must have the customer in mind. It is important for companies to recognize that the product, place, promotion, and price are all equally important in the marketing mix. The product is the good or service provided to the customer. Therefore, the product or service must be of high quality or in the least, the quality that the customer expects. The place is where the company will reach its target market. The firm will have to choose whether the product or service will be available in stores or online or through other means. The promotion part of the marketing mix is where the company will have to decide how to tell the customer about the product or service and how it will sell the product or service. The last part of the marketing mix is the price. The price of the product or service is important because the company must recognize what the customer will be willing to pay for the product.
Due to the complexity of today’s market, a firm must know the target market it is trying to sell the product or service to. “It all depends on product or service, target demographic, the message and