Essentials of marketing

Essentials of marketing.

   What is marketing? Marketing is the process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

    What is the marketing mix? The marketing mix is made up of four components, sometimes called the four Ps. There are:

1. Product: the firm has to indentify what products the consumer wants and the way existing products can be adapted to meet consumer preferences more successfully.
2. Price: a firm has to decide on its pricing policy for list prices, discount for bulk – buying and interest – free credit. A low price may make consumers suspicious (cheap and nasty) or the low price may be thought of as a bargain (cheap and cheerful). If  the price of the product is too high then the company may be pricing itself out of the market. If  the price of the product is higher than what competitors are charging then it must be justified in some way, e.g. because the quality of the product is higher.
3. Promotion: this amounts to choosing methods that can generate sales of the product. Possibilities here include advertising, personal selling, publicity and other promotional work.
4. Place: the product has to be in the correct place – retail outlet – in order to capture sales. Exactly where a firm decides to sell its product will depend on the nature of the product.

   Aspects to be considered in marketing a product include its quality, its features, style, brand name, size, packaging, services and guarantee, while price includes consideration of things like the basic list price, discounts, the length of the payment period, and possible credit terms. Place in a marketing mix includes such factors as distribution channels, coverage of the market, locations of points of sale, inventory size, and so on. Promotion groups together advertising, publicity, sales promotion, and personal selling. The next stage is to create long - term demand, perhaps by modifying particular features of the product to satisfy changes in consumer needs or market conditions. The marketing task is to manage demand effectively.