The value proposition is a simple, powerful statement of value, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. How do marketing professionals ensure that they are reaching and delivering value to the target customer? Take yourself, as a "target customer." Think about your cell phone. What would make you want to buy a new one? How might the following issues affect your purchasing decision?
You can see there are multiple factors that might influence your thinking and decision about what to buy—a mix of factors. Taken together, these factors are all part of the "marketing mix." Organizations must find the right combination of factors that allow them to gain an advantage over their competitors. This combination—the marketing mix—is the combination of factors that a company controls to provide value to its target customers. The following video illustrates how the marketing mix changes depending on the target customer: ?list=PL7OLzLd9pBHxuvffolR4dzgDn5KegvuPDThere are a few different ways the marketing mix is presented. During the 1950s the components of the marketing mix were conceived as the "four Ps" and were defined as follows:
Today, this categorization continues to be useful in understanding the basic activities associated with marketing. The marketing mix represents the way an organization's broad marketing strategies are translated into marketing programs for action. Over time, new categories of the marketing mix have been proposed. Most are more consumer oriented and attempt to better fit the movement toward a marketing orientation and a greater emphasis on customer value. One example is the four Cs, proposed by Robert F Lauterborn in 1990:
The four Cs include a greater focus on the customer but align nicely with the older four Ps. They also enable one to think about the marketing mix for services, not just products. While it is difficult to think about hotel accommodations as a distinct product, it is much easier to think about a hotel creating a customer solution. You can see how the four Ps compare with the four Cs in the chart below:
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