Marketing principles

Marketing principles refer to channeling the gap between service and product providers to service and product seekers. Also known as a way of satisfying needs.

The Marketing Mix or the “4 P’s” or the marketing principles are: promulgation

• product
• place
• promotion
• price

The concept of “the 4 p’s” has been replaced by the concept of the “7 p’s” they are

• product
• price
• place
• promotion
• people
• positioning
• packaging

These are employed to satisfy a target market’ or target demographic (the pool of potential customers).

Example:

• Product: Procter and Gamble introduces a new toothpaste designed to taste good and fight cavities. Logo and packaging designed in bright colors to appeal to kids of elementary school age to encourage more tooth brushing.
• Price: $2.00, and discounted by means of coupons
• Promotion: television and radio commercials, magazine and newspaper ads, and a website; these use bright colors and happy music, perhaps an animated cartoon character for a fun and family-friendly attitude
• Place (or distribution): Supermarkets, drugstores and discount stores such as Wal-Mart, the Internet has become an increasingly important place to conduct online shopping.

Target demographic:

• Mothers with kids who make toothpaste buying decisions for the family

Creating utility

The American Heritage Dictionary defines utility as “the quality or condition of being useful”. Utility is further defined as any quality and/or status that provides a product with the capability to satisfy the consumer’s wants and needs. Marketing is responsible for creating most of a product’s inherent utility.

There are four basic types of utility:

• Form utility: production of the good or service, driven by the marketing function. For example, Procter and Gamble turns raw ingredients and chemicals into toothpaste.

• Place utility: making the product available where customers will buy the product. Procter and Gamble secures shelf space for the toothpaste at a wide variety of retailers including supermarkets and drugstores.

• Time utility: making the product available when customers want to buy the product. Also the U.S. drugstore chain Walgreens has many locations open 24 hours a day, and since the 1990’s has placed most of their newer stores at major intersections.

• Possession utility: once you have purchased the product and you have rights to use the product as intended, or (in theory) for any use you would like.

A fifth type of utility is often defined along with the above four types:

• Image utility: the satisfaction acquired from the emotional or psychological meaning attached to products. Some people pay more for a toothpaste perceived to be more effective at fighting cavities and whitening teeth.

Marketing Management Process

• analyzing market opportunities,
• selecting target markets,
• designing marketing strategies,
• planning marketing programs,
• organizing, implementing and controlling the marketing effort.