Marketing Mix and its Importance for the Marketers Essay

Marketing Mix and its Importance for the Marketers - Essay Example Over the years, more Ps have been identified to address the innovative features of the latest products and services. Lately, a set of four Cs has also been introduced by various theorists in an attempt to customize the four Ps so as to make them more customer-driven. According to Lauterborn, the four Cs represent consumer, communication, cost, and convenience (Burgers, 2008, p. 3). Shimizu has defined the four Cs as commodity, communication, cost, and channel (Solis, 2011, p. 201). Basically, commodity in C is the same as product in P, communication in C broadens the concept of promotion in P, cost in C is the replacement of price in P, whereas channel or convenience in C takes the concept of place in P to the next level. The product or commodity emphasizes on the importance of the physical attributes of the product or service that include but may not be limited to the size, weight, and dimensions of the product, and the materials used in it. Product is of immense importance because this is what the consumers need and the marketers’ entire marketing strategy is based on. In the contemporary age, one feature that the consumers are particularly interested in and which the marketers should thus place huge emphasis on is the innovation. Other factors that are also important include the product or service’s environment friendliness, and user friendliness. Price or cost is the aggregate of the entire values exchanged by the consumers. The price is determined by the benefits consumers are likely to attain by having the product or service being introduced by the marketers. This is the only factor in the marketing mix that determines the marketers’ revenues and thus, its role in the marketing objectives cannot be overestimated. Place is a very important element in the marketing mix and is extremely strategic in that the maximal success of the product or service depends upon the optimal location of its introduction in the market because a product or service would only be popular among the consumers if its features are consistent with their culture, norms, and values, in addition to their needs. Marketers employ the distribution channels to make their products and services available to the consumers. Place helps the marketers segment the products and services to ensure their optimal consumption. Marketers use promotion to advertise their products and services so that the consumers get to know about it. Promotion is also an equally strategic and important element of the marketing mix as place because maximal awareness about a product or service is created by advertising it on such platforms and mediums that are most commonly viewed and/or visited by the consumers. Various theories including the sets of Ps and Cs have been introduced to serve as a guideline for the marketers. Marketing mix helps the marketers to focus their attention and efforts in the right direction so that the product or service they introduce is not only of im mense value and use to the consumers but has enough scope in the market in the presence of similar products or services to earn the marketers their intended profits from making it. The marketing mix is of huge significance to the marketers because it facilitates them in the decision making both before the launch or a product or service and after it has been launched. Marketers use marketing mix modeling to achieve this. â€Å"Marketing mix modeling is a statistical analysis that links multiple variables, including marketing, sales activities, operations and external factors, to changes in consumer behavior, such as acquisition, sales, revenue, and retention† (Brooks, 2011, p. 2). Marketing mix model