what is meant by marketing| Marketing Mix| what meant of 4 Ps| Product|Price|Place|Promotion

Defination:
"The four Ps of marketing: product, price, place and promotion. The marketing mix can be divided into four groups of variables commonly known as the four Ps: Product: The goods and/or services offered by a company to its customers. Price: The amount of money paid by customers to purchase the product."

Marketing Mix – Product:

A product is an item that is built or produced to satisfy the needs of a certain group of people. The product can be intangible or tangible as it can be in the form of services or goods.

You must ensure to have the right type of product that is in demand for your market. So during the product development phase, the marketer must do an extensive research on the life cycle of the product that they are creating.

A product has a certain life cycle that includes the growth phase, the maturity phase, and the sales decline phase. It is important for marketers to reinvent their products to stimulate more demand once it reaches the sales decline phase.

Marketers must also create the right product mix. It may be wise to expand your current product mix by diversifying and increasing the depth of your product line.

All in all, marketers must ask themselves the question “what can I do to offer a better product to this group of people than my competitors”.

 Marketing Mix – Price:

The price of the product is basically the amount that a customer pays for to enjoy it. Price is a very important component of the marketing mix definition.

It is also a very important component of a marketing plan as it determines your firm’s profit and survival. Adjusting the price of the product has a big impact on the entire marketing strategy as well as greatly affecting the sales and demand of the product.

This is inherently a touchy area though. If a company is new to the market and has not made a name for themselves yet, it is unlikely that your target market will be willing to pay a high price.

Although they may be willing in the future to hand over large sums of money, it is inevitably harder to get them to do so during the birth of a business.

Pricing always help shape the perception of your product in consumers eyes. Always remember that a low price usually means an inferior good in the consumers eyes as they compare your good to a competitor.

Consequently, prices too high will make the costs outweigh the benefits in customers eyes, and they will therefore value their money over your product. Be sure to examine competitors pricing and price accordingly.

When setting the product price, marketers should consider the perceived value that the product offers. There are three major pricing strategies, and these are:

• Market penetration pricing
• Market skimming pricing
• Neutral pricing
• Marketing Mix- Place
• Placement or distribution is a very important part of the product mix definition. You have to position and distribute the product in a place that is accessible to potential buyers.
  This comes with a deep understanding of your target market. Understand them inside out and you will discover the most efficient positioning and distribution channels that directly speak with your market.
  There are many distribution strategies, including:
  • Intensive distribution
  • Exclusive distribution
  • Selective distribution
  • Franchising

Marketing Mix – Promotion

            Promotion is a very important component of marketing as it can boost brand recognition and sales. Promotion is comprised of various elements like:

• • • Sales Organization
    • Public Relations
    • Advertising
    • Sales Promotion
    Advertising typically covers communication methods that are paid for like television advertisements, radio commercials, print media, and internet advertisements. In contemporary times, there seems to be a shift in focus offline to the online world.
    Public relations, on the other hand, are communications that are typically not paid for. This includes press releases, exhibitions, sponsorship deals, seminars, conferences, and events.
    Word of mouth is also a type of product promotion. Word of mouth is an informal communication about the benefits of the product by satisfied customers and ordinary individuals. The sales staff plays a very important role in public relations and word of mouth.
    It is important to not take this literally. Word of mouth can also circulate on the internet. Harnessed effectively and it has the potential to be one of the most valuable assets you have in boosting your profits online. An extremely good example of this is online social media and managing a firm’s online social media presence.