Marketing Mix - Expand Your Company

The marketing mix is the first thing taught in most business classes, according to EFG Marketing Solutions. One cannot run a successful business without knowledge of it. However, many small business owners or entrepreneurs have not had the formal training to know what is meant by this term. The phrase was invented fifty years ago to describe what should be instinctual for those in business. The phrase is still used today, though the definition and its importance will never be replace or irrelevant.

In simple terms, the four P's defines the marketing mix: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Some argue that the fifth P is 'packaging, ' but for the sake of brevity, we'll focus on just the four. The product is exact what one's business sells or provides, be it a good or service. Price is what you charge for this good or service. Place refers to where it can be bought and where it would be most needed. Promotion is how you get word out about your product.

The product is possibly the first step. One must fill a void in the current market in order to be successful. What good or service is not being employed? Or what good or service is being incorrectly or poorly employed? The product, especially for small companies, is a very creative and personal choice and requires much attention to stay on top of the competition.

"Price is a tricky issue because you have a lot to think about. It would be easy to say, ""Charge more than what it costs to make it, "" and you must do this anyway to make a profit. But consumers expect certain types of things to be certain prices. Do you want to play with their idea of a price? Will it hurt your reputation or make you an enemy in the business world?"

The placement of your product is important to the customer. If you're selling something geared toward Senior Citizens, would you sell it at an arcade or at the mall? You must figure out first who you are selling it to and then figure out where they go and where they look when they're shopping.

Promotion involves advertisements for the product. It also means getting people talking about it. Viral advertisement is often worth more than any TV commercial could be. Once again, one must think of their target market and how they will learn about the product in the first place.

According to EFG Marketing Solutions, the four P's are starting to be replaced by the four Cs: consumer, cost, convenience, and communication. Cost and communication is essentially the same thing as price and promotion. Consumer is thought to be a better definition than product because the term consumer means you're looking at the buyer and what you can supply for them, not merely what you can make in terms of yourself.

Convenience is a new concept to the marketing mix that is hugely influential in the success of a product. Place is part of convenience. The desired consumer has to be able to get to the product in order for its purchase to be convenient. But you must also think of any processes one must go through to get the product. If it requires any other products to make it work (batteries not included, e.g.), and what the general mindset is about such a product, says EFG Marketing Solutions.

EFG Marketing provides unmatched experience, maturity, professionalism, integrity, and commitment when it comes to their clients' marketing needs. Since 2005, EFG Marketing Solutions has provided professional and reliable results for their Fortune 500 customers' bottom line.