TEXT 2: THE MARKETING MIXThe marketing mix has been a key concept to advertising, it was proposed by professor E. Jerome McCarthy in the 1960s. A marketing mix is a combination of four major ingredients: product (ideas, goods, or services), price, place (distribution), and promotion. A marketer creates a blend of these ingredients - also known as the four Ps - to respond to the needs of the intended customers or audience: Product. A businessperson's first marketing task is to decide on the goods or services that will attract customers. The key is to determine the needs and wants of customers and then translate those needs and wants into desirable products. Social trends often provide a clue to the types of products that consumers will want. Rising crime rates, for example, have created a growing need among small businesses for security services. Similarly, the rapid increase in the number of working women has inspired clothing manufacturers to produce more women's suits. Price. Having made basic decisions about its products, the company must decide on how to price them. Sometimes low prices maximize profits. On the other hand, the desirability of some products - like Nike shoes - depends on a high-quality image, which a high price helps to confer. Place. The third element in the marketing mix is place (or distribution): how products get to customers. Transportation comes into play here, but place also entails decisions about distribution outlets. Many alternatives are possible. Most clothing manufacturers sell to retailers, who resell to consumers. Promotion. Often, the most important decision a company makes is how it should inform prospective customers about its products. The alternatives are many, and the choice may determine the success of a marketing effort. Some companies, such as Avon and Mary Kay Cosmetics, emphasize direct selling and spend most of their promotion dollars training and paying salespeople. Others, including the many producers of soap and headache remedies, promote their products through advertising, mainly on television. Department stores also spend heavily on advertising, but they choose local newspapers as the most effective medium. Vocabulary:
Comprehension Questions: 1. What is the marketing mix? 2. What is the first marketing task of any business? 3. How can you characterize the second component of the marketing mix- price? 4. What is the role of place (distribution) in the marketing mix? 5. How do companies promote their products? 6. What are the most important Ps in your opinion?
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