What Is the 'Marketing Mix' and Why Is It Important?

1. What is the ‘Marketing Mix’ and why is it important?
The marketing mix is defined as the set of controllable marketing variables that the company blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The marketing consists of the four P’s which are product, price, place and promotion. The product is something that satisfies the customers need. Marketers need to know about their product so that they can market to their target customer. Price is the amount of money that the customer pays to get the product. The marketer needs to know the cost of the product and understand how much the customer is willing to pay to obtain that product. Place stands for the distribution of the product and describes the processes that are taken place to get the product from the suppliers and producers of the product to the market place where it is ready for purchase. Promotion is the way that the marketer can communicate and persuade their target customer to purchase their item. Promotion includes advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and synchronous marketing. This is important to a marketing manager as they are wanting the consumer to purchase their product. There are three other P’s that have been added to the marketing mix and these form the extended marketing mix. These include people, processes and personal evidence. People are a key tool in marketing as they are able to form relationships with customers to promote sales or if trained incorrectly can turn people away from a sale. The process in marketing is important for customer relations also. If one step in the process such as the delivery of a good is done poorly, the consumer will be a “bad ambassador” for the company. Physical evidence entails examining every aspect that customers use in their perceptual field to assess such a service. This is also an important field in marketing as the customer controls the purchase. For an effective marketing campaign, all aspects of the marketing mix should