Topic Area 4 (the bigun!)

• What is the marketing mix?


  Four elements that are needed to successfully sell a product and meet customers' needs. The right product must be set at the right price and in the right place. Successful promotion supports this.
• What are the 4 P's of the marketing mix?


  . Product

  . Price

  . Place

  . Promotion
• What is Product in the marketing mix?


  The product must meet the needs of the customers, based on:

  • Who the target customers are
  • The features that customers want
  • The USP of the product
• What is Price in the marketing mix?


  The price must reflect what customers are willing and able to pay.

  It must also cover the costs of production, so the business makes a profit.
• What is Place in the marketing mix?


  Where the product is sold.

  Businesses need to consider the best place to sell the product:

  • A physical shop or online
  • A way to suit the rest of the marketing mix
• What is Promotion in the marketing mix?


  . Communicating the products features and benefits to the customer

  . Making customers aware of the products

  . Using the right promotion method is important
• What are the non-digital marketing mediums?

  . Leaflets

  . Newspapers

  . Radio

  . Posters/Billboards

  . Cinema
• What are the advantages of leaflets?

  . Easy to read

  . Gives the customer a physical advert to keep

  . Relatively cheap to produce; images and colour can increase costs

  . Effective for targeting a local area
• What are the disadvantages of leaflets?

  . Many people do not read them, seeing them as 'junk mail'

  . Can be time-consuming to distribute

  . Environmental cost of printing leaflets

  . Only have a short-term impact
• What are the advantages of newspapers?

  . Can target a specific market segment based on readership

  . Readers can keep a physical copy of the advert for future reference

  . Can use colour, headings, photos and graphics to increase the impact

  . The cost of advertising in local and free newspapers may be relatively low
• What are the disadvantages of newspapers?

  . More likely to be read by an elder audience; not effective for targeting a younger audience

  . Can be expensive (e.g. if large, in colour, in popular newspapers)

  . Content is not interactive

  . Adverts may not be seen if there are lots of them on one page, or people may not read them
• What are the advantages of magazines?

  . Can target specific market segments by advertising in certain magazines

  . If magazines are published monthly, advert will have more impact

  . Can use colour, headings, photos to increase impact

  . Are widely shared (e.g. in waiting rooms) which increases the number of people who see the advert
• What are the disadvantages of magazines?

  . Readers may skip adverts and focus on the articles

  . Mostly target a national audience so are not suitable for local products/services

  . Adverts are often expensive

  . May not be seen if there are lots of adverts on one page
• What are the advantages of the radio?

  • Local adverts target customers in a specific geographical area
  • The time and station on which the advert is broadcast can be chosen to target specific listeners
  • Catchy jingles/phrases can grab listeners' attention and become well-known and associated with the brand
• What are the disadvantages of the radio?

  • Listeners may not take in all of the key information
  • The advert may be short, limiting the amount of detailed information that can be included
  • Many listeners are 'passive' listeners and either changed stations during the adverts or have the radio on in the background
  • Production costs may be high
  • Adverts at peak listening times are more expensive
• What are the advantages of posters/billboards?

  • Posters are relatively cheap to produce and can be very eye catching
  • Posters/billboards can be effective is they are placed in a location that is accessed by the target customer
• What are the disadvantages of posters/billboards?

  • Customers may miss key information if they are passing the poster or billboard quickly
  • Prime locations are expensive
  • Billboards often cost more than posters because they have to be professionally designed and put up
• What are the advantages of the cinema?

  • Businesses can target customers by advertising when the target audience for the film matches the target audience for the product
  • Cinema adverts cost less than TV adverts
  • They have moving images and loud audio on a large screen for impact
• What are the disadvantages of the cinema?

  • They are expensive to produce and are likely to be too expensive for smaller businesses
  • Many cinema goers arrive after the adverts or talk during them, so they miss them
• What are the digital advertising mediums?

  • Social media
  • SMS texts
  • Websites
  • Banners and pop-ups
  • Podcasts
  • Vlogs/blogs
• What are the advantages of social media?

  • Customers who follow the business are likely to be interested in the advert/product
  • These adverts are cheaper than more traditional methods of advertising
  • The business can interact with customers around the world through comments and sharing
• What are the disadvantages of social media?

  • Customers can leave negative and inappropriate comments which can damage the business's reputation
  • Customers expect regular posts and prompt responses. This can be time-consuming for a small business
• What are the advantages of SMS texts?

  • Customers have already provided their details and have an interest in the business
  • Low-costs
  • Business can track people who take up the offer, purchase or visit the website by clicking the link in the message
• What are the disadvantages of SMS texts?

  • Messages can only be short and have a limited number of words
  • Some customers get annoyed by the texts and ignore them, and they may opt out of receiving future texts
  • Customer contact details might change without the business knowing
• What are the advantages of websites?

  • Customers can access a website from anywhere in the world at any time of day
  • Websites are relatively economical to build and they are easy to update with new products, price changes etc
  • Businesses can sell their products via their own website or through a third-party website
• What are the disadvantages of websites?

  • Some people do not have access to the internet, or technical issues can prevent access
  • A business may need specialist help to build the website, which may be costly
  • A website needs to be maintained so that it is up to date, which can be time -consuming
• What are the advantages of banners and pop-ups?

  • Can be static or moving images; some also use music to catch users' attention
  • Businesses can target customers effectively by placing banners/pop-ups on websites that are relevant to the target customer
  • Relatively low-cost
• What are the disadvantages of banners and pop-ups?

  • People get irritated by pop-ups and do not read them before closing them
  • They can only contain a small amount of information
• What are the advantages of podcasts?

  • Podcasts can be created easily and cheaply using a smartphone or computer
  • They can link with other forms of advertising, such as promoting the podcast on a website, through social media etc
  • They can be linked to an 'influencer' to increase popularity
• What are the disadvantages of podcasts?

  • Podcasts are more effective when they are in a series, so can be time-consuming
  • Customers may be too busy to listen to podcasts
• What are vlogs/blogs?


  • Blogs: written forms of advertising that discuss a product
  • Vlogs: Video blogs
• What are the advantages of vlogs/blogs?

  • Can be used to discuss products or aspects of a business to help build relationships with customers
  • Provides detailed information about products and gives the customers an opportunity to interact through comments
  • Specific customers can be targeted via an influencer
• What are the disadvantages of vlogs/blogs?

  • Can be time-consuming for a small business
  • Some customers may not have time to engage
  • A professional vlog can be expensive to produce
• Why are sales promotion techniques used?

  Attract and retain customers
• What are the types of sales promotion techniques?

  • Discounts
  • Competitions
  • Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF)
  • Point-of-sale advertising
  • Loyalty schemes
  • Sponsorship
  • Free gifts and product trials
• What are the advantages of discounts?

  • Customers see the product as a bargain and are tempted to try it
  • Sales may increase for the period of the promotion and create brand loyalty
• What are the disadvantages of discounts?

  • No guarantee of brand loyalty
  • Customers may only purchase product while the discount is offered
  • The amount of revenue generated reduces
  • The product might be seen as low quality
• What are the advantages of competitions?

  • This guarantees engagement between the customer and the business
  • High-value customers can tempt customers to purchase
  • Competitions can generate publicity and product awareness
• What are the disadvantages of competitions?

  • Prizes have to be something the customer wants
  • They can be costly to the business
  • The competition must be promoted so that the customers are aware of it
• What are the advantages of BOGOF?

  • Customers see the product as a bargain and will try it
  • Customers have twice as much of the product to try; this can increase brand loyalty