“Marketing Mix is a set of controllable variables and their levels that the firm uses to influence the target market”. Phillip Kotler
Thus, according to this definition any variable under the control of the firm that can influence the customer demand is a marketing mix variable.
The Marketing Mix has four main sub mixes. They are as follows:
- The Product Mix- product planning & development, branding, packaging & labeling.
- The Price Mix- price policies, discounts & credit facilities.
- The Place Mix or Physical Distribution Mix- channel of distribution, transportation & warehousing.
- The Promotion Mix- advertising, personal selling, sales promotion & publicity.
Importance/ Utility Of Marketing Mix
Attracting customers-to face competition & to promote its company’s sales it needs to attract customers by providing the best mix.
Better use of resources- Marketing Mix promotes better utilization of limited resources as it helps the marketing manager to understand his customer and invest in the areas in which the customer is interested.
Precision- Marketing Mix provides precision (accuracy) to the study of marketing.
Balanced Approach- Marketing Mix helps in reminding the marketing manager that on one hand, he should be careful to consider the market forces and on the other hand think of a total marketing program instead of relying on any one aspect.
Collectively Effective- The components of marketing mix are individually important but their significance lies in the mix or blend so as to make them collectively effective in the dynamic marketing environment.
Applicable to business as well as non-business organization- Marketing Mix is applicable to business as well as non-business organisation, such as clubs, colleges, associations, etc.