The 7 Tactics of Marketing mix: Product, Service, Brand, Price, Incentives, Communication and Distribution

The marketing mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix; Price, Product, Promotion and Place. However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes several other Ps like Packaging, Positioning, People and even Politics as vital mix elements.

Product

Product refers to anything that’s being sold; A physical product, service or experience.

No matter how you position yourself as a brand, your product or service is always going to be at the centre of your strategy and therefore it will influence every aspect of the marketing mix. When you think of your product, consider factors such as its quality, specific features, packaging and the problem that it will solve for your customers.

Service

A service business is one in which the perceived value of the offering to the buyer is determined largely by the services provided to him than the products offered. This includes the business of all intangible services delivered to the customer.

Some of the tangible services where both the goods and services are provided to the customer, like restaurants and supermarkets, also come under the purview of the services marketing.

‘A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another, which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.’ :Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong

‘Services are economic activities that create value and provide benefits for customers at specific times and places as a result of bringing about a desired change in or on behalf of   the recipient of the service.’ :Christopher Lovelock

Brand

The term brand refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a particular company, product, or individual. Brands are intangible, which means you can’t actually touch or see them. As such, they help shape people’s perceptions of companies, their products, or individuals. Brands commonly use identifying markers to help create brand identities within the marketplace. They provide enormous value to the company or individual, giving them a competitive edge over others in the same industry. As such, many entities seek legal protection for their brands by obtaining trademarks.

People often confuse logos, slogans, or other recognizable marks owned by companies with their brands. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are distinct. The former are marketing tools that companies often use to promote and market their products and services. When used together, these tools create a brand identity. Successful marketing can help keep a company’s brand front and center in people’s minds. This can spell the difference between someone choosing your brand over your competitor’s.

A brand is considered to be one of the most valuable and important assets for a company. In fact, many companies are often referred to by their brand, which means they are often inseparable, becoming one and the same.4 Coca-Cola is a great example, where the popular soft drink became synonymous with the company itself. This means it carries a tremendous monetary value, affecting both the bottom line and, for public companies, shareholder value

Price

the habit of continually examining and reexamining the prices of the products and services you sell to make sure they’re still appropriate to the realities of the current market. Sometimes you need to lower your prices. At other times, it may be appropriate to raise your prices. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain products or services doesn’t justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them. By raising their prices, they may lose a percentage of their customers, but the remaining percentage generates a profit on every sale. Could this be appropriate for you?

Incentives

The words ‘loyalty’ and ‘incentive’ are often used interchangeably. However, an incentive program is not quite the same thing as a loyalty program.

A customer loyalty program is designed to reward existing users for their transactions and give them a compelling reason not to switch to competing brands.

On the other hand, consumer incentive programs focus on delivering sales growth when your customer achieves a target by rewarding them.

Such programs include gift cards and coupons, just like loyalty programs. Still, they may also offer more valuable rewards like merchandise or travel vouchers to further appeal to buyers and win their emotional attachment.

Communication

Marketing Communication can be defined as the methodologies and tactics adopted by the companies to convey the messages in a unique and creative manner to their existing and prospective customers about their offerings of products and services. The messaging communication is either direct or indirect in nature with an intention to persuade the customers to indulge in the purchase of the products and services.

The various channels and platforms of marketing communication include Google promotions, print advertisements, television commercials, social media marketing, PR exercises, blogging, content marketing, and participation in trade fairs and exhibitions amongst others.

Marketing communication is made of two terms marketing and communication. Before we learn about what marketing communication is, let us first learn about marketing and communication separately. Marketing consists of activities which a company takes to increase the sales of the products.

Distribution

Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it. This can be done directly by the producer or service provider or using indirect channels with distributors or intermediaries. The other three elements of the marketing mix are product, pricing, and promotion.

Decisions about distribution need to be taken in line with a company’s overall strategic vision and mission. Developing a coherent distribution plan is a central component of strategic planning. At the strategic level, there are three broad approaches to distribution, namely mass, selective and exclusive distribution. The number and type of intermediaries selected largely depend on the strategic approach. The overall distribution channel should add value to the consumer.

There are three approaches to Distribution:

Mass distribution (also known as an intensive distribution): When products are destined for a mass market, the marketer will seek out intermediaries that appeal to a broad market base. For example, snack foods and drinks are sold via a wide variety of outlets including supermarkets, convenience stores, vending machines, cafeterias and others. The choice of distribution outlet is skewed towards those that can deliver mass markets in a cost efficient manner.

Selective distribution: A manufacturer may choose to restrict the number of outlets handling a product. For example, a manufacturer of premium electrical goods may choose to deal with department stores and independent outlets that can provide added value service level required to support the product. Dr. Scholl orthopedic sandals, for example, only sell their product through pharmacies because this type of intermediary supports the desired therapeutic positioning of the product. Some of the prestige brands of cosmetics and skincare, such as Estee Lauder, Jurlique and Clinique, insist that sales staff are trained to use the product range. The manufacturer will only allow trained clinicians to sell their products.

Exclusive distribution: In an exclusive distribution approach, a manufacturer chooses to deal with one intermediary or one type of intermediary. The advantage of an exclusive approach is that the manufacturer retains greater control over the distribution process. In exclusive arrangements, the distributor is expected to work closely with the manufacturer and add value to the product through service level, after sales care or client support services. Another definition of exclusive arrangement is an agreement between a supplier and a retailer granting the retailer exclusive rights within a specific geographic area to carry the supplier’s product.