Marketing and the Marketing Mix (the 4 Ps)

Getting it to the right people

Marketing is more than advertising. It means getting the right product to the right people, in the right place, with the right promotion. Businesses in leisure, travel and tourism plan this using the marketing mix, often called the four Ps: product, price, place and promotion. The product is what is offered, such as a holiday or an attraction ticket. The price is what the customer pays, set by a pricing strategy. The place is where and how the product is sold, such as a travel agent or a website. And promotion is how the product is made known, through advertising, offers and other methods. A business does not set the four Ps once and forget them; it adjusts the mix to meet its objectives. This module covers the four Ps, pricing strategies, promotion methods, and how a business changes the mix.

Marketing mix words

Learn these terms before the four Ps are matched up. They name what a business plans and adjusts.

Match each P to what it covers

Peak against off-peak pricing

Price is the P a business changes most often, and season is the most common reason.

Which P is this?

A theme park lowers its ticket prices in the quiet winter months to attract more visitors. Which P of the marketing mix has it changed?

• Price
• Product
• Place
• Promotion

Change the mix to meet the goal

The four Ps are not fixed; a business adjusts them to meet its objectives. If a resort has empty rooms in winter, it can lower the price for the off-peak season, or run a special offer, to fill them. If it wants to reach younger customers, it can move its promotion to social media, or sell through an easy website. The skill is to see the mix as a set of dials, not a single lever, and to turn the right ones for the goal in front of you. When you analyse a business decision, ask which of the four Ps it changed, and whether that change fits the objective. A mix that matches the goal is what makes marketing work, and no single P does the job on its own.

Pick the promotion methods

Select everything that is a method of promotion.

• Advertising
• A website
• A special offer or sales promotion
• Raising the price
• Moving to a new location

Order how to plan a marketing mix

Put the steps of planning a marketing mix in a sensible order.

• Decide the objective the business wants to meet
• Define the product and who it is for
• Set a price with a suitable pricing strategy
• Choose the place where customers can buy it
• Plan the promotion to make it known

Complete the marketing-mix facts

The four Ps are product, price, place and _____. What the customer pays is the _____. Where and how the product is sold is the _____. Charging more when demand is high is _____ pricing.

Tap the two pricing strategies

Tap the TWO actions that are pricing strategies.

• charging more in peak season
• offering a group discount
• advertising on social media
• opening a new branch

Two market stalls

Picture two market stalls selling exactly the same fruit. One sits on a quiet back lane with no sign; the other stands on the busy street, its cost marked clearly, with a cheerful trader calling out the offer of the day. Same fruit, very different sales. The difference is everything around the fruit: where the stall stands, what it charges, and how it draws people in. A leisure or tourism business succeeds the same way. A good offering is not enough on its own; it has to be sold at the right amount, on the streets the customers pass, and made known so people realise it is there. So judge a business not just by what it sells, but by how well everything around the thing is arranged to reach the customer.

The marketing-mix run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Fix each marketing decision

Read each situation and choose the best answer.

• A hotel has empty rooms every winter. Which change to the mix could help fill them?
• A tour company wants to reach younger customers. What is a sensible change?
• A business wants its holidays sold where customers actually look. Which P is this about?

Build a marketing-mix sentence

Choose the word for each gap to complete one point about the marketing mix.

Explain the marketing mix

A friend running a small tourism business thinks marketing just means advertising. Using what you have learned, explain the marketing mix and how a business uses it.

• Explain what the marketing mix and the four Ps are
• Explain what product and price cover, including a pricing strategy
• Explain what place and promotion cover
• Explain how a business alters the mix to meet an objective
• Explain why all four Ps matter, not just promotion