Free Essay On Marketing Mix And 21 Century

Introduction

Every day, companies have resorted to a variety of tricks to advertise, promote and sell their goods. In this case, they actually put constant experiments: use a variety of marketing incentives in an effort to persuade the consumer to buy. However, consumer decisions affect all these incentives at the same time, so it is very difficult to find out exactly what impact each of them has had in a particular case.
Thus, the marketing begins with a study of customers, identification of their needs and motives, and ends with the sale of products and satisfaction of the needs identified. Marketing mix acts as the core of any marketing activity in the market. Marketing mix is the core, on which the theory and practice of marketing are based. Its four elements form the basis for the four types of marketing policy: product, price, merchandising and communication. This is the simplest algorithm of the development of marketing plan. It is enough to analyze the activity of the company for each of its components, and most of the problems will be solved.

Literature Review

Marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion) is a set of uncontrollable variables, which complex the company uses in an effort to induce the desired response from the target market. The function of the marketing mix is to form a complex, not only that meets needs of potential customers within the target markets, but also maximizes the efficiency of the company.
According to Kotler and Levy (1969) the current marketing theory can be considered very obviously to explain a vital feature of all managerial activity. All companies should elaborate suitable goods to serve their diverse consuming groups and have to apply new approaches of communication to attain their consuming audience. The commerce inheritance of marketing gives a useful complex of theories for managing all organizations. The option facing those who supervise non-commerce companies is not whether to promote or not to promote, for no company can keep away from marketing. The option is whether to perform it successfully or poorly, and on this need the case for managerial marketing is essentially established.
Kotler considered marketing mix as one of the key concepts of modern marketing theory and practice. Constantinides (2006) gave very comprehensive summary about role of the 4Ps framework through the consideration of different theoretical and practical materials, namely books, periodicals and web-sources, where the role of marketing mix was subject to the elaboration with alternative methods. The author used a disciplinary approach for the revision of the marketing mix’s state derived from publications concerning five conventional and one up-and-coming Marketing Management sub-disciplines. Taking into account the internal orientation, lack of consumer interactivity and strategic elements, which were examined as three major aspects of criticism of marketing mix, 4Ps structure was suggested to not be measured as the base of consumer marketing management any more (p. 7). However, Cova and Dalli (2009) considered that authorized customers apply some conduct over marketing parameters through several components of the marketing mix and several characteristics of the communication process with the purpose of impact on the way, in which other customers recognize goods, trademarks, organizations and their senses. Authors explained who is responsible for the value creation, how the process of value creation is performed and the role of consumption communities in this process. The understanding of working consumer is based on the classic post-modern theory, where the borders between customers and manufacturers are blurred, and post-Marxist theory, where the borders between customers and manufacturers remain unchanged and might even expand.
As regards relationship marketing there are another three limitations of the 4Ps, namely product orientation, one-way orientation and their offensive character. So, analyzed by Constantinides literature suggested new essential theoretical structures of the 4P model, namely communication, personalization and interaction. For example, Gummesson (1997) focused on the relationship marketing and developed 30R approach, where 30 substantial relationships that operate in commerce and other companies were discussed. The author stressed that academic and experimental foundation of relationship marketing is principally build on a combination of 4Ps and conventional marketing management, services marketing, the network method to B2B marketing, quality management, organization theory, and observations from philosophical representatives.
Vargo and Lusch (2004) stated that industrial revolution is the reason of shifting from tangibles to intangibles and change in the understanding of marketing and economics in general. That’s why the orientation has changed from the producer to the consumer. So, speaking about service marketing it was found in Constantinides’ work (2006) that the reasons that services have a distinctive place among other marketing sub-disciplines are that services have become main initiators of profitable activity and considerable basis of business income in western post-industrial countries as well as gradually more element of material goods, as component of the increased product measurement. Thus, service became important indicator of product differentiation and vital foundation of competitive advantages. Having special character services require participation of human factor, therefore, 4Ps framework has to be supplemented with additional elements like people, process and physical evidence. Retail formats, staff, service and presentation are becoming the crucial basics of retail marketing, which comprises the basics of both services marketing and relationship marketing. The 4P framework is rarely stated in the B2B marketing literature as a functional management instrument (p. 18). E-marketing tools, as well as the tools of traditional marketing mix, fit into the framework of the well-known 4P concept. Four elements are enough to reveal the main directions, the tools and techniques of E-marketing in a networked economy. The only difference is a change in the order of the marketing mix elements.
Grönroos (2009) examined promise management method to marketing companies can widen their meaning of marketing and make use of all features of consumer management as a component of an integrated marketing process. Applying a framework method to marketing, such as marketing mix management, it has been moderately straightforward to arrange marketing, and to organize and carry out marketing procedures. It has been probable to take care of marketing as one purpose alienated from other commerce purposes. The disadvantage of this is in the fact that mentioned commerce purposes simply are considered as non-marketing.
According to Storbacka and Nenonen (2011) the study has numerous managerial suggestions. First of all, the study identifies the fact that market is individual buildings and this specifies that companies in grown-up markets can participate in market scripting to form markets in their agreement. The crucial managerial mission is to author innovative market meanings, and take part in market-forming actions to raise the marketness of the individually built market. In doing this, companies should form enlarged simplicity as to their reserves and potential pattern. This will facilitate to form the company-specific business theory and to impact on the meso-level of market pattern. Second, marketing should suppose an original role, which not only concentrates on brand positioning or demand creation in a pre-defined market, but increasingly participates in market-making and market-scripting activities. Third, sales have to employ a new margin position as well: a cross-functionally process-oriented and intentionally concentrated position of dynamic market growth.

Therefore, observed literature gave appropriate arguments concerning marketing mix development and emphasized the necessity of further investigation on this issue.

Marketing Mix as Central to the Dominant Managerial Marketing Approach in the 21st Century
Marketing mix can be used to properly provide and promote a new product or service to market. The model can also be used to check existing marketing strategy. Analyzed literature has brought to the following conclusion of reasons for the consideration of marketing mix as leading managerial marketing approach in the 21st century:
The success of marketing efforts depends on whether the firm would be able to convince buyers of availability in its products of competitive advantage over other companies’ products. Consumers believe in the existence of product competitive advantage, when they receive confirmation that it meets their needs better than competitors’ products. It can be possible only through the optimal combination of the marketing mix elements.
The determination of product or service range is the most important aspect of any company’s activity, which it offers to customers in order to get profits. The product, like any other good, has specific, qualitative characteristics that define its purpose and useful properties, due to which it is purchased and consumed. The main purpose of the product is the customer satisfaction. In this context, the task of the company is competent determining the basic value of the product, focusing on the needs that it satisfies, not only for its technical and operational characteristics (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012).
The demand for company’s products, the sensitivity of customers’ purchasing power, competitiveness among companies and the level of costs associated with the production and sales are based on the one of the important marketing mix elements – price. Therefore, the very important activity of marketing service of the company is an informed choice of efficient pricing strategy aimed at developing a common policy or differentiated, high or low, stable or unstable, preferential or discriminatory prices, as well as policies to all sorts of bonuses and discounts. The price, which is too high for a product with the quality or the channel of distribution of goods, brings conflicting information, which can confuse potential buyers. At the same time, too low for a given set of marketing-mix price also brings buyers mutually exclusive information on goods sold (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006).
The most important functions of promotion are the creation of an image of prestige, low prices and innovation; information about the product, its quality and properties; preserving the popularity of the goods; change in the way of using the product; creating enthusiasm among the participants of marketing; urge buyers to switch to more expensive products; answer to consumers’ questions; and bringing favorable information about the enterprise.
The main link between production and consumption is transport. Managers consider it as a key element of the marketing mix, due to its critical role in ensuring the effect of time, space and ownership. Polls among the organizations show that when evaluating vendors the second factor (after quality) is transport. For many buyers the deciding factor when choosing a supplier is not the lowest price, but the guarantee of timely delivery and reliable service. Each manufacturer seeks to build its own product distribution channel by direct contact with the consumption of, preferably, or through an intermediary (Richter, 2012).
However, due to the industrial revolution, globalization process and occurrence of the Internet, marketing mix was modified and expanded. Thus, people have direct impact on company’s activity, popularity, effectiveness and perception of the product in the market for customers. Also the physical environment allows creating the right image of the company and highlighting the distinctive characteristics of the product.
Therefore, the company itself determines which marketing mix it can apply to enter the market. In doing so, it can base on its experience and the most effective forms of marketing activities of other companies.

Conclusion

The function of the marketing mix is to create a set that will not only satisfy the needs of potential customers within the target markets, but also maximize the efficiency of the organization. It is unable to raise the question at all of any marketing program, if marketers do not have at their disposal a product that can be offered to the market (consumer). Moreover, this proposal must be made to the consumer at a certain value. Consumer always evaluates the product not only from a set of its consumer properties, but also from the amount of the costs that are associated with its acquisition. It is about famous marketing ratio “price-quality”. Specialists more clearly define this relationship as a “utility-quality”: the consumer examines the usefulness of the proposed goods to him and acceptable price of this utility.
Parties of the deal should be sufficiently informed about the nature of the existing proposals, each party shall, using the means of communication, convince the other side in the attractiveness of their own proposals. All of the above arguments allow the company to promote product on the market, worthy to exist in a competitive environment and to effectively carry out its activities. Thus, a marketing mix consists of four main elements (product, price, place and promotion). Each of the elements plays an important role in the marketing company policy.

References

Constantinides, E. (2006). The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards the 21st Century Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, 22 (3/4), p. 407-438.
Cova, B. and Dalli, D. (2009). Working Consumers: The next step in marketing theory? Marketing Theory, 9(3), p. 315–339.
Gummesson, E. (1997). Relationship Marketing as a Paradigm Shift: Some Conclusions from the 30R Approach, Management Decision, 35(4), p. 267–272.
Grönroos, C. (2009). Marketing as Promise Management: Regaining customer management for marketing, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 24(5/6), p. 351–359.
Kotler, P. and Levy, S.J. (1969). Broadening the Concept of Marketing, Journal of Marketing, 33, p. 10–15.
Storbacka, K. and Nenonen, S. (2011). Scripting Markets: From value propositions to market propositions, Industrial Marketing Management, 40, p. 255–266.
Vargo, S. and Lusch, R. (2004). Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing, Journal of Marketing, 4, p. 1–17.
Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S. (2006). Principles of Marketing, 4th Edition, Pearson: Harlow, Essex.
Kotler, Ph. and Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing, 14th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall.
Richter, T. (2012). International Marketing Mix Management: Theoretical Framework, Contingency Factors and Empirical Findings from World-Markets, Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH.