7 Ps Marketing Mix

The 7P s Marketing Mix

By the definition marketing is a management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. (Source: CIM UK). Study of marketing is filled with many principals, models and concepts. Among them marketing mix can be considered as the core of the study of marketing.

Need for Marketing Mix

Success of marketing of an organization depends on the ability to address number of key issues. These include what is the product that company is going to produce, what is the price they are going to charge, how it is going to be distributed to the customer and how it is going to communicate to the customer about the product. Traditionally these issues are well known as 4P s marketing mix: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. But when marketing become more sophisticated and developed another 3 P s are added: People, Process and Physical evidence. This marketing mix is considered as Extended Marketing Mix. (Charted Institute of Marketing, 2009, pp4)

Phillip Kotler introduced a different approach to the 4 Ps marketing mix.

He suggests that 4Ps mix is a seller's mix. It is a sales oriented approach and therefore 4 Ps are replaced by 4 Cs which are,

* Product- Customer benefits

* Price - Cost to customer

* Place -Convenient

* Promotion- Communication

The features of the 7 Ps are illustrated briefly below and are discussed in detail thereafter.

Figure01: Extended Marketing Mix

(Source: http://www.google.lk/search?q=7ps+marketing+mix&tbm)

Kotler P. (2002), Marketing Management, Eleventh Edition, ISBN 10: 0130336297, Prentice Hall publishers, pp 135-226

Kotler P., Keller K. (2008), Marketing Management, Thirteenth Edition, Prentice Hall publishers, ISBN-10: 0136009980, pp 425-465

Kotler P., Amstrong G.(2009), Principals of Marketing, Thirteenth Edition, Prentice Hall Publishers ISBN-10: 0136079415, pp- 165-221