Evolution of Marketing Mix from 4Ps to the Most Updated

Evolution of marketing mix? Marketing can be defined as the means to communicate value to customers or more formally, as the science of satisfying consumers needs profitably. 

The concept of marketing remains the same but the marketing mix or combination of factors that influence the delivery of value has evolved considerably.

History of marketing mix? The traditional marketing mix, built around the 4Ps that product, price, place and promotion arguably discounts the breadth and complexity of current day marketing. Therefore, two Ps were added to the mix process and people which respond to crucial changes in customer service, e-commerce and social media.

The Traditional 4Ps

4ps of marketing mix? First, let’s take a look at the original 4Ps of the marketing mix. The approach, which was proposed by E. Jerome McCarthy, was made popular by Philip Kotler. In it, the 4 levers: Product, Price, Place and Promotion are used by the company to define the elements of their marketing mix.

Elements of marketing mix with examples? For more than 50 years, in fact, companies have been using this approach to define the entire marketing strategy, using these elements to influence the decisions and actions of the target audience and to discover the market itself, the competitors and their strategies, the factors that then push you to reflect on the challenges and potential of your company within it.

Product

Product encompasses the variety, design, packaging, quality, features and positioning of a product or service. The emphasis on this “P” is constantly growing as consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about, and critical of, their purchases. 

Also, there is added stress on solutions in response to more complex market expectations. For example, return policies and warranties are becoming extremely important at a time when your competitors are a Google search away. 

People’s access to more immediate communication and increasing expectations are driving companies to more frequent releases of the next best thing.

Price

Simply put, price refers to how much a customer is willing to pay for a product or service. Pricing strategies are becoming more dynamic to keep up with highly educated consumers. For instance, discounting strategies could be permanently anchored in the minds of consumers, who may refuse to pay retail prices later.

The advancement in technology has allowed manufacturers to cut out retailers and sell directly to consumers. And the integration of AR capabilities into the iPhone is only opening more possibilities for direct manufacturers to sell directly to consumers by allowing them to visualise merchandise in ways that replace the need to tangibly feel the product before you buy it. 

All of these changes underscore the need to clearly communicate value based on the positioning chosen for the product.

Place

Place refers to product accessibility to potential customers. Choosing retailers like Amazon could enhance coverage when you’re trying to turn your brand into a household name, but limiting coverage could demonstrate scarcity, as in the extreme case of diamonds, where controlled scarcity drives up prices. 

The key factor is understanding a target audience, which will help a marketing specialist position the product in the channel that is most accessible to potential buyers.

This “P” recently evolved with the introduction of e-commerce. Deciding whether or not to sell a product on a website could significantly affect your relationship with distributors. Placing a product on Amazon is a great way to gain awareness toward a product and it can also act as a tool to ensure credibility due to trusted reviews.

Promotion

Promotion is the most visible “P,” as it includes advertising, sales promotions and PR efforts. Though understanding your integrated marketing communications (IMC) and your place in the marketing funnel is more applicable than ever, media has evolved and it’s important to incorporate the views of those who are most familiar with the new media mix.

Dr. Kevin Kelly, a colleague of mine and professor at BYU, stated: Intersecting with the consumer where they live, on their devices and capturing their attention with meaningful and motivating content has changed the way that approaches promotions. 

Students understand this even better than I do because they are digital natives. So, when I ask my students in our student-run advertising lab to look to platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to solve our clients’ advertising challenges, they instinctively know what to do.

In addition to these traditional elements, new developments in the marketplace have added two vital layers for marketers to integrate into the marketing mix: process and people.

Read also: 10 Low Budget Marketing Strategy Shopify, Easily Boost Sales

The Marketing Mix Goes Digital

Traditional marketing mix meaning? As technology advances, market dynamics have changed, which means that companies need to adapt to the new needs of society. 

Although the 4Ps, the cornerstones of the marketing mix still remain valid in the business process, digital transformation in the form of the widespread use of smartphones and the rise of e-commerce has introduced new aspects related to the ways customers find and purchase products . 

People

An important aspect that is often forgotten is recognizing the company’s human value. This means remembering that it is the people who make up the company, from every department, and that their behaviour, management choices, determine the functioning of the company itself.

Process

Organising the process in an optimal way helps promote efficiency and it affects how customers perceive the quality of the service offered. As the sixth element of the marketing mix, it encompasses all business processes, from the production cycle to the sales funnel.

What Ginee Ads Can Help Your Marketing Mix Plan?

In this new economy, promotion is no longer one-way; social networks allow customers to respond to companies’ promotional messages and comment on them, creating a two-way communication flow and an interactive space for sharing.

By shifting the focus from the company to the customer, the new product development strategy sees the involvement of customers at an early stage in the design process; in this way companies can increase the chances of success for new products.

Read also: How Does Search Engine Marketing Work In the Marketing World?

Conclusion

Marketing mix theory? In short, the evolution of the 4 Ps and the inbound marketing movement are based on one simple premise: creating a better marketing experience.

Should you find yourself questioning your efforts throughout any of the marketing mix components, the one unfailing test is to consider whether your initiatives are satisfying the end user’s motivations. If the answer is anything but absolutely yes, it’s time to explore a transformation.

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