The Marketing Mix
There are many items or situations that require a well-balanced mixture in order to be successful. For instance, a cake mix requires a specified amount of each item, otherwise the cake might be too sweet or just not good at all if the ingredients aren't mixed right. The same is true with marketing. Marketing requires a good mixture in order to be successful in the final sale of the product at a profit. The following will discuss what the marketing mix is and a brief history of the marketing mix. It will also discuss further in detail the four P's of the marketing mix, as well as, show the relation of the marketing mix to a product offered by Verizon Communications.
The History of the Marketing Mix and the Four P's
The term "marketing mix" has been dated to originate sometime in the late 1940's. Neil H. Borden, a teacher at the time, began using the term after James Culliton had described the marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients". The term "marketing mix" gained its popularity in 1964 when Borden published his article, The Concept of the Marketing Mix. Borden's original marketing mix included product planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. The ingredients of Borden's original marketing mix were later regrouped by E. Jerome McCarthy into what is known today as the 4 P's of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion (NetMBA, 2006).
The product area is the emphasis in developing the right product or service for the target market. In the case of physical products, ...