Marketing Mix

The term marketing mix was first used in the late 1940s by Neil H. Borden (NetMBA, 2007). The original marketing mix introduced by Borden consisted of product, planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. Later E. Jerome McCarthy grouped the parts into the four P’s of marketing known as product, place, price and promotion (NetMBA, 2007). “A typical marketing mix includes some product, offered at a price, with some promotion to tell potential customers about the product, and a way to reach the customer’s place (Perreault & McCarthy, 2004, p.36). The parts of the marketing mix are considered to be the controllable factors of the marketing plan. The marketing mix satisfies the needs of the consumers in a target market as well as maximizes the performance of the organization. A detailed look into the four P’s of the marketing mix as well as practical application will give greater understanding to how the process works. Whole Foods Market will be used to further explain the four P’s of the marketing mix. The first component of the marketing mix is product. “The product area is concerned with developing the right product for the target market…(and) may involve a physical good, or service, or blend of both” (Perreault & McCarthy, 2004, p. 38). The product can be a tangible item such as a car, or something intangible such as tax advice. Product also consists of strategy decision areas such as physical goods, service, features, benefits, quality level, accessories, installation, instructions, warranty, product lines, packaging, and branding (Perreault & McCarthy, 2004). The product can be thought of as the complete package from start to finish.
Whole Foods Market focuses on a product line that consists of natural and organic foods. The product line is of the highest quality of naturally preserved foods. When most grocery stores

References: NetMBA. (2007). The marketing mix (The 4 p’s of marketing). Retrieved December 14, 2007, from http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/ Whole Foods Market. (2007). Welcome to whole foods market. Retrieved December 14, 2007, from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/index.html Perreault,W., & McCarthy,E. (200r). Basic marketing: a global-managerial approach. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text, 15th ed.]. New York, NY: The McGraw Hill Companies. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from University of Phoenix, Resource, MKT421-Marketing Web site.