Marketing Mix

For more than four decades, the term marketing mix has been used to describe the operational aspects of the marketing function. The term became popular in the 1960’s after Neil H. Borden published an article in the Journal of Advertising Researchtitled “The Concept of the Marketing Mix.” Borden’s marketing mix included product planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four categories that we know today as the 4 P’s of marketing – product, price, place, and promotion.

So, if you’re a marketer, give these ideas some thought:

·        Marketing is about communicating your company’s value propositions, but it must also be about determining what those value propositions will be.

·        Marketing is about communicating the important features and attributes of your company’s products or services, but it must also be about determiningwhat features and attributes your products/services need in order to be attractive to buyers.

·       Marketing is about communicating your company’s price-value equation, but it must also be about determining what your company’s pricing strategy will be.