CAEE 5131 - Agricultural Marketing and Price Analysis
Marketing Mix (4-P’s) strategies
Management of the 4-P’s of marketing (marketing mix) is the mandate of a marketing manager in firm. A marketing manager therefore analyzes the market, plans for the future, develops marketing strategies, and meets market needs and desires. The marketing plan identifies all controllable elements of the exchange relationship between an organization and its customers. The 4-Ps are considered controllable since they represent the key inputs into a marketing manager’s plan. Such inputs may entail budgetary allocation, human and physical resources. The 4-Ps and their management strategies are explained below.
- Product: -Is a tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry and the hotel industry or codes-based products like cell phone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. The product aspect includes individual goods, product lines or service features and benefits that meet consumer wants and needs as identified through market research.
- Place: Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet. Place is not exactly a physical store where it is available. Place is nothing but how the product takes place or creates image in the mind of customers. It depends upon the perception of customers. Place aspect of product mix deals with channels of distribution, middlemen, warehousing, transportation and shipping as identified in research in meeting consumer expectations.
- Price: The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. Setting a price that serves the customer well and maximizes justifiable profits to the company is important. Issues relevant include price of the product, level pricing, introductory pricing, discounts, allowances. Again, this is established in relation to consumer willingness to pay as identified via market research.
- Promotion: represents all the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion.
If the Product, Price and Place are in sync with what consumers want/need, Promotion reminds them the needs-satisfying Product/Service is available.
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This module was developed by Moi University, Department of Economics and Agricultural Resource Management with support from OER Africa and Bill & Mellinda Gates Foundation