Marketing mix

The marketing mix is the set of controllable elements or variables that a company uses to influence and meet the needs of its target customers in the most effective and efficient way possible. These variables are often grouped into four key components, often referred to as the "Four Ps of Marketing."
These four P's are:

Product: This represents the physical or intangible offering that a company provides to its customers. It includes the design, features, quality, packaging, branding, and any additional services or warranties associated with the product.
Price: Price refers to the amount of money customers are willing to pay for the product or service. Setting the right price is crucial, as it not only affects the company's profitability but also influences consumer perception and purchasing decisions.
Place : Place involves the strategies and channels used to make the product or service accessible to the target market. It encompasses decisions related to distribution channels, retail locations, online platforms, and logistics.
Promotion: Promotion encompasses all the activities a company undertakes to communicate the value of its product or service to the target audience. This includes advertising, sales promotions, public relations, social media marketing, and any other methods used to create awareness and generate interest in the offering. The marketing mix has been defined as the "set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market".

Marketing theory emerged in the early twenty-first century. The contemporary marketing mix which has become the dominant framework for marketing management decisions was first published in 1984. In services marketing, an extended marketing mix is used, typically comprising 7 Ps, made up of the original 4 Ps extended by process, people and physical evidence. Occasionally service marketers will refer to 8 Ps, comprising these 7 Ps plus performance.
In the 1990s, the model of 4 Cs was introduced as a more customer-driven replacement of the 4 Ps.
There are two theories based on 4 Cs: Lauterborn's 4 Cs, and Shimizu's 4 Cs.
The correct arrangement of marketing mix by enterprise marketing managers plays an important role in the success of a company's marketing:

Develop strengths and avoid weaknesses
Strengthen the competitiveness and adaptability of enterprises
Ensure the internal departments of the enterprise work closely together
Emergence and growth

The origins of the 4 Ps can be traced to the late 1940s. The first known mention of a mix has been attributed to a Professor of Marketing at Harvard University, James Culliton. In 1948, Culliton published an article entitled, The Management of Marketing Costs in which Culliton describes marketers as "mixers of ingredients". Years later, Culliton's colleague, Professor Neil Borden, published a retrospective article detailing the early history of the marketing mix in which he claims that he was inspired by Culliton's idea of "mixers", and credits himself with popularising the concept of the "marketing mix". According to Borden's account, he used the term, "marketing mix" consistently from the late 1940s. For instance, he is known to have used the term "marketing mix" in his presidential address given to the American Marketing Association in 1953.
Although the idea of marketers as "mixers of ingredients" caught on, marketers could not reach any real consensus about what elements should be included in the mix until the 1960s. Early schemas to define mix include:

1961 Albert Frey defined two groups of the offering and the method
1962 Lazer and Kelley defined three groups of the goods mix, the distribution mix, and the communication mix.
1957 John Howard defined four groups of product, price, channel, and promotion

The 4 Ps, in its modern form, was first proposed in 1960 by E. Jerome McCarthy, who presented them within a managerial approach that covered analysis, consumer behavior, market research, market segmentation, and planning. Phillip Kotler popularised this approach and helped spread the 4 Ps model. McCarthy's 4 Ps have been widely adopted by both marketing academics and practitioners.
The prospect of extending the marketing mix first took hold at the inaugural AMA conference dedicated to Services Marketing in the early 1980s, and built on earlier theoretical works pointing to many important limitations of the 4 Ps model. Taken collectively, the papers presented at that conference indicate that service marketers were thinking about a revision to the general marketing mix based on an understanding that services were fundamentally different from products, and therefore required different tools and strategies. In 1981, Booms and Bitner proposed a model of 7 Ps, comprising the original 4 Ps extended by process, people and physical evidence, as being more applicable for services marketing.
Since then, there have been a number of different proposals for a service marketing mix ; most notably the 8 Ps, comprising the 7 Ps above, extended by 'performance'.

McCarthy's 4 Ps

The original marketing mix, or 4 Ps, as originally proposed by marketers and academic Philip Kotler and E. Jerome McCarthy, provides a framework for marketing decision-making. McCarthy's marketing mix has since become one of the most enduring and widely accepted frameworks in marketing. McCarthy's 4 Ps has remained influential in marketing theory and practice, serving as a cornerstone for analyzing and optimizing marketing strategies in various industries.

Category	Definition/Explanation/Concept	Typical Marketing Decisions
Product	A product refers to an item that satisfies the consumer's needs or wants. Products may be tangible or intangible.	Product design – features, quality Product assortment – product range, product mix, product lines Branding Packaging and labeling Services Guarantees and warranties Returns Managing products through the life-cycle
Price	Price refers to the amount a customer pays for a product.Price may also be a consumer's expectation for getting a certain product. Price is the only variable that has implications for revenue. Price is the only part of the marketing mix that talks about the value for the firm. Price also includes considerations of customer perceived value.	Price strategy Price tactics Price-setting Allowances – e.g. rebates for distributors Discounts – for customers Payment terms – credit, payment methods
Place	Refers to providing customer accessConsiders providing convenience for consumers.	Strategies such as intensive distribution, selective distribution, exclusive distribution Franchising; Market coverage Channel member selection and channel member relationships Assortment Location decisions Inventory Transport, warehousing and logistics
Promotion	Promotion refers to marketing communicationsMay comprise elements such as: advertising, PR, direct marketing and sales promotion.	Promotional mix - the appropriate balance of advertising, PR, direct marketing, and sales promotion Message strategy - what is to be communicated Channel/ media strategy - how to reach the target audience Message Frequency - how often to communicate

Product refers to what the business offers for sale and may include products or services. Product decisions include the "quality, features, benefits, style, design, branding, packaging, services, warranties, guarantees, life cycles, investments and returns".
Price refers to decisions surrounding "list pricing, discount pricing, special offer pricing, credit payment or credit terms". Price refers to the total cost to a customer to acquire the product, and may involve both monetary and psychological costs such as the time and effort spent in acquisition. Distribution channels taken into consideration including retailer, wholesaler, Business to Business or Business to Customer.
Place is defined as the "direct or indirect channels to market, geographical distribution, territorial coverage, retail outlet, market location, catalogues, inventory, logistics, and order fulfillment". Place refers either to the physical location where a business carries out business or the distribution channels used to reach markets. Place may refer to a retail outlet, but increasingly, refers to virtual stores such as "a mail order catalogue, a telephone call centre, or a website. Example, firms that produce luxury goods like Louis Vuitton employ an intensive placement strategy by making their products available at only a few exclusive retailers. In contrast, lower priced consumer goods like toothpaste and shampoo, typically employ an extensive placement strategy by making their products available to as many different retailers as possible."
Promotion refers to "the marketing communication used to make the offer known to potential customers and persuade them to investigate it further". Promotion elements include "advertising, public relations, direct selling and sales promotions."

Modified and expanded marketing mix: "Seven P's"

By the 1980s, a number of theorists were calling for an expanded and modified framework that would be more useful to service marketers. The prospect of expanding or modifying the marketing mix for services was a core discussion topic at the inaugural AMA Conference dedicated to Services Marketing in the early 1980s, and built on earlier theoretical works pointing to many important problems and limitations of the 4 Ps model. Taken collectively, the papers presented at that conference indicate that service marketers were thinking about a revision to the general marketing mix based on an understanding that services were fundamentally different from products, and therefore required different tools and strategies. In 1981, Booms and Bitner proposed a model of 7 Ps, comprising the original 4 Ps plus people, process, and physical evidence, as being more applicable for services marketing.

Category	Definition/ Explanation	Typical Marketing Decisions
People	Human factors who participate in service delivery. Service personnel who represent the company's values to customers. Interactions between customers. Interactions between employees and customers.	Staff recruitment and training Uniforms Scripting Queuing systems, managing waits Handling complaints, service failures Managing social interactions
Process	The procedures, mechanisms and flow of activities by which service is delivered.	Process design Blueprinting service processes Standardization vs customization decisions Diagnosing fail-points, critical incidents and system failures Monitoring and tracking service performance Analysis of resource requirements and allocation Creation and measurement of key performance indicators Alignment with Best Practices Preparation of operations manuals
Physical evidence	The environment in which service occurs.The space where customers and service personnel interact. Tangible commodities that facilitate service performance. Artifacts that remind customers of a service performance.	Facilities Spatial layout Signage Interior design Ambient conditions Design of livery Artifacts:

People are essential in the marketing of any product or service. Personnel stand for the service. In the professional, financial, or hospitality service industry, people are not producers, but rather the products themselves. When people are the product, they impact public perception of an organization as much as any tangible consumer goods. From a marketing management perspective, it is important to ensure that employees represent the company in alignment with broader messaging strategies. This is easier to ensure when people feel as though they have been treated fairly and earn wages sufficient to support their daily lives.
Process refers to a "set of activities that results in delivery of the product benefits". A process could be a sequential order of tasks that an employee undertakes as a part of their job. It can represent sequential steps taken by a number of various employees while attempting to complete a task. Some people are responsible for managing multiple processes at once. For example, a restaurant manager should monitor the performance of employees, ensuring that processes are followed. They are also expected to supervise while customers are promptly greeted, seated, fed, and led out so that the next customer can begin this process.
Physical evidence refers to the non-human elements of the service encounter, including equipment, furniture and facilities. It may also refer to the more abstract components of the environment in which the service encounter occurs including interior design, colour schemes and layout. Some aspects of physical evidence provide lasting proof that the service has occurred, such as souvenirs, mementos, invoices and other livery of artifacts. According to Booms and Bitner's framework, the physical evidence is "the service delivered and any tangible goods that facilitate the performance and communication of the service". Physical evidence is important to customers because the tangible goods are evidence that the seller has provided what the customer was expecting.

Marketing mix

Emergence and growth

McCarthy's 4 Ps

Modified and expanded marketing mix: "Seven P's"