Part 1 Marketing Dynamics
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that product. A marketing mix can also be
developed for a group of products or for an
entire store.
You might compare the marketing mix to
a recipe for a cake. A cake must have certain
basic ingredients, such as flour, liquid,
leavening agent, and flavoring. However,
the exact type, amount, and number of
ingredients depend on the kind of cake
you want.
How do marketers make marketing mix
decisions? Before developing a marketing
mix, the marketer usually has a target
market in mind. Once the target market is
determined, the decisions about each of the
Four Ps will be made with this target market
in mind. The marketers will make product,
place, price, and promotion decisions that
meet this target market’s needs and wants.
The marketers will develop a product that
the target market needs, set a price the
target market will pay, make the product
available at stores convenient to the target
market, and advertise the product where the
target market will see the ads. Figure 1-9 is a
graphic representation of the marketing mix.
The target market is in the center, to show
that all the marketing mix decisions are made
with the target market in mind.
For example, suppose an automobile
manufacturer selects young, first-car buyers
as its target market. The marketers for
that automobile manufacturer will then
develop a marketing mix. The marketers will
make product, place, price, and promotion
decisions based on the needs and wants of
these young first-car buyers. The product
decision might be to make a sporty-looking
car in bright colors. The price decision might
be to make the car as affordable as possible.
The place decision might be to offer the
car on a Web site as well as a traditional
dealership. The promotion decision might
include the use of young, hip-looking
people in the TV ads and include Internet
promotion. Each decision is made to meet
needs of the customers in the target market
and influence them to buy the product.
Marketing mix decisions also affect each
other. For example, the decision to make the
price of the car as low as possible affects the
product decision. The car will have to be
made as inexpensively as possible so that the
price can be as low as possible.
The same marketing mix usually does
not meet the needs of all customers. The key
to a successful marketing mix is choosing
the right product, selling it at the right price,
making it available at the right place, and
promoting it in a way that will reach the
target customers.
1-8
Promotion includes a wide variety of activities
that communicate with customers and the public.
Advertising, sales, customer service, and public
relations are all part of promotion.