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Introduction
The marketing mix is a very valuable tool used by businesses. It encourages businesses to produce and sell goods that meet the needs of consumers and society efficiently. Marketing is defined as "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 objectives". The marketing mix is the blend of "tools" that an organization will use to achieve its objectives with particular target market.
Marketing Mix
There are many different definitions describing marketing and the marketing mix. Most definitions are focused upon customer orientation and satisfaction of customer needs. The marketing concept is the philosophy that firms should analyze the needs of their customers and then make decisions to satisfy those needs, better than the competition. Marketing research is used to define the market segments, their size, and their needs. It is the job of the marketing team to satisfy those customers' needs by making decisions about the controllable parameters of the marketing mix. A firm must find a way to discover unfulfilled customer needs and bring to market products that satisfy those needs. Some of the steps involved in market research are: analysis of the situation to identify opportunities, the marketing strategy that is formulated, the decisions regarding the marketing mix, and the final implementation of the plan.
At the heart of the marketing mix concept is four components known as the four P's. The four P's are; product, price, place and promotion. Getting the right balance between these four factors is the key to successfu ...