Marketing Mix

American Intercontinental University

Abstract
Marketing has been around for many years but it wasn’t unit the mid-1950s when business began to focus on the consumer orientation which started to play a major role in society. The marketing mix is largely growing every day. The marketing mix involves executing the concepts of product, price, place (distribution), promotion which help create exchange that satisfies both individual and business. Marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the market.

Marketing Mix

Product refers to design, style, functionality, quality, packaging, warranty, and service. A great product will give benefits to the customer which makes the marketing easier. Companies can do different things to compete in the market like changing their design to capture attention of the customer and offering a warranty for the customer. Products can range from high end product to very simple products just depends on the market that they are in. When picking the right product for the market is knowing what the consumer wants and needs.
The pricing element of marketing strategy involves the money consumers are willing to pay for the good, service, or idea. So after the product is determine then the marketing team must determine the price. There are a lot of processes that go into determining the price. You must take into account both the fixed and variable cost involved in producing you product. You also must take in more money than just the production cost so that you can make a profit. Another good strategy is to keep you price fairly close to your competition because you never want to price too much higher or lower than your competitors without having a good reason. You must use a lot of different steps when determining the price of the product so make sure that you use the steps. Place is also referred to as distribution in the marketing mix. The proper placement of products is done through intermediaries called channels of distribution. The channels of distribution are interdependent manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. The channel of distribution consist of the three basic utilities which are time, place, and possession. Time utility means having a product available when the consumer needs the product. Place utility is when a firm produces satisfaction by locating products where they can be acquired by the consumer. Possession utility provides service to consumer with very few obstacles as possible for the consumer.
Promotion includes the tools that are available to the marketers for marketing communication. These tools include packaging, display, and the ability to get the product seen by the potential customer. Other things that the marketer can use is paying for advertisement, end cap space in the stores, and packing that catches the customer’s attention. Without using these steps your product could get lost with all the other products. Promotion is also brand recognition which means that you product or services is easily recognized in the market or industry. The marketing team that you have must follow all of these step to ensure that the product is getting the proper promotion that it needs.
Microsoft, the industry leader in software development and sales, became a registered trademark on November 26, 1976. Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office have been the best selling products for the corporation giant. In addition, Microsoft also had a hand in other markets, such as MSNBC cable television network, Microsoft multimedia encyclopedia and the MSN Internet portal, computer hardware, home entertainment products, and gaming consoles. As of 2006, Microsoft employs more than 71,000 employees and has produced fourth quarter revenues over $44 billion. Microsoft is a very diverse company because the number of businesses that it deals with. For instance, Microsoft is a large corporation that serves the needs of many small businesses, and large