Chapter 1 Marketing Is Dynamic!
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Think of a favorite product or store. Describe
the target market for this product or store.
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Reality Check
The Marketing Mix in Action
Imagine that you want a personal media
player. You search the Internet for a sale
on personal media players. You find a sale
price of $199.00. You have saved $225.00 for
a player. The Web site shows the personal
media player at an electronics store in the
mall near your home. You go to the store,
and a salesperson helps you find the right
player. You buy the media player. Can you
identify the Four Ps in this marketing mix?
Here are the marketing mix elements.
The media player is the product. The ad is
part of the promotion. The salesperson is also
part of the promotion. The price is $199.00.
The electronics store is the place. Since (in
this example) you bought the player, the
marketers for the media player developed
the right marketing mix for you. They
provided the product you wanted, at a price
you could afford, at a place convenient
to you. They also let you know about the
availability of the product by advertising in a
newspaper that you read.
Notice that the customer is not part of the
marketing mix. The customer is the target
of the marketing mix. The marketing mix
decisions are made to satisfy the customer.
Marketing Is the
Marketing Plan
Have you ever been lost? Do you
remember how you felt when you were
lost—you were not sure what to do, who
to call, or where to go? You were probably
lost because you did not make a good plan.
That is the same feeling a company might
experience if it does not have a marketing
plan. A marketing plan is like a road
map—it guides a company so that it avoids
such pitfalls and detours as lost sales, lost
opportunities, and poor product planning.
According to a survey by the Kauffman Center
for Entrepreneurial Leadership, companies with
business plans have 50 percent higher sales
growth and 12 percent higher gross profit
margin compared to those that do not have
plans.
Most marketing plans are developed
with the future in mind—at least one year in
advance. However, marketing plans for some
larger companies will be for a much longer
time period.
Key Elements of a Marketing
Plan
The key elements of a marketing plan
include: market opportunities and analysis,
market strategy, an action plan, and
Product
Promotion
Place Price
Target
Market
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The marketing mix consists of the decisions
made about the Four Ps: product, place, price,
and promotion.