Marketing is the process of planning and executing strategies that helps develop ideas, goods and services to create exchange that satisfies individual and organizational objectives. Building comprehensive and effective marketing plans can be complex and confusing if not properly handled. The aim of this article is to help marketers and business owners identify the various aspects of a marketing plan and the most important “decision points” so as to help them produce better marketing plans that are consistent with their business and marketing objectives.

The marketing mix is the basic tool set of the marketer. It consist of the 4P’s of marketing (some textbooks and journals say 7P’s). The 4P’s are the vital points to consider when making marketing decisions about products and services. They are

– Product

– Price

– Place

– Promotion

Product:

the existence of a business organization is generally because it has some product, service or idea to offer consumers, generally in exchange for money. This offering may be in form of goods, services or a cause. The marketing professional or business owner must adequately define and position his product in the market place by making valuable product decisions such as:

– Brand name

– Product features

– Symbolic features

– Social and psychological meaning

– Guarantees and warrantees

– Packaging

The various “decision points” have great effects on the overall marketing of the product or service. The packaging represents the first exposed part of the product, thus it is very important that the packaging makes an impression. The social and psychological meaning of the product makes the product appealing beyond its physical features, an example is Nike products.

Price:

the price refers to what consumers must give up to purchase a product or service. The factors that affect the price of a product/service are: cost, demand factors, competition and perceived value.

– Cost: the cost of production of a product or service determines the lowest amount that the product can be sold for, as profitable business means selling a product at a price higher than it cost to produce the product.

– Demand factors: the demand for the product/service tends to increase or decrease the price of the product/service. This is in tune with the theory of demand: “the higher the price, the higher the quantity demanded”. The forces of demand and supply can alter the price of the goods or service; this is frequently observed in the oil industry. With the constant tensions in the Middle East and Niger Delta affecting the supply of oil which subsequently affects the price of crude oil.

– Competition: the competition in an industry often use price as a tool to position their product, or gain market share. The price of a good cannot be considered in isolation, it is either higher or lower than the price of the competitor’s goods and thus serves as a tool for positioning, gaining market share and fighting competitors.

– Perceived value: the perceived value of a generic product and also a particular brand tends to affect the price placed on the product/service e.g a snickers bought from Nike is appreciably more expensive than that from a local shoe store because the consumer perceives a greater quality for Nike products than for the local stores’.

Place:

the way a marketer or business owner makes her products/services available for purchase is very important. An excellent product that is very difficult to access and purchase is of little value. The channels of distribution of a product/service can be offline (use of middle men and resellers) and online (e.g Amazon, Jumia, Ebay etc.). the marketer or business owner must make business decisions regarding the selection, managing and motivation of intermediaries(wholesalers, retailers and resellers) or use direct channels(sell to its customers from its own stores).

Promotion:

the promotional mix can be targeted at the channel members, motivating them to stock the product (promotional push strategy) or at the final consumer through advertising and sales promotion. This will create demand among consumers and encourage them to request the product from the retailer.

The various tools that can be used to explicitly communicate the product/service to consumers or channel members are sales promotion, advertising, direct marketing, public relations, digital marketing and personal selling. These tools can be used to differentiate, remind, inform and persuade consumers about the product/service offerings of a business.

Please share your thoughts and constructive criticism..

Alabi Philip is a marketing consultant with Nexus Marketing Solutions, Nexus ia an innovative marketing solutions provider in Lagos, Nigeria. [2 Vina Street, Badore, Ajah, Lagos, Nigeria 08023420701, marketing strategy and plans marketing plan and tips

Alabi Philip is a marketing consultant with Nexus Marketing Solutions, Nexus ia an innovative marketing solutions provider in Lagos, Nigeria. [2 Vina Street, Badore, Ajah, Lagos, Nigeria 08023420701, http://www.innovativenexus.com/ view our blog: http://www.innovativenexus.com/index.php/articles-a-publications

Author Bio: Alabi Philip is a marketing consultant with Nexus Marketing Solutions, Nexus ia an innovative marketing solutions provider in Lagos, Nigeria. [2 Vina Street, Badore, Ajah, Lagos, Nigeria 08023420701, marketing strategy and plans marketing plan and tips

Category: Marketing
Keywords: marketing strategy, marketing plan, business success models, marketing communications, marketing