Elements of Marketing Mix
Hello friends, today I’m going to talk about the traditional marketing mix.
What is Marketing?
Marketing is a very important aspect of the business since it contributes greatly to the success of the organization. Marketing is not a science. Hence there is no single universally adopted definition of marketing. Following is one of the famous definitions of marketing.
Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers’ requirements profitably.
(Chartered Institute of Marketing — U.K)
What is a Marketing Mix?
The marketing mix plays an important role in marketing.
Marketing Mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market.
(Philip Kotler — 12th Edition)
The tactical marketing tools mentioned in the above definition are product, price, place and promotion. These elements are called 4Ps.
Other than this traditional marketing mix there is an extended version of the marketing mix. It has seven elements which called 7Ps. They are product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence, process and people.
As mentioned in the beginning, today I’m going to discuss the elements of the traditional marketing mix. And I’m going to talk about them using a famous B2B company — Intel Corporation as an example.
Detailed analysis about the marketing mix elements of Intel Corporation.
Microprocessors are the major product of the Intel Corporation. A microprocessor is one of the most important parts of a computer and it is similar to the brain of the computer since it helps to transfer data from the computer to the other data storage and respond to the hardware. Intel Core i7 is one of the latest microprocessors that has developed by the company. Following are the details of the marketing mix elements of the Intel Core i7.
Product
This aspect of the marketing mix identifies the organizational outputs, inclusive of goods and services. Moreover, this element includes features, quality, branding, packaging, services and warranties. As a semiconductor firm, Intel is popularly known for its microprocessors and the latest product of their microprocessors is the Intel Core i7 processor. It is available under the processors’ product line. Comparing to other processors in Intel’s processors' product line, the Intel Core i7 processor has a better performance and better durability. It also has a high graphic support feature. Because of these factors, the Core i7 processor is very famous among youngsters who belong between age 20 to 30 and also this processor able to attract video gamers. According to the marketing mix of Intel Corporation, product development marks the company’s organizational progress.
Price
Price points and ranges are considered in this aspect of the marketing mix. This element includes price strategy, pricing, allowances, discounts and payment terms. Intel Corporation’s prices are based on evaluations of market conditions, as well as the overall competitive advantage of the company relative to other companies in the semiconductor market. Intel has two price strategies and they are premium pricing strategy and market-oriented pricing strategy. Comparing to the other competitors such as AMD in the market the price of the Intel Core i7 is relatively higher. This is a good example to show that the Intel Corporation uses the premium pricing strategy to maximize its profits. The advantage of this premium pricing strategy is that it maximizes the profit margin of the company.
But it is difficult to implement and could fail in a price-sensitive market. It is a disadvantage of this strategy. According to the technical specialists', the Intel Core i7 consider as a valuable purchase since of its high performance and the durability given by the product. This is an example of how Intel succeeds in using the pricing strategy by maintaining a premium brand with corresponding high perceived value, based on the perceptions of target consumers. Above all conditions enables the company to sell its products at higher prices and expect growing revenues despite cheaper products from competitors. And also the market-oriented pricing strategy involves determining market conditions and the prices of competitors. Intel uses this pricing strategy to guide the adjustment of premium prices. Based on this aspect of the marketing mix, Intel Corporation ensures high profits through premium prices, which are supporting through premium branding.
Place
The venue where Intel reaches and transacts with target customers are identified in this aspect of the marketing mix. Moreover, this element includes channels, market coverage, assortment, location, inventory and transport. Intel Corporation uses Intel shops, IT resellers and authorized sellers of embedded products as the venues to reach its target market. Intel shop is the most direct avenue for the distribution and sale of the company’s products. For example, the company maintain Intel Shop as part of the official website and there are physical Intel shops located all over the world. Any customer can find the Intel Core i7 in any of these shops in the world. It can be found in most of the laptop or desktop retailer shops like Dell, HP, Compaq, Acer and Logitech since the company has arrangements with IT resellers. Also, the authorized sellers of embedded products include sellers of computer systems that use Intel microprocessors and boards. This combination of venues helps the company to maximize its global market reach to distribute and sell its Intel Core i7 processor.
Promotion
This aspect of the marketing mix deals with the strategies and tactics that the company uses to promote its products. It includes sales promotions, advertising, public relations, direct marketing etc. Intel Corporation promotes its products to consumers or end-users of computing technologies, and to direct customers, who are mostly manufacturers of laptops, desktops and related products. Intel Corporation’s promotional mix including advertising, public relations and direct marketing as their promotion activities.
Advertisements are an expensive but effective promotion activity that the company uses to boost the sales of its products and equipment manufacturers’ products containing Intel processors and boards. When we consider their product Intel Core i7 processor, “Intel Core i7 Processor TV Commercial, ‘Gamers’ Featuring Jim Parsons” can be identified as a successful advertisement which was able to successfully boost the consumer awareness and loyalty to that product.
According to the July 20, 2020, EdTech — classroom article the intel using public relationships as a promotional strategy by sponsoring e-sports championships. They were able to highlight the importance of the Intel Core i7 as a high-performance microprocessor which good for e-sports lovers. Also, the company promotes its products through direct marketing. The company engages in direct communications with manufacturers and sellers to reach profitable arrangements.
A company needs to have an effective marketing mix to succeed in its relevant business field. For that, they should have a marketing mix with the following key characteristics.
- Matches customer needs
- Creates competitive advantages
- Well blended
- Matches corporate resources
Thank you for reading my article and please share your thoughts in the comment section.
