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Marketing Mix Paper MKT/421 September 20th, 2010 The Marketing Mix was a phrase coined in the 1953 by Neil Borden in his AMA (American Marketing Association) presidential address. In 1960 E Jerome McCarthy proposed the 4 P classification that is now used when discussing the “mix”. The actual purpose of the marketing mix was to use a combination of tools to satisfy and reach the goals for both the consumer and company. The four P’s for this mix are product, price, place, and promotion, these are put together in order to successfully supply the majority of consumers with products a company creates.
The basics of the 4 P’s of marketing are simple. First there is the product, one cannot begin to market something if it does not exist, the product should be something that is either in high demand or that a high demand can be created for. Next is the price, the type of product and demographic for the product will better determine the price. For instance if the product that is something in technology then going with a higher price will create a better buzz then starting off lower. If a higher price is asked for then the product becomes elite and is more sought after then the lower price product.
Then over time the company will reduce the cost and show that even the average person can also have the nicest product. But if the product is clothing then higher prices do not always mean better sales. When pricing clothing one would look at who they are selling the product too. The idea of clothing is to sell to who you want to wear your products. The place is just as important as the price when it comes to the “mix” a company want’s to make sure that if they are advertising a high dollar product then the right people will be looking at.
You sell to your audience and that goes into the last P, promotion. A company needs to promote the product with the right audience or demographic in mind. Advertising a thousand dollar pump to men would not generate a lot of income, however selling a thousand dollar audio system would. An organization that does very well with the Marketing Mix would be the Army Air Force Exchange Service or AAFES as it is known. Their main goal is to bring a piece of home to those who are unable to be home. They interact with several companies creating and marketing different brands and design with the solider in mind.
Working closely with specially chosen companies AAFES utilizes the 4 P’s to the highest degree. First, they chose what products they wish to sell. After they discuss and make the choices and contracts on the chosen products they then choose a price that is both competitive and affordable for the soldier or soldiers families. They want to encourage more money spent on the base than off. Once the product and price are chosen they then set a place for the product to be sold at. Not every base has the same product, they each have access to it but only some may have it in stock.
Placement of the product and promotion of the product are extremely important to how the exchange runs their business. The product can be anything that is able for sale whether it be tangible, physical or a service provided. AAFES takes a straight forward view on how the marketing of their products is done, they want their customers to know that they strive to only have products of value with in their store. Along with the 4P’s there are also the Extended P’s of the marketing mix and those are just as important.
People, process, and physical evidence make up this extended mix. The extended mix helps the marketing teams delve further into the demographics when beginning a plan so that all basis for their marketing strategy are covered. Though AAFES looks at the products they are providing they also look at the people they are providing them to. They are catering to their clients and their customers so that they get the best results for all parties involved. References Marketing Mix. (2010) BusinessDictionary. com Aafes. com (2010) retrieved from their exchange story