What is Marketing Mix?
Marketing Mix is a combination of different variables that any organization uses to attain its business objectives and maximize customer satisfaction. It represents the mixture of 7Ps – product, place, price, promotion, people, process and physical evidence – to optimize the revenue generation capacity. The four components of the Marketing Mix are:
- Product – It is the good or service produced by the organization for satisfying a consumer’s need. Companies must develop their product to differentiate it from the competition while also addressing the needs of their target users.
- Price – The selling price of a product should reflect your consumer’s perception of its actual value. Companies determine the price based on their strategy for a particular market segment.
- Place – The point of sale (POS) of a product -from a storefront to an E-commerce website – can be leveraged for marketing purposes. The target audience prefers certain POS outlets over others for reasons like convenience. Companies should ensure optimum distribution and efficient supply chain logistics for those outlets for more significant sales.
- Promotion – Promotion involves a company’s marketing/communications strategy to enhance its revenue and brand appeal. It includes advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, personal selling and public relations across online and offline sales channels.
- People – The company’s employees are responsible for delivering the service to customers. Organizations should leverage their potential to enhance customer satisfaction.
- Process – Organisations must work on ensuring that the business processes are efficient enough to minimize costs and maximize profit margins.
- Physical Evidence – This component is vital in service-based industries. Companies should ensure that they have physical evidence of delivering the service to the customer.
What is Promotion Mix?
Promotion helps organizations stay ahead of their competitors as it targets different consumer segments to increase product visibility. Some of the elements of Promotion Mix include:
- Advertising – Advertising is a marketing communication method where the company pays an advertiser in radio, print, broadcast, online media etc., to promote their product.
- Direct Marketing – Organizations use this method to approach clients individually and promote their product through mailers, messages, phone calls or personal meetings.
- Personal Selling – The company approaches a select group of customers to sell their product. They prefer the element of personalisation and exclusivity, which makes them open to this promotional method. Although expensive and time-consuming, personal selling is ideal for premium products.
- Sales Promotion – This method uses discounts, coupons and other offers to attract customers to purchase a product. It is effective during certain events or festive occasions.
- Public Relations – Companies employ this method to either promote or change their brand image. They use tools like press conferences, interviews, public appearances, volunteer projects etc., to increase brand awareness and attract target consumers with their messaging.
Differences between Marketing Mix and Promotion Mix
Although Promotion Mix is a part of the Marketing Mix setup, there are critical differences between the two areas:
Marketing Mix | Promotion Mix |
Meaning |
Marketing Mix is a set of variables used to promote the brand, improve customer satisfaction and increase visibility. | Promotion Mix involves using marketing tools to enhance the demand for a company’s product. |
Elements |
The main elements in Marketing Mix are: - Product
- Price
- Place
- Promotion
- People
- Process
- Physical Evidence
| The main elements in Promotion Mix are: - Advertising
- Direct Marketing
- Personal Selling
- Sales Promotion
- Public Relations
|
About |
Marketing Mix helps position a product and decide on the price, place, or time for selling it to the target consumer. | Promotion Mix helps companies to improve brand awareness and attract consumers to buy the product. |
Focus |
Marketing Mix focuses on promoting and selling the product or service. | Promotion Mix concentrates on methods to reach their target customers to persuade them into purchasing the company’s product. |
Scope |
Marketing Mix has a broader scope. | Since Promotion Mix is a part of Marketing Mix, it has a much narrower scope. |
Example |
- Online Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Advertising on social media, radio, print and broadcasting channels
| - Discount offers
- Coupons
- Free samples
|
Conclusion
Although there are differences between Marketing Mix and Promotion Mix, both of them are essential to attract their target consumers to purchase a product or service. Companies must formulate strategies to use the different Marketing Mix elements to their advantage or risk losing their competitive edge.
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FAQs
Marketing Mix focuses on promoting and selling the product or service. Promotion Mix concentrates on methods to reach their target customers to persuade them into purchasing the company's product. Marketing Mix has a broader scope. Since Promotion Mix is a part of Marketing Mix, it has a much narrower scope.
What is the difference between marketing and promotion? ›
In short, marketing focuses on increasing the awareness of a product and getting it in front of potential customers. Promotions are the final step of marketing – they provide the needed incentive to turn visitors into buyers. All in all, marketing vs promotion is about awareness vs conversion.
What is the difference between marketing mix and promotion mix in Ignou? ›
The Promotion Mix is used to enhance brand awareness and persuade customers to buy the product. The Marketing Mix focuses on promoting and selling the product or service. The Promotion Mix focuses on strategies to reach target customers and convince them to buy the product.
What is the difference between marketing communication and promotion mix? ›
On one hand, the Marketing Mix is used to shape brand strategies through factors unique to each business (the 7 Ps – product, price, promotion, place, physical evidence, people and process). On the other hand, the Communications Mix defines the ways you communicate with your customers, i.e. the tools you use.
What is the difference between place and promotion in the marketing mix? ›
Place (or distribution): The activities that make the product available to consumers. Promotion: The activities that communicate the product's features and benefits and persuade customers to purchase the product.
What are the similarities between marketing and promotion? ›
Communication. Both marketing and promotion heavily rely on effective communication to reach the target audience. They use various channels, such as advertising, social media, direct marketing, and public relations, to convey the value proposition and benefits of the product or service.
What is the main difference between advertising and promotion? ›
Promotion is used to push short-term sales. Advertising is used to build brand image and increase sales. Promotion has short-term effects. Advertising has long-term effects.
What comes under promotion mix? ›
The promotion mix is a combination of promotional tools marketers use to communicate with their target audience. The six key promotional tools used in the communications mix are advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, direct marketing, public relations, and branding.
What are the four main elements of the promotional mix? ›
These four elements are also knows as the 4 Ps. One P is called the promotional mix and it contains advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. They are used as tools to communicate to the target market and produce organizational sales goals and profits.
What are the four types of promotion mix? ›
The promotions mix is often divided into four categories: advertising, digital selling, sales promotion and public relations. Each of these promotion methods has their own role in generating revenue for a company. The promotions mix consists of the following: Advertising.
What is the marketing mix (4 P's of marketing)? The marketing mix, also known as the four P's of marketing, refers to the four key elements of a marketing strategy: product, price, place and promotion.
What do you mean by promotion mix in marketing? ›
A promotional mix is a combination of marketing methods including advertising, sales, public relations and direct marketing to achieve a specific marketing goal.
What are the 5 elements of promotional mix? ›
A promotional mix is an allocation of resources among five primary elements:
- Advertising.
- Public relations or publicity.
- Sales promotion.
- Direct marketing.
- Personal selling.
Place: The place is where customers can buy the product. Whether a brick-and-mortar store, website, or app, proper placement of products creates sales opportunities. Promotion: The promotion includes all the tactics used to communicate a product's value.
Is promotion considered marketing? ›
Promotion belongs to the 4Ps of marketing. It's all about strategies and techniques that help communicate a product to the audience. The goal of promotions is to present your product, increase demand, and differentiate it. So, promotion is the basic element of marketing.
Is marketing just promotion? ›
sort of. Advertising is a subset of Promotion (remember “subset of a subset”)? Promotion is better thought of as “communication”. All communication about the product or service falls into this aspect of marketing.
Is promotion part of marketing? ›
“What is Promotion?” Promotion is a marketing tool, used as a strategy to communicate between the sellers and buyers. Through this, the seller tries to influence and convince the buyers to buy their products or services. It assists in spreading the word about the product or services or company to the people.
Is promotional strategy the same as marketing strategy? ›
marketing strategy. Your promotion strategy is just one piece of a larger marketing strategy—a long-term plan outlining how you'll market and sell your product. A successful marketing plan covers all the tactics you'll use to promote your product, including the full “marketing mix”: product, price, place, and promotion ...
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