Environment (Module 1) 1,2,6, and 7 equal 70% of the actual assessment Western Governors
University)
, The Marketing Mix and the Marketing Environment (Module 1)
1,2,6, and 7 equal 70% of the actual assessment
MARKETING
• The activity set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and
exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at
large.
• Creating mutually beneficial exchanges between buyers and sellers.
• Marketing concept …. Ask consumers what they want, how much they will pay for it,
and how they prefer to buy it……
• Create value between customers and products
MARKETING MIX ….. Controllable aspects of marketing environment
• Product …. the offering (good, service, etc). Decisions about packaging,
branding and guarantees/refunds.
• Price …. assessing value of product / service.
• Place …. Distribution of product. Making sure it can be found in the right place, at the right
time, in the
right quantity. Transportation, location, inventory.
• Promotion …. Designed to inform, educate and influence purchase decision. Includes
traditional advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, social media,
and digital marketing. How we communicate about the product.
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
• Assessing an entire product category vs an individual product.. Consider current stage in
the product life cycle.
1. Introduction …. Slow sales,
profits almost non-existent.
Heavy investment in
promotion. Failure is common
in this state.
2. Growth …. Influx of versions
from competitors entering
market. Industry sales and
profits increase.
3. Maturity …..sales peak,
purchases are from repeat
customers replacing older
model or used up products.
Fierce competition.
Improvements made to
product to keep it relevant to
market.
4. Decline …..typically due to new
technology providing better solution sales and profits fall due to demand falls. Companies
need to exit the market or serve specific niches or targeted groups.
,PRODUCT MIX … lines, width, and depth
• Companies usually always
have a portfolio of products
• organized into specific product
lines to allow for strategic product
management within that
line/brand
• Width = how many product are on the line
• Depth = how many products
within(behind) a said product
line
PRICING STRATEGIES – product value
• Prestige pricing …… price high
to denote status.
• Price skimming …. High price, distinct products. New products. Attracts
competition. Helps determine price it commands and raise profits.
• Competitive pricing …. Price relative to competitors. Promote one stand-out feature.
• Penetration pricing …. Low price, increase volume. New products. Price product lower
than perceived market price so more to increase market share. Requires mass production
and marketing. Discourage competitors.
• Leader pricing …. Price below normal mark-up. Established products. Attract to new
shops. Products priced below cost re: loss leader.
• Price bundling …. Group two or more products with one price. Established products. Can
create a sale where there wouldn’t/couldn’t normally be one.
PROMOTION STRATEGIES – communicating about the product
• Advertising – promotion that is paid for.
• Sales promotion – activities designed to stimulate consumer buying in the moment.
Includes coupons, rebates, product demonstrations, displays, samples, contests,
sweepstakes.
• Public relations – customers, employees, shareholders, community. Special events,
sharing information with media, lobbying, communications via newsletters, etc. Can be
uncontrollable bc we don’t pay for advertising.
• Personal selling – face-to-face presentations with prospective buyers
• Guerilla marketing – unconventional, innovative, low cost marketing tactics designed to
generate attention. Publicity stunts, viral videos, treasure hunts, removable street
art/graffiti, etc.
• Digital marketing - social media platforms, website, banner/pop-up/video ads, content
marketing, etc.
Integrated marketing communications … IMC …. Coordinating promotional messages to produce a
consistent, unified, customer focused message. Strategies are timed.
Omni Channel Communications(MULTI-Channel) …..Builds off IMC, delivers messages through
multiple channels such as physical locations, e-commerce, mobile applications, and social
media.
PLACE STRATEGY…. product distribution
• Making sure it can be found in the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity.
, • Involves transportation, location, supply chain management, online presence,
inventory, and atmospherics
• Distribution channels – physical transfer of goods and services, and their legal ownership at
each stage of distribution process. Reduce # of transactions and ease flow of goods.