Marketing Mix
Aspetti generali del marketing mix scritto in lingua inglese (2 pagine formato doc)
MARKETING MIX MARKETING MIX Marketing is the term used to describe the activities intended to make and attract a profitable demand for a product.
There are 4 important factors involved in marketing: the product, the price, the promotion and the place. The combination of these 4 Ps is known as the marketing mix. In the past, when markets were more local, businesses were product-oriented: they developed the product before and then they tried to determine the potential customer. Today, markets are international and highly competitive so most companies are market-oriented: they study the market before and then they make the product. MARKET SEGMENTS Marketing is based on the theory that similar people will buy similar product and so markets can be segmented according to the characteristics of buyers. For examples: by age because young people buy different products from adults; by gender because women spend more on clothes and jewellery then men; by income groups because rich people buy different products then poor people; by area because in different countries people buy different products; by lifestyle because a single person buys different products then a married person with two children. MARKET RESEARCH Business use market research to try and determine the possible target consumer, the right price to offer, the best area where to sell the product, the most effective type of promotion and to analyse the products of the competition. Market research is used to collect data about: quantitative information (for examples the number of scooter sold in Britain last year) and qualitative information (for examples what customers like about a product) Market research uses two kinds of data: primary data which are original material and information directly drawn from potential or existing customers with surveys, by personal interview, by telephone, by post and secondary data which are information that has already been published (for examples, financial accounts, sales records, internet, reports and statistics) SWOT ANALYSIS A SWOT analysis is used by firms to analyse their position in the market in order to plan future business strategies. SWOT stand for -strengths- (good reputation for quality and service) -weaknesses- (bad reputation) -opportunities- (new markets, new methods) and -threats- (new laws, competition, new taxes). The first two factors are factors over which the firm has some control and the last two are factors over which the firm has no control. PRODUCT The product is the most important element in the marketing mix. Image, name, packaging and branding are the most important factors. The image of a product is determined by its quality, design and reliability because a product should be of the right quality and at a price that customers are willing to pay. The name should be short, easy to pronounce and to remember. The name of a product should also say something positive about the product. The packaging has to give protection to the product and