Essay About Pricing Strategies And Elements Of The Marketing Mix

The Elements of the Marketing Mix
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The elements of the marketing mix
This paper will cover the elements of the marketing mix with an organization which I have
selected that I have been familiar with. The company that I have selected will be United
Parcel Service. I will breakdown and describe the marketing mix and discuss in detail the
product, place, price and promotion parts of this mix.
Let us first start with what a marketing mix is defined as. A marketing mix is known as
one of the most used phrases in the marketing industry. The marketing mix is also well know as
the four Ps. What is interesting about her marketing mix is that the customer is not part of the
marketing mix. (Perrault, Jr & McCarthy, 2005, 7/ch 2)Looking at the first element of the
marketing mix will be the product or product life cycle The product is what the company is
known for and is normally a good or service that is sold to the customer. The product life cycle is
in theory the same as the product. According to www.marketingteacher.com, the product cycle is
put into motion by having a developmental stage introduced. This stage is released into the
market. The idea is that the product will gain more and more customers as the product grows.
Once the market stabilizes and the product becomes mature during the development period, then
the product is overtaken by the introduction of superior competitors. The product then goes into
decline and is withdrawn. In some instances, the product maybe promoted again to regain
customers. Some strategies that are used to promote are there for awareness. If the competition
is few a skimming price schedule is employed. The three major factors of the product are
growth, maturity and decline.
The next marketing mix piece that will be described is the pricing strategies. With pricing
strategies, there are many different ways that pricing strategies can be used, depending on the
policy and strategy of the company. Some examples of pricing include premium pricing,
economy pricing, price skimming, and value pricing. Other pricing strategies that can be used
are penetration, psychological, product line, optional product, captive, product bundle,
promotional and geographical pricing, For example, product pricing is where there is a range of
product or services the pricing reflect the benefits of parts of the range. Another example is
geographical pricing where pricing is evident where variations in price differ around the world.
The next part of the marketing mix that will be discussed will be the place. The place is
also known as a channel, distribution, or intermediary. According to www.marketing.com,
this is the mechanism through which goods and or services are moved from the manufacturer or
service provider. There are six basic channel decisions that must be made. After the first six
channels are decided, then a selection consideration is selected. The distributor must be familer
with the companies target consumer and segment. Lastly, the channel intermediaries must be
selected. These consist of wholesalers, agents, retailers, and even the Internet. There are four
steps to setting up the place in the marketing mix. Special planning and consideration should be
exercised when planning the place considerations.
Next, we will examine the third part of the marketing mix. That third part is the
Promotion. The promotion is the all the tools available to the marketer. There are seven
elements to promotion. Those seven elements are personnel selling, sales promotion, and public
relations, direct mail, trade fairs and exhibitions, advertising, and sponsorship. Depending on
what the company is trying to promote are integrated into a coherent campaign. One example of
a promotion campaign is direct mail. Or another words, junk mail as I call this. This is a highly
focused target from a customer database. Another example for promotion is advertising. This is
a paid for communication via the television media or radio. This can also be accomplished via
the internet. Some other ways of advertising are magazines, journals, bussides, posters and the
satellite advertising. Another words, where there is a place to have a voice, there is a good
chance you will come across some sort of advertising in one form or fashion..
According to forbes.com, the product that