jjjjjjj
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Marketing refers to all activities a company does to promote and sell products
or services to consumers.
Marketing makes use of the "marketing mix," also known as the four Ps—
product, price, place, and promotion.
At its core, marketing seeks to take a product or service, identify its ideal
customers, and draw the customers' attention to the product or service available.
Understanding Marketing
Marketing as a discipline involves all the actions a company undertakes to draw in
customers and maintain relationships with them. Networking with potential or past clients is
part of the work too, and may include writing thank you emails, playing golf with
prospective clients, returning calls and emails quickly, and meeting with clients for coffee or
a meal.
At its most basic level, marketing seeks to match a company's products and services to
customers who want access to those products. Matching products to customers ultimately
ensures profitability.
Product, price, place, and promotion are the four PS of marketing. The Four Ps collectively
make up the essential mix a company needs to market a product or service. Neil Borden
popularized the idea of the marketing mix and the concept of the Four Ps in the 1950s.
Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020
Product
Product refers to an item or items the business plans to offer to customers. The product
should seek to fulfill an absence in the market, or fulfill consumer demand for a greater
amount of a product already available. Before they can prepare an appropriate campaign,
marketers need to understand what product is being sold, how it stands out from its
competitors, whether the product can also be paired with a secondary product or product
line, and whether there are substitute products in the market.
Price
Price refers to how much the company will sell the product for. When establishing a price,
companies must consider the unit cost price, marketing costs, and distribution expenses.
Companies must also consider the price of competing products in the marketplace and
whether their proposed price point is sufficient to represent a reasonable alternative for
consumers.
Place
Place refers to the distribution of the product. Key considerations include whether the
company will sell the product through a physical storefront, online, or through both
distribution channels. When it's sold in a storefront, what kind of physical product
placement does it get? When it's sold online, what kind of digital product placement does it
get?
Promotion
Promotion, the fourth P, is the integrated marketing communications campaign. Promotion
includes a variety of activities such as advertising, selling, sales promotions, public relations,
direct marketing, sponsorship, and guerilla marketing.
Promotions vary depending on what stage of the product life cycle the product is in.
Marketers understand that consumers associate a product’s price and distribution with its
quality, and they take this into account when devising the overall marketing strategy.
Marketing refers to any activities undertaken by a company to promote the buying or
selling of a service.
Special Considerations
As of 2017, approximately 62% of consumers buy items online each month. Experts expect
online sales in the U.S. to increase from $587 billion in 2019 to over $735 billon by 2023
Taking these statistics into consideration, online marketing is a critical element of a
complete marketing strategy. It is vital for marketers to use online tools such as social media
and digital advertising, both on website and mobile device applications, and internet
forums. Considering an appropriate distribution channel for products purchased online is
also an important step.
Compete Risk Free with $100,000 in Virtual Cash
Put your trading skills to the test with our free stock simulator Compete with thousands of
Investopedia traders and trade your way to the top! Submit trades in a virtual environment
before you start risking your own money. practice trading strategy's so that when you're
ready to enter the real market, you've had the practice you need.
