Marketing Mix

• PRODUCT
  Good product market itself. There is little chance to persuade customers if the product you are offering will not satisfy their needs or desires even if they buy once it is very unlikely that they will buy it again. Products are the bundle of benefits. Product should be re-considered frequently or at least when indicators of changing customer needs or desires are available. It includes both product specification and the way products are offered to customers e.g. bulk purchase discounts, cross selling, free product trial or sample.
• PRICE
  Price is major factor in marketing mix, no matter how customers like your product there is little chance that they will buy that product which are beyond their budget specially utility products which not regarded as status symbol. Your pricing strategy must be acceptable at least to your customer both existing and potential. Various pricing strategies might be adopted some of these include; price penetration, price skimming, market segmentation, captive product pricing, full cost plus pricing, marginal cost plus pricing, target pricing, product life cycle pricing, premium pricing and discounted pricing.         
• PLACE
  Place refers to the medium chosen to deliver the product. It must be compatible 1 and 2 above i.e. medium should be consistent with the nature of the product example if product is intangible in nature as in case of info products then internet may be the best option and pricing must be set in a way acceptable to customer around the world. Conversely if product is tangible in nature such perishable product e.g. fruits and vegetables which can only be served locally then it will be wise to deliver directly to retail shops operating in that region and it should be priced according to local competition, legal and ethical standards.
• PROMOTION
  Promotion refers to the medium chosen to increase public awareness of the product or increase its brand visibility. Promotion can be made through variety of ways technically speaking promotional mix i.e. usage of internet, television, radio and printed documents. Promotional mix should be consistent with your marketing budget. Promotional mix can also influence the outcome of overall marketing campaign.

Note: Many marketers considers below elements, sub-elements of the above marketing mix (promotional mix is only one of the elements of marketing mix).

• PROCESS
  Degree of interaction with customers is defined as process for the purpose of marketing mix. Whether medium chosen for promotion is intended for public awareness of the product or to give information about the product or to carry out transactions or to provide after sale support. Complex and dynamic process should not be automated. For more information on process management see an other post.
• PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
  This could be an important part of the marketing mix particularly in the service sector where customer usually unable to judge the quality of service in advance from goods itself e.g. travels and hospitals. There some other ways by which quality can be judged. Like

        Packaging.
        Office interior.
        Quality of advertisement materials.
        Websites statics or dynamic contents.

• PEOPLE
  People are the most important element of marketing mix. This is particularly important in service sector where customer perception can be influenced by people involved in the provision of services. Business is known by the people it keeps. Satisfied customer can bring repeat business and possibly business from elsewhere.