The Elements of the Marketing Mix - Essay Example

MARKETING MIX ID: Submitted Signed: Marketing Mix The elements of the marketing mix are also known as the marketing tactics which basically bring forward the issue of marketing ideology in the real sense. The marketing mix is composed of 4P’s which are known as the Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The concept of the marketing mix is pretty simple to comprehend since it makes use of the four basis facets related with the marketing aspect of a brand or in simple terms, a product. The marketing mix is the mix that a company offers to its target consumers. It is for the audiences to pick and choose and thus be attentive towards. The basic purpose however is to make a sale during all this while on the part of the marketing team coming under the organization’s umbrella. The elements of the marketing mix might not be applicable to every organization or product since there are discrepancies in the understanding of each and every product. However on the condition that all of these 4P’s create value for the end user is something to understand from. The 4P’s basically outline the exact basis for the know-how related with the product as the product itself is discussed which includes the brand mark or the house mark as well as the symbol. (Lazer, 1971) The aspect of price includes whether or not this product is sold in line with the industry’s other competitors or it is skimmed to a high price right at the very beginning of its induction in the market. At times, this product could be penetrated at a low price so as to ignite more sales but then again it could backfire since the product can have bad reputation and be considered of low value and hence a negligible brand image is conveyed nonetheless. Place is the distribution aspect related with that product where the product is made available for the right target audiences. This includes the retail outlets, stores, mobile vans, corner shops and just about any place where it could be purchased from. It can even include the Internet since a lot of online sale is being done through it and hence could rightly be termed as a point of sale for the eventual end consumers. The promotional aspect, the last P amongst the 4P’s is related with marketing communications, which not only takes advertising, sales promotions and personal selling into its fold but also the aspect of word of mouth communication, with or without the creation of the opinion leaders and quite rightly so the public relations tenet. Now we move on with the aspects of the marketing mix in relation with each other. If there is no product, there would be no need for the remaining P’s of the mix. Hence we fathom that product is indeed needed for the remaining P’s to function in a cohesive and strong manner. The price plays an important part since it signifies what the brand’s final image in the eyes of the consumers and channel members will be. If it is targeted in a manner which will be high at price then obviously the image that it transmits is high and one of class and strong rapport is built. The low price signifies, on the other hand, a low brand image and even to the extent that it could be taken amongst the industrial competitors. The place or the distribution point is significant since it brings to light the issue as to where the product would be made available and if the product is not present within the domains of the right target audience at the right time and in the right capacity, then there is strong enough chance that the product would be a miss. For this not to happen, the marketers need to pull their socks and aim at having the best use of the aperture opportunity and thus the related concept must be taken care of, in all fairness. Lastly the promotion bullet discusses quite a few imperative notions, one such being the strong marketing communications that has to take place while the brand (product) is being made available to the right target audience. If the advertising and public relations aspect is not there, then it is 99% guarantee that the product might just miss the eyes of the right people. However strong word of mouth plays a significant role during this while but then again for it to happen, the public relations has to play its decisive role all this while. For this paper, I have chosen a company by the name of Toyota which basically builds vehicles for the common man who wants to have esteem and positive image whilst driving the very same. Toyota has a number of different cars under its umbrella. In any location of the world, Toyota provides cars, jeeps and vans to the different sets of target audiences. When we dissect closely the 4P’s of the marketing mix we find out that the product aspect relates with either the Toyota is Camry (sedan) and Hiace (van). The product Toyota Camry is one that is known for its class and high self image on the part of the driver (user). The product is high class and is known for effectiveness and efficiency. Toyota Camry is a 4 wheel sedan (car) which basically targets the affluent businessmen and women alike. The average driver of the Toyota Camry is a rich individual who knows that he can drive around without the tension of getting his car repaired every now and then. After all, Toyota is a high class make nonetheless. Toyota Camry is priced high and because of this we can draw the fact that product has high brand image and is taken with dignity in the relevant target market. The distribution aspect of Toyota Camry is that of Toyota showrooms and even made to order (customized) Camry cars. These cars are customized by the end users who pay a certain sum to get their respective cars according to their own needs, wants and aspirations. (Ealey, 1992) Toyota Camry’s promotion would target the high class individuals who want the very best from their lives. The marketing and public relations aspects of Toyota Camry would look to aim at the well known and leading dailies that the target audience gazes its eyes upon. The channels which the users of Toyota Camry watch would be the best platform for putting the ads of the car but more than anything else, since the car is a high involvement product, thus the word of mouth and that too positive plays a huge role here. For Toyota Hiace, we find that the product (van) is a 4 wheeler again but this time the capacity of the individuals sitting in it ranges from 15-20. Toyota Hiace is a van that aims to the people who want to start a business or lease the vans on contractual basis. It is used for taking passengers from one location to another and hence the ownership aspect stems from the basis of a contractor who has a number of Toyota Hiace vans under his fold and then he gives the same to different drivers who would drive it and thus earn him profits. The price of Toyota Hiace is neither high nor low. Since it is not a product coming under the umbrella of Toyota which is linked with image and reputation rather convenience and ease of transport is the key, therefore its price range is in the middle. Therefore the van is also not connected with the high and low brand image discussions. The place or the distribution aspect of Toyota Hiace is either made pertinent through the showrooms or the agents who re-sell the product for their profits. In order to buy a new Toyota Hiace, one has to visit the designated Toyota showrooms and thus get his van booked at a certain price after which the Toyota personnel would let the potential customer know as to when his van would be ready for delivery. (Mason, 1994) The last point of the marketing mix as concerns to Toyota Hiace is that of promotion. We find that Toyota Hiace is basically purchased by individuals who want to earn a profit and as this is a van, they cannot make use of the van as a personal sedan car. Thus the industrial customer would be the right man to target since it is him who will buy the van at the end of the day. The intention behind the purchase is to pick and drop children, workers, employees, picnic goers and so on and so forth. The strong public relations could be built by the fact that the after sales and service parts is made strong by the dealers and the people responsible at the Toyota showrooms. The word of mouth plays a huge role here since the purchaser is not a learned man as such and would take the opinion of the people who are already into similar lines of work. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lazer, William. (1971). Marketing Management: A Systems Perspective. John Wiley & Sons Ealey, Lance. (1992). The Showroom as Assembly Line. The McKinsey Quarterly Mason, Mark. (1994). Does Ownership Matter? Japanese Multinationals in Europe. Oxford University Press Word Count: 1,515 Read More