Build the Marketing Mix
Bringing the 4Ps together: how price, product, promotion and place must fit the same target market and each other, and how a business adjusts the mix as the product moves through its life cycle.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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Putting the four Ps together
The marketing mix is the four Ps combined: product, price, promotion and place. Product is what the business sells and its features. Price is how much it charges. Promotion is how it tells customers. Place is how the product reaches them. On their own each is just one decision, but marketing works only when all four point the same way and suit the same target market. A luxury watch sold at a high price in upmarket shops with glossy adverts is a mix that fits together. The same watch dumped cheaply in a bargain store would clash and confuse buyers. A good mix is also not fixed forever; a business adjusts it over time, especially as the product moves through its life cycle. This module is about building a mix that works as a whole.
Marketing mix words
Learn these before you build any mix, and remember every part must suit the same customers.
A joined-up mix against a clashing one
A mix succeeds when the four Ps agree, and fails when they pull against each other.
How to coordinate the four Ps
Start with the customer, not the elements. Decide the target market first, then make every P suit it and match the others. A product for wealthy buyers wants a high price, smart places to buy it and classy promotion; drop any one of those and the whole thing wobbles. Check the mix as one picture, then keep checking it over time, since a product that is new needs a different mix from one that is fading. Build a mix that reads as a single, consistent plan.
Match the P to its decision
- product
- price
- promotion
- place
- what the item is and the features it has
- how much the business charges for it
- how the business tells customers about it
- where and how the product is sold
Which mix holds together?
A firm sells a luxury handbag. Which marketing mix is consistent for it?
- A high price, sold in upmarket shops, with glossy magazine adverts.
- A very low price, sold in a pound shop, with no promotion.
- A high price but dumped in a discount bin.
- Each element chosen at random with no link.
A strong marketing mix
Select the TWO things that make a marketing mix strong.
- All four elements suit the same target market
- The elements support and match each other
- Each element is decided alone with no link to the others
- The price is set ignoring what the product is
Budget per activity
A firm has a marketing budget of 1000 pounds and splits it equally across its 4 marketing activities. Divide to find the spend on each activity, in pounds.
Order building the mix
Put the steps of building a marketing mix in order, earliest first.
- Research the target market
- Design the product to suit those customers
- Set a matching price, promotion and place
- Review and adjust the mix over time
Complete the facts
The four Ps of product, price, promotion and place combined make the marketing _____. The group of customers the whole mix is aimed at is the _____ market. A mix whose four elements all fit each other is a _____ mix. A business must _____ the mix over time as the product changes.
Match the life-cycle stage to a mix change
- at launch, when the product is new
- in growth, as sales rise
- at maturity, when sales level off
- in decline, as sales fall
- promote heavily to build awareness
- widen the places where it is sold
- use price offers to keep sales going
- cut spending on it or refresh the product
Spot the true marketing-mix facts
Tap the TWO statements that are true about the marketing mix.
- The four Ps should work together and suit one target market
- A business adjusts the mix as the product changes over time
- Each element works best decided completely on its own
- A marketing mix should never be changed once set
Build a consistent mix
Read each case and choose the best response, with a reason.
- A firm has a premium organic juice with a high price and classy adverts, but plans to sell it only in cut-price discount shops. What should it change?
- A once-popular snack has reached the decline stage of its life cycle. How might the firm adjust the mix?
- A student answers by writing four separate paragraphs on price, product, promotion and place with no link. How could the answer be improved?
Build the marketing mix
A new firm is launching a premium reusable water bottle aimed at health-conscious young professionals. Recommend a marketing mix that works as a whole.
- Describe the product and the target market it is aimed at
- Recommend a price that fits that product and those customers
- Recommend promotion and place that match the same target market
- Explain how the four elements support each other
- Finish with a judgement on how the mix might change as the bottle moves through its life cycle