MARKETING MIX

Marketing mix is the set of marketing tools that the Firm  uses  to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market.

so these are set of controllable variables to influence buyers response.  and every business organisation  want to achieve an optimum marketing mix resulting in an optimum output.

These tools can be classified basically into four categories:

PRODUCT

Product means goods or services anything of value which is offered to the market for Exchange. Product mix is the combination of all products offered for exchange by a company.

The important product decisions that a marketer makes  include-

1. Deciding about quality, features, size, service and warranty.
2. Decision about branding
3. Decision about packaging
4. Decision about labelling.

Product mix has 3 major components.

Branding

Packaging

Labelling

BRANDING

Branding is one of the most important decision that a marketer has to take regarding a product. Marketer ha stop decide whether a firm is going to sell its product under a brand name or a generic name.

GENERIC NAME- Generic name refers to the name of a class of the product. e.g shoes, pen ,car etc.

If a firm sells its products under generic name it would be very difficult for the marketer to distinguish its products from that of competitors.

Branding is the process of giving a name or symbol etc, to a product.

Various terms related to branding -

BRAND- A brand is a name, term, sign , symbol, design or some combination of them, used to identify the products of one firm and to differentiate them from those of the competitors.

Brand is a comprehensive term which has two components. Brand name and brand mark

BRAND NAME- That part of brand which can be spoken is called a brand name.

For example- Asian paints, Maggie are brand names.

 BRAND MARK- That part of brand which can be recognised only, but cannot be spoken is called brand mark. It appears in the form of symbol, design or distinct colour scheme.

For example- Nike logo.

TRADE MARK- a brand or a part of brand that is given legal protection against its use by other firms is called trade mark.  Thus the firm, which got its brand registered, gets the exclusive right for its use. In such case, no other firm can use such name or mark in the country.

For example- the above are the trademarks of Mercedes and nike.

ADVANTAGES OF BRANDING

To the marketers:

Enables marketing product differentiation- branding helps a firm In distinguishing its products from that of its competitors.

For example- earlier samsung used to manufacture television. But with change in time it introduced microwave and washing machines under its brand which was one of the successful decision.

Ease in introduction of new products- if a new product is introduced under a known brand , it is likely to get an excellent start.

Differential pricing-  branding enables a firm to charge higher prices for its products than its competitors, because if customers like. A brand they do not mind even paying a little higher price.

 Helps in advertising- a brand name helps a firm in advertising and display programmes.

To the customers:

Helps in product identification- branding helps the customers in identifying the products.

For example- By seeing the following brand mark , a customer can identify that . It is a nike product.        

Status symbol-  Some brands become status symbols because of their quality. The consumers of those brands of products feel proud of using them and adds to the level of satisfaction of the customers.

For example- apple manufactures iPhones not just as a smart phone but as a status symbol too.

Ensures quality- branding ensures a particular level of quality of the product. If there is any deviation in the quality, the customers can make a complaint to the manufacturer or the marketer.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD BRAND NAME:

1. A brand name should be short, easy to pronounce, spell , recognise and remember.

For example-  L.G. apple, vim etc.

2. The brand name should be should suggest the products benefits and qualities.

For example- hajmola, hair and care etc.

3. A brand name should be distinctive.

For example- samsung, zero etc.

4. Brand name should have staying power.i.e it should not get out of dater very soon.

For example- coca-cola, lux, vice, Nirma etc.

5. The brand should be efficiently versatile to accomodate new products, which are added to the different languages.

6. It should be capable of being registered and protected legally.

PACKAGING

It refers to the act of designing and producing the container or wrap of a product.

Under packaging the container or the wrapper of the product is designed according to the product. Which helps in selling, advertisement, protection and transportation of the product.

For example- packet of uncle chips contains a special air i.e nitrogen air which helps in protection of the chips so that they do not get crushed. While bathing soaps comes in a plastic wrapper so that the fragrance is remained intact.

LEVELS OF PACKAGING

1. PRIMARY PACKAGE- it is the products main or immediate container. Example toothpaste tube.

• but in some cases the [primary package is kept till the consumer is ready to use the product.
• Sometimes it is kept throughout the whole life of the product .example ketchup bottle.

2. SECONDARY PACKAGE- It refers to additional layers of protection that are kept till the product is ready to for use. Example toothpaste comes in a cardboard box, when a consumer starts using the toothpaste , he disposes off the box but retains the primary tube.

3. TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE- it refers to further packaging components necessary for storage and transportation.  example. A toothpaste manufacturer may send the goods to retailers in corrugated boxes containing 10,20 or 100 units.

FUNCTIONS OF PACKAGING

1. Product Identification -  Packaging greatly helps in identification of the products .

For example-uncle chips in green colour , Maggie noodles in yellow colour etc. can be easily identified.

2. Product protection- packaging protects the contents of the products from spoilage, breakage, leakage , damage etc.

For example- air tight containers and packets are used for chips , biscuits, jams etc.

3. Product promotion- packaging promotes the sales of a product. The package is buyers first encounter with the product and is capable of turning the buyer on or off. The attractive, colourful and innovative packaging. Attracts a customer to buy the product. packaging is therefore is a silent salesman.

For example- Ferrero Rocher chocolates comes in a an attractive package of diamond cut style.

4. Product differentiation - packaging creates product differentiation.

For example- by looking at the package of the product say, hair oil, one can make some guess about quality of the product contained in it.

5. Ease handling / facilitating use of the product - the size and shape of the package.of some products are such that it is convenient to open, handle and use them.

For example- if toothpaste comes in a jar it would be impossible to use it easily therefore toothpaste tubes has been made for easy handling.

For example- introducing shampoo pouches in rural area.

LABELLING

It refers to designing the label to be put on the package. Label may vary from a simple tag attached to the product (e.g in case of products like sugar, wheat, pulses etc.) to complex graphics that are part of the package.(e.g. in case of taj mahal tae or India gate basmati rice.)

FUNCTIONS OF LABELLING

1. Describe the product and specify its contents- it is one of the most important functions labels to describe the product, its usage, manufacturing and expiry dates. Etc.

For example- package of a brand of coconut oil describes the product as pure coconut oil and specific hope these are good for hair.

2. Identification of the product or brand- the label helps the customers to identify the product or brand from various types available.

For example-  one can easily identify Cadbury chocolate from the various available chocolates in a store.

3. Grading of product- with the help of label, products can be graded in different categories.

For example -a popular brand of Hair Conditioners comes in different categories for different hair, say for ‘normal hair’ and for other categories.

4. Helps in promotion of products- lable plays an important role in sales promotional schemes launched by companies.

For example - package of a toothpaste mentioning, ‘Free Toothbrush Inside’, or ‘Save Rs15’.

5. Providing information required by law- labelling perfumes the function of providing information required by law.

PRICE

It refers to amount of money paid by a buyer or received by a seller in consideration of the purchase of a product.

Pricing occupies an important place in the marketing of goods and services by a firm. No product can be launched without a price tag or at least some guidelines for pricing.  Pricing is often used as a regulator of the demand of a product. Whenever, the price of a product is increased, its demand comes down, and vice-versa.

For example - money paid for buying a pen .

Marketers have to take crucial decisions such as-

1.Setting the pricing objectives- e.g profit maximisation, obtaining marks share ,leadership etc.

2 Determining the pricing strategies- (i)Market Penetration Pricing Strategies, setting the lowest price to capture large market share.

(ii) Market Skimming Pricing Strategy- setting high price to maximise market skimming.

3. Analysing the factors determining the prices, eg production cost, competition etc.

4. Fixing a price for the firms products.

5. Discount to customers, credit terms etc.

FACTORS AFFECTING PRICE DETERMINATION

1.Pricing Objectives- Pricing objectives are another important factor affecting the fixation of the price of a product or a service.

2. Profit maximisation-  If the firm decides to maximise profits in the short run, it would tend to charge maximum price for its products. But if it is to maximise its total profit in the long run, it would opt for a lower per unit price so that it can capture larger share of the market and earn greater profits through increased sales.

3. Obtaining greater market share-If a firms objective is to obtain larger share of the market; it will keep the price of its products at lower levels so that greater number of people are attracted to purchase the products;

For example - reliance introduced Jio initially giving free benefits to customers which in turn helped reliance to obtain greater market share.

4. Surviving in the competitive market- if the firm is facing difficulties in surviving in the market because of intense competition, it will charge the lowest possible price and offer discounts available.

For example -after introduction of jio other, telecommunication networks like idea Vodafone faced difficulties in surviving in the market so they decided to bring down the prices of their particular network.

5. Attaining product quality leadership- in such a case, the firm charges higher prices for providing high quality products , because it incurs heavy expenditure on research and development.

For example -apple spends huge amount of money on its research and development which in turn results in charging high prices of its product, providing quality to the customers and product quality leadership to itself.

6. PRODUCT COST- Product cost includes, the cost of procuring, distributing, and selling the product. It is important that the price should recover total cost.(fixed cost as well as variable cost) in the long run including a margin of profit over and above the costs.

7. EXTENT OF COMPETITION IN THE MARKET- It is an important factor while fixing the price of a product . If there is high competition in the market a firm may find difficult to fix the price while if the competition is low then a firm can easily fix the price.

8. The Utility and  Demand- The utility provided by the product and the intensity of demand of the buyer set the upper limit price, which he is willing to pay.

• when the demand of the product is inelastic ,the total revenue increases when the price is increased, so, a firm fixes higher price.
• When the demand is elastic, a small rise in price results in decrease in the quantity demanded by large amount. Total revenues also decreases . so, a firm fixes .lower prices.

9. Government  & Legal  Regulations -  In order to protect the interest of public against unfair practices in the field of price fixing, Government can intervene and regulate the price of commodities

10. Marketing methods used -Price fixation process is also affected by other elements of marketing such as distribution system, quality of salesmen employed, quality and amount of advertising, sales promotion efforts, the type of packaging, product differentiation, credit facility and customer services provided.

PLACE

It is concerned with making the goods and services available at the right time, right place, in right quantity, so, that consumers can purchase the same.

For example- if a person wants to purchase nike , running shoes, for which he goes to. a retail outlet but doesn't find the shoe with the specific size. So , he decides to go to Adidas outlet, where he is able to get the shoe with the particular size and choice, in the example here Adidas made the product available at the right time , right place and right quality.

The two major decisions under this function of marketing includes

1. Decision regarding channels of distribution-

-wholesale

-retail

-direct selling

2. Physical movement of the product from the place of production to the consumers for their consumption or use.

CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION

Channels of distribution means the path through which the ownership as well as possession of goods passes from the producer to the consumer.

So this are intermediaries, who help the producers by making there profits available to the consumers.

TYPES/METHODS

1. DIRECT CHANNEL ( Zero Channel)-  The most simple and the shortest mode of distribution is direct distribution, where in the goods are made directly available by the manufacturers to customers, without any involvement of intermediaries. It is called zero level channel.

For example- if a consumer wants to purchase a packet of Tata salt,  he doesn’t go to Tata factory to purchase it neither tata agents come to his home for selling the product. He purchase it from neighbourhood retail shops.   

METHODS OF DIRECT SELLING/ DIRECT DISTRIBUTION-

1. Selling goods through own retail outlets: E.g McDonalds.

 Selling through own salesforce.e.g. Oriflame.

internet selling. E.g Amazon, Flipkart

Tv selling e.g Telebrands.

 Telemarketing. E.g ICICI bank.

2. INDIRECT SELLING-When a manufacturer employs one or more intermediary to move goods from the point of production to the point of consumption, the distribution network is called indirect.

(i)  ONE LEVEL CHANNEL-  In this form of Channel one intermediary i.e., retailers is used between the manufacturers and the customers. That is, goods pass from the manufacture to the retailers who, in turn, sell them to the final users.

For example- Maruti sells its cars and vans through company approved retailers.

(ii) TWO LEVEL CHANNEL- This is the most commonly adopted distribution network for most consumer goods like soaps, oils, clothes, rice, sugar and pulses. the wholesaler and retailer function as connecting links between the manufacturer and consumer.

(III) THREE LEVEL CHANNEL-   manufactures use their own selling agents or brokers who connect them with wholesalers and then the retailers.It is done particularly when the manufacturer carries a limited product line and has to cover a wide market.