How to control the marketing mix?

The marketing mix, also known as the 4Ps in the marketing world, is one of the fundamental pillars of all marketing. It helps companies to effectively plan and, more importantly, execute their marketing strategies. The 4P model comprises four key elements whose names in English begin with the letter P. Hence the simple name 4P.

Let's take a closer look at the elements together and clarify their meaning.

1. Product

A product is what a company offers to its potential and existing customers. It is the cornerstone of all marketing. It can be a physical good, a service or possibly a combination of both. Whatever your product is, it must always meet the wants and needs of your target audience. When creating and developing a product, it is important to consider its quality, design, features, functionality, branding and packaging. We could certainly talk about other aspects that a product should meet, but these are some of the most important ones. In order for a company to maintain its competitive advantage with a product, it needs to continually innovate and improve. This is because without a quality product, the other components of the marketing mix would be meaningless.

2. Price

Price is the amount that customers will be willing to pay for a product. Getting the price right is the key to success; it must be attractive and favourable enough to attract the attention and interest of customers. At the same time, you must not underprice your product, but keep the amount high enough to cover all your costs and bring you a profit. Determining the price of a product is not easy as it influences customer behaviour. Too low a price can make customers doubt the quality, while too high a price can put customers off as they will think it is an exclusive product they don't want to spend their money on.

3. Promotion

Promotion includes all the activities a company undertakes to raise awareness of its product and persuade customers to buy. The most common forms of promotion include advertising, personal selling and digital marketing. An effective promotional strategy should be well planned and targeted to reach the right target group.As part of the promotion process, it is essential to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of each promotional method so that you know how successful it is for you and also so that you can adapt to current trends. In summary, the aim of promotion is to increase product and brand awareness and, most importantly, to motivate customers to buy your product.

4. Place

The last missing element to our 4P model is place. It is the distribution or the way in which the product gets from the manufacturer to the customer. It includes the choice of distribution channels, storage, logistics and other aspects related to moving the product. The right distribution is one that ensures that the product is available at the right time in the right place to meet customer needs.

Conclusion

We now know what the 4P marketing mix is and how it can impact the future of our business. By effectively using each of the elements - Product, Price, Promotion and Place - we can not only achieve an increase in our competitive advantage, but we can also better understand the wants and needs of our customers. We believe that now that you have an idea of what benefits 4P can offer, we can agree that it is an indispensable tool for strategic management and growth of the company.