Revisão Crítica do Mix de Marketing

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PERFORMANCE DRIVEN MARKETING, ASSIGNMENT #01, TOTAL NO. OF WORDS: 2186 
Marketing Mix, Critical 
Review 
B9MK110, John Staunton 
 
By Abhishek Dhas, 10041204 
11
th
 Feb, 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
CRITICAL REVIEW ON MARKETING MIX 
 
INTRODUCTION: 
The given jouヴﾐal aヴtiIle is aHout a Ioﾏﾏoﾐl┞ used tool used foヴ ﾏaヴketiﾐg, Ialled as the ヴPげs 
Maヴketiﾐg Mi┝ fヴaﾏe┘oヴk. It Iaﾏe aHout iﾐ the ヶヰげs when Jerome McCarthy and Neil Borden 
established this framework. This tool is made up of four variables known as the "Four P's" of 
marketing. (Reactor, 2011).The marketing mix blends these variables together to produce the results 
it wants to achieve in its specific target market. Jerome simplified this framework to a clear four 
point one, considering just four aspects - Product, Price, Promotion and Place. This makes marketing 
plan very simple for many big corporate companies, and in these earlier days, this plan always 
yielded good results. However, as me moved further over the years, there was a lot that changed 
and now itげs aヴouﾐd half a Ieﾐtuヴ┞ that has past. There has been a massive change in many things. 
Marketing as a concept has evolved significantly along with external factors in business 
environments. 
This article highlights the usability of the ヴPげs fヴaﾏe┘oヴk ﾐo┘ iﾐ the Ihaﾐged ﾏodeヴﾐ ┘oヴld. Theヴeげs 
a lot of incompatibility mentioned by various authors. They suggest either changing the framework 
completely or modifying it to add a few more factors than the traditionally mentioned 4. 
 
4P’S AS A CONCEPT: 
The ヴ Pげs concept has been used on large scale to help marketers consider all aspects needed to 
satisfy customer needs. These 4 factors – Product, Price, Promotion and Place are like the levers 
used for the same. They can be assumed to be like controllable variables to understand target 
markets. Following is the explanation for all of them – 
1) Product - It's obviously important as this is what the company has to offer to the end consumer. 
Its variety, design, packaging, features, quality, brand and customer service will be extremely 
important. 
2) Place - It's about how you make a product reach to a place that can be accessed by the customer 
and can include distribution, delivery, retail locations, download, logistics. 
3) Price – We can imagine it as amount of loss a customer has to bear in order to get something. It 
always makes the Iustoﾏeヴ thiﾐk if itげs ┘oヴth it. It can include retail price, discount or bonus offers, 
payment plans, credit terms, etc. 
4) Promotion - It's refers to the act of communicating the value of one's product to the customers. It 
can include direct marketing, personal selling and sales promotion, advertising, PR, sponsorship, 
sales calls, brochures, emails, etc. 
 
4P’S OVER THE YEARS, AND THE ARISING ISSUES: 
The concept has been well received by companies at the time it was founded. According to a survey 
over 500+ Dutch companies, 70% apply formal marketing planning for their marketing. They accept 
and trust the 4P paradigm because it was widely accepted by everyone. It was there in the business 
colleges. It also was simple and easy to apply. Hence it was very popular in the early days, as 
companies applied them for their businesses as well. They had confidence in their own progress if 
they optimized their decisions based on this framework. 
However, there were many changes that occurred later on over the years and there were doubts 
raised over it. There were many new models proposed which either had modifications over this or 
totally rejected this idea. Coﾏﾏoﾐ issues felt iﾐ the ヴPげs ┘eヴe like iﾐadequate marketing of services, 
relationship management and industrial marketing. 
The external factors in the environment changed, and the reliability of this model was a debatable 
topic. Coﾐsuﾏeヴげs Heha┗iouヴ has Heeﾐ Ihaﾐgiﾐg Ioﾐtiﾐuousl┞, aloﾐg ┘ith iﾐteヴﾐal attitudes within 
organisations. Marketing as a concept has broadened over time with development of relationship 
marketing and many other factors. Also, there have been a lot of changes in the Information and 
Communication technologies. People started using email instead of post mail. Advertising has been 
more popular over internet and websites now. Some major retailers are completely based over the 
internet, like Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, etc. Consumers now have a very good knowledge about what 
they are buying, etc. Online retail is popular than ever before. For example, if a buyer looking for a 
mobile phone logs on the retailer website, selects his price band according to his budget, gets a list 
of all phones in this range, then he compares them side to side on the same website and finalizes 
upon his model. He then does an online payment transaction and gets the phone delivered at his 
doorstep within a couple of days. Time taken for this entire buying process can be a less than 15 
minutes. Consumer gets what he looks for after spending just minutes over it. This is very different 
from the way it used to be few decades ago where they didﾐげt ha┗e ﾏuIh Ioﾐtヴol o┗eヴ the pヴoduIts 
In the above example, if the mobile handset manufacturer didﾐげt put iﾐ aﾐ iﾏpoヴtaﾐt fuﾐItioﾐalit┞ iﾐ 
their handset, example Bluetooth connectivity, it would easily be noticed by the customer in the 
comparison and he would immediately settle up with another brand instead. This can hit the 
manufacturer immediately and hence there is always a need of designing their products carefully. 
ヴPげs teIhﾐiケue ┘oﾐげt take this iﾐto Ioﾐsideヴatioﾐ, as itげs ﾐot ┗eヴ┞ Iustoﾏeヴ foIused. It ┘oﾐげt take 
facts and scenarios into consideration which are dependent on consumer behaviours. The force 
fヴoﾏ Ioﾐsuﾏeヴげs side is al┘a┞s aﾐ iﾏpoヴtaﾐt oﾐe aﾐd it al┘a┞s has to He ヴespeIted iﾐ oヴdeヴ to 
calculate future possible markets and future risks. 
The developments of the consumer and the organisational behaviour, the ever growing complexity 
of the environment and the dominance of technology, all these resulted into the differences which 
ﾏade it all diffiIult foヴ the ヴPげs fヴaﾏe┘oヴk. Theヴe ┘as a pヴessuヴe oﾐ the ﾏaヴkets to ideﾐtif┞ aﾐd 
satisfy constantly changing consumer and industry needs. 
MARKETING MIX ACCORDING TO THE 6 MARKETING AREAS: 
To Hetteヴ uﾐdeヴstaﾐd the ヴPげs, ┘e Iaﾐ di┗ide ouヴ ヴe┗ie┘ ouヴ disIussioﾐ iﾐ ヶ diffeヴeﾐt aヴeas of 
marketing – Consumer, Relationship, Services, Retail, Industrial, E-Commerce. And we shall discuss 
consumer marketing in more detail with an example of Amazon.com. 
4P’s iﾐ Coﾐsuﾏer Marketiﾐg 
This area of ﾏaヴketiﾐg paヴtiIulaヴl┞ foIuses oﾐ ﾏaﾐagiﾐg the eﾐd useヴ oヴ the Ioﾐsuﾏeヴ. Itげs Hased oﾐ 
making marketing plans and the company plans based purely on what the consumer looks for. At the 
eﾐd of the da┞, itげs oﾐl┞ the Ioﾐsuﾏeヴ ┘ho Hu┞s it. The ヴ Pげs theoヴ┞ has Heeﾐ sigﾐifiIaﾐtly ignoring 
this iﾏpoヴtaﾐt faItoヴ as it doesﾐげt take it into consideration at all. 
Aﾏazoﾐげs fouﾐdeヴ Jeff Bezos said さCustoﾏeヴs aヴe the folks ┘ho ha┗e the money, our competitors 
aヴe ﾐe┗eヴ goiﾐg to seﾐd us ﾏoﾐe┞!ざ(Johnson, 2011). Amazon as a company always focuses on 
customers to plan important product decisions, be it releasing new ones or developing current ones. 
They started with selling books under the aim of becoming one of the biggest bookshops in the 
world in 1995. However things changed as they grew over the years and they went on to become a 
type of store from which consumers were able to buy almost anything. The┞ ┘aﾐted to He ┘oヴldげs 
most customer centric company. And the progress they went on to achieve was massive, making Jeff 
one of the richest persons in the world. One of the most important reasons for this probably was 
that they carefully went onto knowing and analysing what their customers wanted, trying to figure 
out how to supply it and then finally supplying it. さIf ┘e had ヱヰ.Α ﾏillioﾐ Iustoﾏeヴs, theﾐ ┘e should 
ha┗e ヱヰ.Α ﾏillioﾐ stoヴesざ, sa┞s Bezos. (Johnson, 2011). As a firm, they we highly customeroriented 
and believed that the investment decisions will be in favour of long term leadership. It was based 
over the general ideology that in any business and in any industry, the cash flow comes from the 
customer, so be build our business observing and analysing just them. The planned critical success 
factors were completely based over this fact. 
If the┞ al┘a┞s follo┘ed the ヴPげs ﾏethod stヴiItl┞, the┞ ┘ouldﾐげt ha┗e pヴogヴessed up to this extent. 
Their online retail stores always had wide variety of product selections. They took the advantage of 
price leadership with no compromise on the quality. Also, more importantly, they made continuous 
tries to please the customers. Packaging was improved with the start of frustration free packaging. 
To improve book reading experience, they came up with kindle. They also entered the industry of 
network communications and IT which was again based on predictions of customer demands in the 
cloud computing industry. For accessibility of the customers, they came up with improvements like 
Currency Converter, Bill Me later, TextByIt, Amazon FPS, Non-D‘M pヴoteIted Mpンげs, etI. Alﾏost all 
of it was widely accepted by the customers. (Johnson, 2011) 
Therefore, to look at the entire journey of Amazon, the pヴogヴess has Heeﾐ Ioﾐtiﾐuous aﾐd itげs Heeﾐ 
observed that they always outperformed their competition by concentrating solely on the 
customers. This trend is becoming more common in this age of the industry and more and more 
marketing teams are concentrating oﾐ these e┝teヴﾐal faItoヴs ﾏoヴe H┞ goiﾐg agaiﾐst this ヴule of ヴPげs. 
Many authors have proposed to improvise on this framework by addition of customer as one of the 
factors of business. 
 
4P’s in Relationship Marketing 
Recently, instead of concentrating on new customers, firms are finding it feasible to concentrate on 
long term relationships of existing customers instead. They come up with loyalty card schemes, so 
that once a member, a customer will always want to come to the same place again for a long time. 
Example – Tesco have their loyalty card scheme with attractive offers continuously going on. 
Amazon.com also indirectly established a relationship with their strategy by continuously providing 
the best option for customers. Many authors have been criticisiﾐg the ヴPげs foヴ ﾐot offeヴiﾐg ﾏuIh 
e┝plaﾐatioﾐ to this, aﾐd ┘ith additioﾐ of ヴelatioﾐ ﾏaﾐageﾏeﾐt paヴt iﾐ the ヴPげs fヴaﾏe┘oヴk, it Iaﾐ He 
significantly improved. 
 
4P’s iﾐ Services Marketiﾐg 
Just like a product, service is another sector based on intangibles, and just as common. And recently 
the industry has grown significantly. With this change, there is more need felt for a framework which 
Iaﾐ iﾐIoヴpoヴate this. E┗eﾐ though itげs siﾏilaヴ to the けpヴoduItげ faItoヴ iﾐ the ヴPげs, it has its o┘ﾐ 
difference with the tangibles and authors have been proposing addition of this factor over the 
traditional model. 
 
4P’s iﾐ Retail Marketiﾐg 
Retail industry again has grown massively. Earlier the control of a product brand was higher than the 
stoヴe itげs sold at. Ho┘e┗eヴ, itげs the ヴetail stoヴe ┘hiIh is ﾏoヴe doﾏiﾐaﾐt ﾐo┘. Foヴ aﾏazoﾐ.Ioﾏ, selleヴs 
are in competition to sell their products on the Amazon website. In Europe, many brands rely on 
final decisions taken by retail giants like Tesco, Aldi, etc. Tesco and Aldi themselves are involved in 
Ioﾏpetitioﾐ. ヴPげs fails to addヴess ph┞siIal e┗ideﾐIe, shoppiﾐg e┝peヴieﾐIe, atﾏospheヴe, etI. 
 
4P’s iﾐ Iﾐdustrial Marketiﾐg 
Industrial markets involve the sale of goods between businesses. These are goods that are not aimed 
directly at consumers. Industrial markets include Selling finished goods, raw materials or 
components selling services to businesses. (Riley, 2012). We consider the B2B scenario here. Many 
researches are of the opinon that this is diferent from consmer marketing as the customers in this 
sIeﾐaヴio is a Husiﾐess eﾐtit┞ iﾐstead of aﾐ iﾐdi┗udual. ヴPげs fヴaﾏe┘oヴk is ﾐot used ofteﾐ heヴe as itげs 
ﾏoヴe けiﾐdi┗idual Iustoﾏeヴsげ oヴieﾐted. (Wisegeek, 2012) 
 
4P’s iﾐ Eﾏarketiﾐg 
Internet has grown by a great amount in the recent scenario and eMarketing is marketing a brand 
over the internet. It can include any other electronic media also using digital technologies. The 
appliIatioﾐ of ヴPげs iﾐ this sIeﾐaヴio Iaﾐ He ┗eヴ┞ ┘ell uﾐdeヴstood by the demise of dot.com in the late 
9ヰげs. ‘eseaヴIheヴs Hlaﾏe the old tヴaditioﾐal ﾏaヴketiﾐg st┞le foヴ the saﾏe, aﾐd this ﾏa┞ iﾐIlude the 
ヴPげs st┞le as ┘ell. (quirk.biz, 2012) 
 
S.A.V.E AS AN ALTERNATIVE: 
There have been many models and suggestions over the old ンPげs H┞ ┗aヴious ヴeseaヴIheヴs ad authoヴs. 
One of the alternate models can be called as S.A.V.E. (Help Scout, 2013). It stands for Solution, 
Access, Value and Education. It takes the new changes of the environment into consideration, as per 
below. 
Solution Instead of Product - Product is basically supposed to resolve issues or needs faced by the 
customers. Hence, we can imagine it as a solution instead of a product with various features, extra 
functionalities which customers would hardly ever use. 
Access instead of Place - With advancement in communications and information technology, the 
importance of actual place might not be the same anymore. Support, etc can be provided from any 
ﾏeaﾐs ﾐo┘ like Eﾏails, Phoﾐes, etI. Aﾐd iﾐ suIh a sIeﾐaヴio, itげs the aIIess thatげs ﾏoヴe iﾏpoヴtaﾐt. 
Value Instead of Price - Organisations can focus on raising the value of their products instead of 
thinking too much about adjusting the price to sell it at. 
Education Instead of Promotion – According to the old marketing Law of 7, consumers have to 
interact with a brand for an average of 7 times until they actually buy it. By providing someone with 
free and useful information, we can add more positivity and establish a stronger bond with the 
customer. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bibliography 
 
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"https://www.helpscout.net/blog/new-4ps-of-marketing/" https://www.helpscout.net/blog/new-
4ps-of-marketing/ [8 February 2014]. 
Johnson, G..W.R..S.K. (2011) 'Exploring Strategy' Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. 
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