Marketing Mix
The Marketing Mix at Wal-Mart Inc.
MBA 6012 – Section 102
Unit 1 – Assignment 1
02/24/2013
Marketing is essential to any type of company. In order to be successful in marketing, a firm must achieve the optimal marketing mix. While for the most part, Wal-Mart Inc. has been successful in marketing, there are some areas which could use improvement. Their marketing mix, much like in other companies, consists of the four P’s. All-together, Wal-Mart Inc. has done well in marketing. To begin, let’s take a look at what a marketing mix is. A marketing mix can be defined as “product, price, place, and promotion – the fundamental elements that comprise the marketer’s tool kit that can be developed in unique combination to set the product or brand apart from the competition” (Johnston, 2010). Each of the four P’s plays a very important role in the marketing plan. It has been said that when you change one category in the marketing mix it could have a domino effect, affecting the other three categories (Johnston, 2010). Before we delve any deeper into this, let’s take a look at Wal-Mart Inc.’s history. Wal-Mart Inc. or simply Wal-Mart for short was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton (“Sam Walton,” 2013). He created Wal-Mart after the success with his dime store (“Sam Walton,” 2013). Now Wal-Mart is a multinational, multifaceted company. Wal-Mart has an interesting marketing mix. Product is the first category in the mix. Almost everyone knows that Wal-Mart is a one stop shopping center. They sell everything from food to household products such as cookware and small appliances. In 2006, the company decided to make an attempt to attract more affluent customers (Smith, 2010). While this attempt failed it was an interesting idea (Smith, 2010). The second P in the mix involves price (Johnston, 2010). Just like Wal-Mart is known for the types of products they sale, they are equally as famous for their low prices. This draws in many of their customers,
MBA 6012 – Section 102
Unit 1 – Assignment 1
02/24/2013
Marketing is essential to any type of company. In order to be successful in marketing, a firm must achieve the optimal marketing mix. While for the most part, Wal-Mart Inc. has been successful in marketing, there are some areas which could use improvement. Their marketing mix, much like in other companies, consists of the four P’s. All-together, Wal-Mart Inc. has done well in marketing. To begin, let’s take a look at what a marketing mix is. A marketing mix can be defined as “product, price, place, and promotion – the fundamental elements that comprise the marketer’s tool kit that can be developed in unique combination to set the product or brand apart from the competition” (Johnston, 2010). Each of the four P’s plays a very important role in the marketing plan. It has been said that when you change one category in the marketing mix it could have a domino effect, affecting the other three categories (Johnston, 2010). Before we delve any deeper into this, let’s take a look at Wal-Mart Inc.’s history. Wal-Mart Inc. or simply Wal-Mart for short was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton (“Sam Walton,” 2013). He created Wal-Mart after the success with his dime store (“Sam Walton,” 2013). Now Wal-Mart is a multinational, multifaceted company. Wal-Mart has an interesting marketing mix. Product is the first category in the mix. Almost everyone knows that Wal-Mart is a one stop shopping center. They sell everything from food to household products such as cookware and small appliances. In 2006, the company decided to make an attempt to attract more affluent customers (Smith, 2010). While this attempt failed it was an interesting idea (Smith, 2010). The second P in the mix involves price (Johnston, 2010). Just like Wal-Mart is known for the types of products they sale, they are equally as famous for their low prices. This draws in many of their customers,
Cited: Duke, M. (2010). Wal-Mart 2010 annual report. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http://cdn.walmartstores.com/sites/AnnualReport/2010/PDF/WMT_2010AR_FINAL Yahoo! Contributor Network. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http://voices.yahoo.com/nordstrom-vs-walmart-marketing-strategies- Sam Walton. (2013). Wal-Mart Corporate. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/heritage/sam-walton Smith, C. (2010, February 28). Marketing management in Wal-Mart. Articlesbase.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/marketing-management-in-