Q. Explain the importance of the marketing mix.
Ans. Importance of Marketing Mix: The following points explain the importance of marketing mix:
1. Helps in Clean Mix Creation: Our marketing mix should have all the P’s compatible with each other. The price should compatible with the placement of the product. The product should be compatible with the promotions. In general, all the P’s are intrinsically linked to each other.
2. Helps in New Product Development: While designing an existing product, there is any number of ideas which can come up for a related product that can be designed by the company. The pricing, place and promotions might be different for such a product. Nonetheless, it can be classified as a new product and hence while designing the marketing mix, the company can come up with good ideas for new product development as well.
3. Helps to Increase the Product Portfolio: Whenever we want to increase the product line and length, we have to make minor changes to the product, its pricing as well as its promotions. In this way, we can end up with an enlarged product portfolio.
4. Guide to Improve Business: Along with physical evidence, people and process are important to the organization too and optimizing both can improve the overall working of the organization. Thus, marketing mix is an excellent guide if someone wants to improve their business and in doing gap analysis.
5. Helps in Differentiation: When analyzing the marketing mix of competitors, there are many differences that we can differentiate ourselves from the competitor. The competitor might have poor promotions and by analyzing them, we can create better promotions of our own product.
The competitor might have poor placement of products or he might have the wrong process or the wrong people in place. All this can be improved upon giving us a better marketing mix and therefore = a competitive advantage in the market.
6. Helps us in Being Dynamic: A company which is well prepared is also prepared when disaster strikes. During a recession or during a poor business environment, a company should be ready to respond. At such times, the company needs to be dynamic in nature. Such a company needs to understand its product, processes, people, promotions and all other P’s better. If it understands them, it will respond better agility.