4P'S

WHAT IS THE MARKETING MIX? DESCRIPTION

The Marketing Mix model (also known as the 4 P's) can be used by marketers as a tool to assist in defining the marketing strategy. Marketing managers use this method to attempt to generate the optimal response in the target market by blending 4 (or 5, or 7) variables in an optimal way. It is important to understand that the Marketing Mix principles are controllable variables. The Marketing Mix can be adjusted on a frequent basis to meet the changing needs of the target group and the other dynamics of the marketing environment.

Product	Historically, the thinking was: a good product will sell itself. However there are no bad products anymore in today's highly competitive markets. Plus there are many laws giving customers the right to send back products that he perceives as bad. Therefore the question on product has become: does the organization create what its intended customers want? Define the characteristics of your product or service that meets the needs of your customers.	Functionality; Quality; Appearance; Packaging; Brand;Service; Support; Warranty.
Price	How much are the intended customers willing to pay? Here we decide on a pricing strategy - do not let it just happen! Even if you decide not to ask (enough) money for a product or service, you must realize that this is a conscious decision and forms part of the pricing strategy. Although competing on price is as old as mankind, the consumer is often still sensitive for price discounts and special offers. Price has also an irrational side: something that is expensive must be good. Permanently competing on price is for many companies not a very sensible approach.	List Price; Discounts; Financing; Leasing Options; Allowances.
Place	Available at the right place, at the right time, in the right quantities? Some of the recent major changes in business have come about by changing Place. Think of the Internet and mobile telephones.	Locations; Logistics; Channel members; Channel Motivation; Market Coverage; Service Levels; Internet; Mobile.
Promotion	(How) are the chosen target groups informed or educated about the organization and its products? This includes all the weapons in the marketing armory - advertising, selling, sales promotions, Direct Marketing, Public Relations, etc. While the other three P's have lost much of their meanings in today's markets, Promotion has become the most important P to focus on.	Advertising; Public Relations; Message; Direct Sales; Sales; Media; Budget.

The function of the Marketing Mix is to help develop a package (mix) that will not only satisfy the needs of the customers within the target markets, but simultaneously to maximize the performance of the organization. There have been many attempts to increase the number of P's from 4 to 5P's in the Marketing Mix model. The most frequently mentioned one being People or Personnel. Booms and Bitner have suggested a 7-Ps approach for services-oriented companies.

The 7-Ps or Extended Marketing Mix of Booms and Bitner is a Marketing Strategy tool that expands the number of controllable variables from the four in the original Marketing Mix Model to seven.

USAGE OF THE EXTENDED MARKETING MIX

The traditional Marketing Mix model was primarily directed and useful for tangible products. The 7-Ps model is more useful for services industries and arguably also for knowledge-intensive environments.

3 EXTRA P'S

Booms and Bitner's have added the following 3 additional Ps to the original Marketing Mix:

5. People: All people that are directly or indirectly involved in the consumption of a service are an important part of the Extended Marketing Mix. Knowledge workers, employees, management and consumers often add significant value to the total product or service offering.
6. Process: Procedure, mechanisms and flow of activities by which services are consumed (customer management processes) are an essential element of the marketing strategy.
7. Physical Evidence: The ability and environment in which the service is delivered. Both tangible goods that help to communicate and perform the service, and the intangible experience of existing customers and the ability of the business to relay that customer satisfaction to potential customers.

The first two more Ps are explicit (People, Process) and the third one (Physical Evidence) is an implicit factor.

Booms and Bitner also suggest that Place in a service-oriented company includes the accessibility of the service, and that Promotion in a service-oriented company includes the input of front-line service personnel.