“The marketing mix is an important set of parameters that can be adjusted to create an ideal marketing strategy. Every product has a unique set of marketing needs which can be broadly placed into four categories: product, price, place, and promotion. Each of these categories is a variable and marketers must make decisions to control their effects on the overall marketing strategy. Finding the optimal blend of each variable will contribute to a successful marketing campaign. Every industry has unique needs and the 4 P’s will ultimately influence the decisions of the company in its marketing strategy” (“Online,” 2012). The first component of the marketing mix is Product. According to Hyder (2012), “There is no mar¬ke¬ting without pro¬duct. Many unders¬tand the pro¬duct side of the mar¬ke¬ting equa¬tion, but it isn’t as one dimen¬sio¬nal as it is often demons¬tra¬ted to be. Clearly sta¬ted: your pro¬duct is either some phy¬si¬cal thing that you are selling, or a ser¬vice that you offer. Unders¬tan¬ding that you need a pro¬duct before you go to the mar¬ket is tri¬vial, what isn’t obvious is the effort that is requi¬red to substantiate yourself from you competition. Your pro¬duct is the foun¬da¬tion and the cor¬ners¬tone of your busi¬ness; it’s what your busi¬ness is built on, and what holds it together”. “Price is the second component of the marketing mix and plays an important role in the marketing strategy. When shopping for similar products, price is often the factor that determines the customer’s purchasing decision. Both consumers and businesses place a high level of importance on the price of a product. Marketers look at the prices of competitors and make pricing decisions based on the demand of the market. Many companies lay out a strategy to price their products below those of competitors, although this is not always the case. Pricing is a

4 P’S IN MARKETING 4 critical aspect of the marketing mix and can have substantial impact on a customer’s purchasing decision” (“Online,” 2012). “Place refers to the availability of a product in a location or geographical region. Some products are available worldwide, whereas others can only be purchased in a very specific region. Many products are available only through an individual store front, while others can be purchased in thousands of different locations. The internet has greatly expanded the visibility of many products by allowing customers to place