What Are The Methods Used To Define Marketing Mix And Also Describe Its Components?

The marketing mix is sales promotion programme in order to meet the customer's needs. It is a mixture of product, price, promotion and place. The market mix means he orderly arrangement of all steps involved in the selling of goods and services at a profit to the satisfaction of the customers. The sales promotion programme can be started at any time during the year.

Product:
       The products fulfil the needs of the consumers. The products have different characteristics like shape, colour, size, brand name, packaging price, means of distribution, etc. the manufacturers make different products for sale. The products should be made according to the requirements of the customers. The products should be made on such a way that the manufacturers might earn a maximum profit on it.

Price:
        The prices of the products are fixed to cover costs, expenses and to make a profit. It is a very difficult task to fix the price. When the process is high, the sale may decrease. The liking and disliking and living habits should be kept in mind. The prices of other articles of similar nature should also be considered. The price of goods of daily use should be customary. The prices of fashionable good may be relatively high. Moreover, instead of reducing the prices, the seller should try to satisfy the customer by good packaging salesmanship, credit facility, return of goods or delivery service.

Promotion:
          The seller can inform the customers through newspapers, magazines, radio, television and cinema about the products. Sales promotion is another way of increasing the level of sales.

Place:
          The place of consumption of goods requires distribution of goods by means of wholesalers and retailers. The distribution includes middlemen transportation, warehousing and inventory control. The products must reach at the place of consumption at right time and in right quantity.

Marketing mix is the set of strategies that are formulated by a company while developing marketing plan. All these strategies compliment each other and support towards the successfulness of the devised marketing plan.
This marketing mix is the heart and soul of a marketing plan and is based on four components regarded as four P's of marketing. Those 4P's are
1. Product.
2. Price.
3. Placement.
4. Promotion.
Starting with the product the first P of marketing. In this stage of the marketing mix the steps taken towards the manufacturing of the product are analysed. Product's quality, its features, its colour and quality of packaging are judged whether they are up to the standards or better then the other products offered in the market by different companies. Will it catch the eye of the customer and will it satisfy the customer? Questions like that are answered in Product phase.

Once the product is prepared then the price factor i.e. the 2nd P of marketing comes into action. The cost of product manufacturing, tax and profit margin for the company is decided. In short the price is decided that what could be the price of the product. Also companies in competition with their rivals try to keep the price low or equal to the price of the product offered by their competitors. Strategies are formulated that how to keep the prices low. If the product is of good quality and customer loves it then company can charge the higher price because it's serving the customer very well and customer will pay high price to use the product. But it's the exceptional case mostly companies try to keep the price low in order to attract more customers and steal the market share from their rivals.

As the pricing factor is over then comes the 3rd P i.e. Placement into action. Strategies are prepared that how to distribute the product into target market swiftly and make sure that supply shortage does not occur. Distribution channels are utilized at possible high speed to make sure the availability of the product into the target market according to the demand to make sure that customer's need is fulfilled.

4th P of marketing mix comes into action once the product is available in the market. Placement and Promotion keep changing their positions in the marketing mix. Promotion includes the advertisement of the product, it helps to let customer know that new product is available in the market that could satisfy your need. Product's price and features are given importance in the promotional campaigns so that it could attract the customers. Extensive promotion is used by multinational companies

Define the different methods of describing a set?