Marketing Mix Paper

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals (Kotler, 2001). These ideas, or the four "P's", can facilitate businesses to reach their goals more efficiently. But more so, marketing is a blend of art, science, business, and patience (UOP, 2005). To execute the marketing skills, a plan or a road map must be established that can adapt to the change of the economy and provide new avenues of approach for undiscovered markets.

When discussing marketing strategies, it is important to include the four "P's" to make the meeting complete. In further discussion, explanations of the marketing mix are as follows:

* Product: A product is the need-satisfying offering of a firm including physical goods or services (e.g. a new car, a new soft drink, a sports team). The product also includes the features and benefits, quality level, accessories, installation, instructions, warranty, product line extensions, packaging, and branding of the product.

* Price: The price is the amount of money that is charged for "something" of value. In determining price a firm must consider things such as cost to produce the product, objectives, flexibility, competitive pressures, return on investment, market pressures level over product life, geographic terms, discounts, and allowances.

Marketing Mix 3

* Place: The place is the making of goods and services available in the right quantities at the right locations. It determining the place a firm must consider things such as objectives, channel type, middlemen, and kinds/locations of stores, transportation, storage, and managing/coordinating channels.

* Promotion: Promotion is the communicating of information between seller and potential buyer or others. It involves considerations such as objectives, promotion blend, sales people, advertising, sales promotion, and publicity.

(UOP, 2005)

In addition to the four "P's", each element is implemented in an organization to enhance the marketing of a specific product. The following includes how Fisher-Price implements the Marketing Mix.

For product, Fisher-Price develops toys for pre-school and toddlers. To promote better and safer toys, they invite children to play at its state-licensed nursery-school in New York. From behind one-way mirrors, marketing researchers and designers watch the children use and abuse the toys to help develop better products.

To enable products to sell, a price on a product must be equal to the amount of time and material it takes to produce the product. Supply and demand must also be a factor to ensure revenue becomes a positive number. For Fisher-Price the demand of toys around Christmas time is very demanding