Marketing mix

A planned mix of the controllable elements of a product's marketing plan the 4Ps are product, price, place, and promotion.These four elements are adjusted until the right combination is found that serves the needs of the product's customers, while generating optimum income.

PRODUCT
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

• What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy?
• What features does it have to meet these needs?
• Are there any features you've missed out?
• Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?
• How and where will the customer use it?
• What does it look like? How will customers experience it?
• What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be?
• What is it to be called?
• How is it branded? How is it differentiated versus your competitors?
• What is the most it can cost to provide, and still be sold sufficiently profitably?

Product can be split into 2 different categories, consumer and producer products.

• Consumer products- Purchased and used by individuals / citizens for use within their homes and these products fall into 3 categories:
• Convenience products. Fast-moving consumer goods (f.m.c.gs) sold in supermarkets, such as soap, chocolate, bread, toilet paper, etc. These often carry a low profit-margin. 
• Shopping products. These are durable products which are only purchased occasionally, such as dishwashers, televisions and furniture. They often carry a very high profit-margin.
•  Speciality products. These are very expensive items that consumers often spend a large amount of time deliberating over, due to the large investment requires to purchase the product. Examples include cars and houses. The profit-margins are, again, very high.

Purchased by businesses and are either used in the production of other products, or in the running of the business. For example, raw materials (timber, steel), machinery, delivery vehicles, and components used to make larger products (e.g. tyres and headlights for vehicles).

PRICE
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

What is the value of the product/ service to the buyer?
Are there established price points for products/ services in this area?
Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share?
What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market?
How will your price compare with your competitors?

PLACE
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

Where do buyers look for your product or service?
If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue?
How can you access the right distribution channels?
What do you competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate?

PROMOTION
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market?
Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards?  Through PR? On the Internet?
When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions?
How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity?