Marketing Mix Online on the Internet and the 4 Pes

There are many definitions that have been given of the term marketing. However, as tangled as they may seem, all of them come to the same conclusion: marketing is a set of activities carried out by a company, to sell its products, satisfying the needs of consumers.

Starting from this simple definition, what is clear is that the marketing discipline is composed of a series of key activities to achieve business success and profitability.

These directives, also called variables, tools or techniques, are so diverse that, for the purpose of synthesis, they have been grouped popularly in the known "4 P’s".

Marketing variables

The 4 p's

The "4 p's" are the variables that organizations have at their disposal to carry out their marketing strategies for each product or service launched on the market. Its denomination of the Anglo-Saxon initials, which make up the four most important marketing activities and which are:

• PRODUCT (PRODUCT): it must answer the question: What product or service will it sell? and refers to the characteristics of the product that is going to be offered to consumers. It includes many variables among which stand out:
  • Product research
  • Development of new products
  • Services and guarantees
  • Brands and labels
  • Packaging and packaging
• PRICE (PRICE): you must answer the question How much will be the cost of what you are going to sell? and it refers to the financial cost that the product represents for the client. You must take into account factors such as:
  • Expenses and margins
  • Price lists
  • Discounts
  • Sales and bonuses
  • Terms of sale
  • Credit
• DISTRIBUTION (PLACE):  you must answer the question How will you get the product to market? and it refers to the intermediaries through which the product will reach the customer. Among the variables included are:
  • Distribution channels
  • Participating institutions
  • Channel selection Channel
  • management
  • Merchandising
  • Physical and logical distribution
• COMMUNICATION (PROMOTION): you must answer the question How will you know and buy your potential customers? and refers to the means to communicate with the target audience. Factors could be taken into account such as:
  • Advertising
  • Sales promotion
  • Direct Marketing
  • Public Relations
  • Sales Force

Marketing Mix

Once the four variables available to address marketing strategies are known, the appropriate combination of each company will shape their marketing or mix of marketing.

Although we can offer a series of definitions, more or less detailed and / or confusing of this term, it is much easier to understand that each product or service that an organization launches to the market does so in certain conditions with respect to the 4 P’s ( product, price, distribution and communication); This combination chosen by the company for that particular product makes up your marketing mix.

It is important to point out that the most appropriate and profitable choice for the company will depend on the experience and above all on the creativity of the professionals, own or from others, who develop the marketing actions.

Achieving to position each product as unique in the mind of the target audience will be the mission of the people responsible for marketing in your company, so that, once achieved, customers perceive that product clearly differentiated from the products of the competition and thus derive the true profitability of your business.

Online marketing mix

At present, the Internet has been widely spread in the decisions about the marketing strategies to be followed by an organization. This is mainly due to the fact that the presence of the Network is so high and profitable that, in many cases, it is replacing traditional channels.

It has been shown that the advantages that Internet brings to the profitability of SMEs is very high and, in most sectors, except for those that are still not mature in the use of the Network, addressing marketing from the online perspective is confirmed as the means of thrive and even survive of many businesses.

Online marketing also has its own "4 P’s" and, therefore, its own marketing mix. However, the tools available to this medium to carry out marketing strategies are very different from those used in offline media.

The companies of today should use the Internet as an excellent means to serve their marketing strategy.

In conclusion, it can be said that having online marketing essential attributes that differentiate it from conventional marketing, such as the interactivity of the medium and the global nature of its scope, make it a very useful and essential tool for SMEs that, if they wish to continue Being competitive in their changing business environment, they must make decisions about each of the "4 P’s" but applied to the online world.