The Purpose Of Marketing Mix

The growth of an organization typically affects a company’s success. It depends on implementation of good or bad marketing in the organization. From one of the definitions, marketing is about an exchange between buyers and sellers. Sellers provide products or services, then communicate and facilitate the delivery of their offering to consumers. Buyers complete the exchange by giving money and information to the sellers. However, feedback of buyers is one of the information to sellers and is an opportunity for sellers to improve their products.

In reality, a product produced by manufacturer is distributed to retailers for sale. This process is B2B (business-to-business) marketing. Then the retailers sale the products to consumers, this process is known as B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing. However, consumers can sell the products to another consumers to be another category of marketing which is C2C (consumer-to-consumer) marketing. Hence, marketing must be performed by both individuals and organizations based on above marketing process.

Furthermore, marketing helps create value to business functions. Most successful company able to give their customers greater value than their competitors did. Value is the relationship of benefits to costs, or what you get for what you give. Assume we are customers, we seek a fair return in goods and services for their hard-earned money and scarce time. Besides, a product can provide additional value to customers can add more advantage for the business. This value co-creation is to allow them the opportunity to act as collaborates in creating the products or services.

Eventually, marketing traditionally has been divided into a set of four interrelated decisions known as marketing mix which are product, price, place, and promotion. Good marketing mix can create value to customers and produce revenue to the organization. The growth of an organization is depends on the revenue earned. Increment of revenue earned represents success level of the organization. Thus, good marketing can let the customers to retain with the products and let them spend their money on the products in longer time. Practically, we look a logo of a product and can remember the product of the brand. For an example brands are Milo, Oreo, Nescafe, and Coca-cola.

Question 1

What is Marketing Mix? Elaborate on the purpose of Marketing Mix.

2.0 Marketing Mix

Marketing mix is one of the important marketing requirements in marketing plan. Marketing mix is refer to four areas of decision making which are known as four Ps to satisfy customers need and wants. The four Ps are refer to product, price, place, promotion for creating, capturing, delivering, and communicating that have value for customers or clients. The details of four Ps are elaborated in Section 2.1 until 2.4 with Oreo cookies as an example.

2.1 Product

Product is one of the four Ps to creating value to customers. Products are most important and can produce profit to the organization. If without products in the organization, nothing can be proceeding for the business. Therefore, product is first activity we should discuss in marketing mix topic.

Usually products of a company in everyone thought are items that we can physically touch. For an example, there are food, beverage, attire, electric accessories and machine. These products should new and good look to attract more customers to purchase. That is one of the ways to increase profit of the organization. On the past until now, Oreo manufacturer has been grown and produced three difference designs on top of chocolate cookies to attract and sustain their customers. The design of Oreo feature is simple in the beginning and becomes good look in third design. These designs are shown as below.

Nowadays, customers look importantly to intangible products of organization which are services. Services are intangible customer benefits that are produced by people or machines and cannot be separated from the producer. Recent year, Oreo has been do market research to adapt current market trends of their target market. From the research, Oreo company able to producing new versions of existing products to make customers more convenient. For an example, Oreo has been produced one bite size chocolate cookies for target market teenager to consume in any time and any place instead of normal size chocolate cookies.

Thoughts, opinions, and philosophies are ideas and these can be marketed. We can see a lot of sponsorship for charities, competitions, educations and so on to build ideas of the products to customers. Oreo have been involved in community services which distributed Oreo cookies to orphans and sponsor Oreo cookies in charity food fairs. These community services can introduce their delicious Oreo cookies to wider teenager market. When someone mentions on cookies, most of the teenagers think about Oreo chocolate cookies in their first thoughts.

2.2 Price

Everything has a price and it is capturing value to customers. Customers are willing to pay their money, time and energy in exchange for the products. Customers are willing to pay their money to buy a pack of Oreo cookies instead to make cookies by themselves. Customers do not have time to do that. Thus, they are willing to spend their time and energy to convenience stores to purchase their likely Oreo cookies to consume.

The price is determined by how much customers are willing to pay and assess whether a profit can be made at that point. Customers have their right to choose a product for purchasing. Once customers purchase your products then you earn money from the customers. The price of the products is depending on target market too. If the target market is youth, then the price of the products cannot too expensive. If too expensive, they not afford to buy the products. Oreo has determined their products price according to their target market. Their target market is youth and they have fixed an affordable price for them to purchase.

2.3 Place

Place is delivering the value proposition and describes all activities necessary to get the products to the right customers wants it. Customers know your products and must let them to know where you can purchase it. Therefore, all activities involve to give the products to the right customers are important to avoids any sales and profits loss. For an example from Oreo cookies, we can buy their products in any convenience stores.

These activities are known as supply chain management which is the set of approached and techniques that firms employ to efficiently and effectively integrate their suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores. Efficient and effective supply chain is produced and distributed in the right quantity, to the right location, and at the right time. The effectiveness of supply chain can minimize the cost and maximize the profit as well as to satisfy the services levels required by the customers. Hence, anytime I want to eat Oreo cookies, I just need go to any convenience stores to buy.

2.4 Promotion

Firstly, promotion is communicating the value proposition. Marketers tell customers what is their products through promotion and let customers bear their products in mind. Promotion can advertise the products through television, radio, and newspaper. It depends on the budget of the organization. Advertising in television is most expensive than other but is most effective way. Oreo has a competition of video for whom more creative to produce a video related to Oreo cookies. The winning video, which depicted a little girl giving her last Oreo cookie and a glass of milk to a soldier, was featured on the YouTube homepage for a day.

Next, we look on the definition of promotion. The definition of promotion is communication by a marketer that informs, persuades, and reminds potential buyers about a product or service to influence their opinions or elicit a response. For an example, when we say twisting, licking, ducking and eating, we remember these magic words have been appeared in Oreo advertisement in television. Hence, we think about Oreo cookies when listening to these magic words. Teenagers whose like Oreo cookies would like to follow the action of twisting, licking, ducking and eating when consume the Oreo cookies. Above examples are influences of advertisement to consumers.

3.0 Conclusion

Implementing of marketing mix in nowadays market is important. It creates value to the products. Besides, it is one of the marketing strategies to expand firms’ in global. Marketer would like to sell their products not in their country only however sell their products to other countries too. Hence, we can find Oreo cookies in convenience stores of many nations. Although Oreo is created by US, we can purchase the Oreo cookies in Malaysia.

Nowadays, we need go to vegetable farm to buy eggs or go to vegetable farm to buy vegetable, it is impossible. This situation is totally not convenient to consumers and waste time. With implementation marketing mix in marketing strategy really can make life easier. Marketers just need offering and convenience places for consumers to shop. Consumers just need spend a litter big time to make their comfort purchase.

Moreover, it provides employment opportunities to people. Varieties of skills are required for implementing marketing mix in marketing. Marketer need someone provide creative ideas to promote their products and need someone analyses data from market researches. Hence, job vacancies are provided to peoples.

Last but not least, marketing mix cannot neglect from marketing strategy. It plays important roles and responsibility to add value on a product.