We are going to talk about a very  important topic in marketing, that is called marketing mix or it is also widely known as four P’s of marketing plan your work and work your plan the philosophy of planning is as important in the business as it is in life in the same way marketing also needs a plan to reach its objective and that is called a marketing plan the marketing plan leads to segmenting and targeting the market and once these segments are identified the marketing mix helps the company to achieve its objective so the marketing mix is the set of marketing tools the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market and you have heard about four PS of marketing and that is marketing mix for goods now four PS of marketing the concept of four PS of marketing has been given by E Jerome McCarthy and he has talked about Product, Price, Place, and Promotion as the four P’s of marketing.

Now these four P’s represent the set of marketing tools into four broad groups from the seller's point of view out of these four P’s a company can change its price and advertising and promotions in the short run but it can change the product or can develop a new product or can modify the place say distribution channel only in the long run, for example, a company may reduce the price of its products by just announcing it through advertisements on the contrary if you wanted to launch a car like Ford Eco Sport it can take up to four to five years in making again if you are Unilever or Ford you need to develop your distribution channel and it can take up months together.

Now let us talk about the First P in marketing is called  THE PRODUCT is the starting point for marketing a product is anything that can be offered to a customer to satisfy his or her need or want whether it's a television or an insolence policy the product offers a total bundle of benefits to the customers typically in marketing the term product is used for any good or service or any other entities which can be marketed if you talk about products in terms of Philip Kotler’s then he has talked about 10 entities which can be marketed these 10 entities are goods services experiences events persons places properties organizations information and the tenth one ideas under product factors like form Performance Quality Conformance Quality, Durability, Reliability, Reparability, Style, Design, Product Variety, Quality, Features, Brand name, Packaging, Size, Service, Warranty, Return, Company Reputation, Pre-Sale Information, Post Sale Technical Support, Repair Services, Service Distinction, Ordering Ease, Delivery, Installation, Customer Training, Consulting, Maintenance, and Repair are also taken into account to offer the value to the customers a company needs to have some product to sell so if you are getting into the business, you need to have some product to sell if the company is new then it's developed a new product to sell in the market in case of products which are already there in the market the company needs to differentiate its market offering and that is what we have talked about in the case of met needs and unmet needs in the case of met needs you need to create your offering in such a way that you can differentiate with your competition okay but in the case of unmet needs if you are creating something new then it is good on your part.

Now let us come and talk about THE PRICE,  Second P in marketing mix it has got a great relevance at business and price is the only element in marketing which produces revenue for the business organization and that's why pricing is very important it is also the easiest element in the marketing mix which can be adjusted in the short-run and price is also important as it communicates the value proposition and that value proposition is very important in marketing, now according to David Sorge price is the money you pay for any product or service the name may be different for example you may pay Airfare, Tuition Fee, College Fee, Hotel Tariff, Insurance Premium, Interest Charges, Rent, Lease Retainer Fee, Consultancy Fee, Salary, Commission, Wage, Toll or Honorarium, but it means the same. When a company wants to modify its marketing mix price is one of the factors in the marketing mix which can be adjusted in the short-run and that's why it becomes very important all the other factors may take a longer time to change and in the era of hyper-competition pricing is the easiest way to react in the market because now the markets are very hyper-competitive and you will have to take the action fast now once you are talking about the product, price, place, promotion,  the pricing is the easiest ok and the fastest way you can react in the market, now pricing does not only take into account the maximum retail price that is also called MRP, but it also takes into account discounts, Allowances, Payment Terms, Credit Terms, and 0% Financing. The price for any product or service is decided on the basis of the company's price objectives the demand for the product the Estimation of cost and your Competitors cost price and offers so all these things will decide your pricing strategy.

Let us talk about the Third P that is THE PLACE, this is very critical for the success of any Business place means a marketing channel or trade channel or a distribution channel to reach out to the customers according to Lewis Stone and Adel Ansari, marketing channels are set off interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or services available for use or consumption, So whatever the products or services you are using that is coming through the marketing channel. It is a set of the mechanism or the network via which a firm goes to the market and it serves mainly for functions, the marketing channel helps to generate the demand for the company and the company then fulfills the demand and also provides after cell service through them it also helps in giving the information and feedback to the company from the customers, for example, let us talk about Maruti Suzuki okay the leading car manufacturer in India Maruti sue the UK has got 933 dealers in 666 cities across India to sell its 14 brands of cars with more than 150 variant now it has also got 3060 service points across more than fourteen hundred fifty-four cities in India with more than 350 Maruti - value outlets also so that is the expansiveness of the place which Maruti has got place takes into account distribution channels a lot sizes product assortment locations inventory transport logistics coverage 24 by 7 availability and etc.

Now let us talk about the Fourth P of marketing that is called THE PROMOTION, now promotions include advertising sales promotion public relations direct marketing personal selling and now Digital marketing. It is also known as integrated marketing communications where a company tries to integrate all its communication efforts to get maximum returns on their promotional expenditure, now once the product is developed in accordance with the needs of the customers it needs to be priced attractively and then it needs to be available at the point of purchase, but the customer will not ask about your product in the market if he or she is not aware of it again awareness or communication to the customer should be in such a way that the customers choose your product over competitors' products.

Today customers are communicated through various communication channels, like Print Advertisement, TV Commercials, Posters leaflets, Point of Purchase, Hoardings, Video Films, Directories, Sales Meetings, Fairs, and Trade Shows, Online Shopping, Telemarketing, Catalog Marketing, Contests, Seminars, etc. 

So this is all about 4 PS of marketing and this is an important topic I hope to have cleared most of your doubts, please ask for more topics or lessons on comments.
Thank you for reading.