What is the Marketing Mix

Marketing decisions usually classified into the following four controllable categories, they are:

1. Product
2. Price
3. Place (distribution)
4. Promotion

The term "marketing mix" became popular after Neil H. Borden published his 1964 article entitled, The Concept of the Marketing Mix. Borden began to use the term in his teaching in the late 1940's after James Culliton  described the marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients". so what is the mixer ingredients, The ingredients in Borden's marketing mix including, product planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four categories which today are known as the 4 P's of marketing, portrayed below:

The Marketing Mix

These four P's are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that center the four P's on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response.

Product Decisions

The term "product" refers to tangible (can be seen), physical products as well as services. Here are some examples of the product decisions to be made:

• Brand name
• Functionality
• Styling
• Quality
• Safety
• Packaging
• Repairs and Support
• Warranty
• Accessories and services

Price Decisions

Some examples of deciding price to be made include:

• Pricing strategy (skim, penetration, etc.)
• Suggested retail price
• Volume discounts and wholesale pricing
• Cash and early payment discounts
• Seasonal pricing
• Bundling
• Price flexibility
• Price discrimination

Distribution (Place) Decisions

Distribution is about how to get the products to the customer. Some instances of distribution decisions including:

• Distribution channels
• Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution)
• Specific channel members
• Inventory management
• Warehousing
• Distribution centers
• Order processing
• Transportation
• Reverse logistics

Promotion Decisions

In t marketing mix context, the promotion represents  various aspects of marketing communication, that is, the communication of information about the product with the goal of creating a positive customer response. Marketing communication decisions include:

• Promotional strategy (push, pull, etc.)
• Advertising
• Personal selling & sales force
• Sales promotions
• Public relations & publicity
• Marketing communications budget

Limitations of the Marketing Mix Framework

The framework of marketing mix  was particularly useful in the early days of the marketing concept

when physical products represented a larger portion of the economy.nowadays , with marketing more integrated into the organizations and with a wider variety  products and markets, some authors have tried to extend its usefulness by proposing a fifth P, like packaging, people, process, etc. Today however, the marketing mix most commonly remains based on the 4 P's. Despite  of its limitations and probably because of its simplicity, the use of this framework remains strong and many marketing textbooks have been organized around it.