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Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix is a set of marketing tool or tactics, used to

promote a product or services in the market and sell it. It is
about positioning a product and deciding it to sell in the right
place, at the right price and right time. The product will then be
sold, according to marketing and promotional strategy. The
components of the marketing mix consist of 4Ps Product, Price,
Place, and Promotion. In the business sector, the marketing
managers plan a marketing strategy taking into consideration
all the 4Ps. However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly
includes several other Ps for vital development.
ELEMENTS OF MARKETING MIX
PRODUCT MIX
The first element of the marke ng mix is Product and it depicts the tangible or
intangible goods offered by organisa ons to customers to sa sfy their needs
and wants. In simple terms, it is a bundle of u li es. Product Mix means the
important decisions related to a product like the design of the product, quality
of the product, the quan ty of the product, packaging of the product, etc.
Besides these decisions, product assortment is also an essen al part of the
product mix. In simple terms, it means the number or volume of products and
items a specific producer offers to the market. For example, ITC is an FMCG
company and is dealing with different food products.
When an organisa on begins its marke ng opera ons, it usually starts with
one product and then later on expands and diversifies its marke ng ac vi es
by launching new products and varie es to its product line. For example,
ini ally, ITC used to sell tobacco and cigare es. But now it has a huge range of
different product lines of chocolates, biscuits, a a, etc.
The essen al components of the product mix are Branding, Packaging, and
Labelling.
Branding: It is one of the most important components of product mix as a
marketer has to make an important decision on whether the product of the
firm will be marketed under its generic name or brand name. Here, the Generic
name means the name of the whole class of the firm’s product. For example,
laptop is a generic name but Dell, Acer, and Lenovo are brand names. Now, if a
marketer sells its products under a generic name say, laptop then it will be
difficult for the firm to sell the product and customers to differen ate between
different companies and buy the product. Therefore, it is essen al to provide a
brand name to the product, so that it can be differen ated from its
compe tors.
Packaging: The act of designing and producing the container and wrapper of a
product is known as packaging. It plays a very important role in today’s world
as packaging can be a reason for the success or failure of many products.
Appropriate containers and wrappers provide protec on and convenience in
handling the products. For example, juices, so drinks, etc., are packed in
containers, milk, oil, etc., are packed in tetra packs; heavy goods like electronic
appliances are packed in boxes, etc. Usually, three different levels of packaging
are found in products; viz., Primary Package, Secondary Package, and
Transporta on Packaging.
Labelling: Labelling is a component of the product mix in marke ng that
involves designing and preparing labels for the outermost part of the product
package which displays informa on and/or essen al characteris cs about the
product.
Three func ons of labelling are as follows :
(i) Labelling iden fies the product : A label helps in popularising the
product and its brand name by specifying it in a unique design and
style.
(ii) (ii) Labelling grades the product : Labelling suggests the quality of the
product and grades, in terms of the performance and u lity.
(iii) (iii) Labelling describes the product : A label introduces the product
by describing its name/brand, composi on/ingredients, features,
usage, approaches, expiry date, warnings, manufactured/registered
date, instruc ons on how product should be used etc.
PRICE MIX
Price is a very important component of the marketing mix
definition. The price of the product is basically the amount that
a customer pays for to enjoy it. Price is the most critical element
of a marketing plan because it dictates a company’s survival
and profit. Adjusting the price of the product, even a little bit has
a big impact on the entire marketing strategy as well as greatly
affecting the sales and demand of the product in the market.
Things to keep on mind while determining the cost of the
product are, the competitor’s price, list price, customer location,
discount, terms of sale, etc.
The various sub-elements of pricing are:
i. Pricing Policies and Strategies:

Pricing policies and strategies provide the guidelines
and framework within which the firm can determine its
price. Varying pricing policies are there like one price
policy, flexible price policy, skimming price policy,
penetration price policy, full-line pricing policy,
psychological pricing, uniform pricing, zonal pricing
etc.
ii. Target Customers and Competition:
Pricing is affected by the selection of the target
market by the firm. The capacity of target customers
to buy the goods at varying prices influences pricing
decision. The number of competitors and degree of
competition also forces the firm to charge a lower
price.
iii. Margin:
The difference between the actual price paid by the
consumers and the total cost of the product is the
margin. Margins are set for manufactures, wholesaler
and retailers. The level of margin for the intermediary
depends much on the nature of product. Industrial
products have higher margin levels as they require
more services and maintenance whereas consumer
goods have low margin levels as they are used on
mass scale
iv. Government Rules and Regulations and Social
Responsibility:
Number of restrictions are imposed by the
government on pricing activities. Public enterprises
base their pricing policies on the directives of the
government. Welfare of the society is important for
price determination. Society’s short term and long
term interest has to be protected and promoted.
v. Terms and Credit:
Credit is granted by manufacturer to wholesaler, from
wholesaler to retailer and from retailer to final
consumer. The credit level has to be decided by the
firm after taking into account various factors like
nature of the product, position of the customers,
competitor’s terms and condition and credit facilities
available through banks and financial institutions.
PLACE MIX
Place decision or distribution decisions are concerned with
decisions relating to the smooth flow of goods from the
producer to consumer and thereby create time, place and
possession utilities. Place decision include channel of
distribution decision and physical distribution decisions.
Various sub-elements of place are:

i. Transportation:
Transportation as a component of physical distribution is very

essential for the firm as it increases the market for the
product. Decisions relating to transportation includes choice
of mode of transport to be used, whether to own vehicles or
hire them, how to schedule deliveries, who will bear the
transport cost from manufactures to wholesaler and them to
retailer
ii. Warehousing:
Warehousing provides storage function to the firm and

thereby creates time utility. The long-time gap between
production and distribution, seasonal production of certain
commodities continuous demand for the products and such
other factors have made it necessary for the firm to store its
products. Warehousing decisions mainly include decisions
relating to choice of public or private warehouse or cold
storages, and number of places where goods have to be
stored to be released quickly in time of demand.
iii. Inventory Level:
It is very necessary for a firm to carry enough stock of goods

to meet the demand as and when required. It involves
decisions as to how much to stock, who long to stock and at
how many places to stock.
Since inventory has a cost and can affect the whole business,
decisions regarding it should be taken very carefully.
Inventory decisions are taken in light of various factors such
as mode of transportation, location of warehouse,
communication facilities available etc.
iv. Channel Level and Intermediaries:
Marketing channels are characterized by different channel

levels. Depending upon the number of intermediaries, there
can be different channel levels viz. direct marketing where
manufactures sells directly to the consumers, one level
channel where goods are sold through one intermediary and
so on. Firm has to also decide the number and type of
intermediaries to be employed.
PROMOTION MIX
Promotion is the fourth important element of marketing mix and
hence a part of marketing mix strategy. Promotion is that activity
which deals with the responsibility of informing and persuading
the customers about the product and creating an image about the
product in the minds of the customers.
A well designed product which has been priced attractively and

made accessible to the target customers will not be sufficient to
ensure success for the firm unless the firm communicates
effectively to the customers that product is available at the right
place and at right price and has certain specific advantages and
benefits.
Various sub-elements of promotion are:
i. Advertising:
Advertising is a very popular method of promotion. It is a paid

form of non- personal presentation of goods, ideas or facts to
the consumer by an identified sponsor. This non-personal
presentation is made through different media like print media,
electronic media, etc. Newspapers, magazines, radio,
television, cinemas, leaflets, poster, billboards, direct
advertising, etc. are important medium of advertising.
ii. Personal Selling:
Personal selling can be described as the oral presentation of

the goods to one or more prospective buyers for the purpose
of selling the goods. Mostly used for industrial marketing it is a
very distinctive form of promotion as it involves a personal
contact resulting in two-way communication
iii. Sales Promotion:
Sales promotion refers to short-term incentives offered to

encourage the sale of goods and service. It refers to all
inducements offered at the place and time of purchase, such
as coupons, premium, contest, free goods, discount, gifts etc.
iv. Public Relations:
Public relation is a planned and serious effort on the part of

the organization to develop and maintain understanding and
good relations between the firm and its prospective
customers. It is an attempt by the firm to raise its goodwill
amongst its customer, shareholder, employees, government,
general public and society. Different programmes like opinion,
research, literature, films, conference, tours etc. are
conducted to develop public relations.
v. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions:
Trade fairs and exhibitions occupy a significant place as an

element of promotion mix these days. They bring with them
the advantages of having the buyers and seller face to face
i.e. personal contact between the two parties is there. Proper
planning with regard to location of trade fairs and exhibitions,
their size, demonstration and display arrangements, sales
staff etc. has to be made to make it successful.

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Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix is a set of marketing tool or tactics, used to

ELEMENTS OF MARKETING MIX

The various sub-elements of pricing are:

i. Pricing Policies and Strategies:

Various sub-elements of place are:

Transportation as a component of physical distribution is very

Warehousing provides storage function to the firm and

iii. Inventory Level:

It is very necessary for a firm to carry enough stock of goods

Marketing channels are characterized by different channel

A well designed product which has been priced attractively and

Various sub-elements of promotion are:

Advertising is a very popular method of promotion. It is a paid

Personal selling can be described as the oral presentation of

iii. Sales Promotion:

Sales promotion refers to short-term incentives offered to

iv. Public Relations:

Public relation is a planned and serious effort on the part of

v. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions:

Trade fairs and exhibitions occupy a significant place as an

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