What is a Marketing Mix?
What is a marketing mix?
The marketing mix describes how brands plan to sell their product and works as a part of a marketing plan. It looks at the product they plan to offer, what customers want to see, the market expectations of the product - including its placement and price - and how the organization wants to promote their material. Utilizing a marketing mix helps to put your product in the right place, at the right time, at the right price for your best chance to sell to a consumer.
Since marketing theory was first developed, there have been a few different manifestations of this theory and the areas of focus that organizations must consider.
What are the P's of marketing?
The original marketing mix that's typically known by most people has four different components and is known as the ‘4 Ps’. They include:
- Product
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
As marketing theory developed across the space, some other models included the ‘7 Ps’:
- Produce
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
- Process
- People
- Physical evidence
Another variation is also the ‘8 Ps’, which follows the same list as the ‘7 Ps’ plus the addition of ‘Performance’.
What are the Cs of a marketing mix?
The ‘4 Cs consist of exactly what the customer wants and needs and focus away from the product. Some argue the 4 Cs are more valuable to the marketing mix that the 4 Ps. They were later articulated to focus more on the customer with the categories of:
- Customer
- Cost
- Convenience
- Communication
With another ‘4 Cs’ variation being:
- Commodity
- Cost
- Channel
- Communication
What is the purpose of a marketing mix strategy?
Using these types of factors, including the 4 Ps and the 4 Cs, will help businesses better understand their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to better articulate how they will sell their products to customers. They'll also help businesses understand what they need to do to succeed.
To correctly understand your marketing mix, you need to have a good understanding of your target market and how your product will operate within that space. You need to know what customers want to see in your niche, including their pain points and obstacles. The better you are able to identify these factors, the easier it will be for you to present these customers with the information they need to make a purchase.
You want to be able to answer questions including:
- What are the pain points of your customer?
- What is the market like?
- What do customers want to see from brands in your industry?
- How does your product help them solve their problem?
- How do you compare to your competitors on quality and price?
- What might motivate customers to buy from you over your customers?
As you begin to identify your marketing mix, you will be able to use this insight to outline the rest of your marketing strategy across all of your platforms.
