THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING IN THE BUSINESS WORLD

AND THE ROLE OF 4PS IN MARKETING

The impact on the use of the 4 P's in Marketing in any business

A Review of the Literature

Nikkirey Arandia
Patricia Wijanco
De La Salle University

1.1 overview of the topic

There are many definitions of marketing. Some people say that marketing is how
you advertise a new product in a more personal manner. Marketing involves
those products available in stores and how these are displayed so that they can
attract consumers to buy their products. The definitions given are some ways to
describe marketing. According to Burrow and Busiljevac(2009), Marketing has
two facets; it is a philosophy, an attitude, a perspective or a management
orientation that stresses customer satisfaction, and a process and activity used to
implement the said philosophy. According to the American Marketing Association,
marketing in connection to the second facet is the activity, the set of institutions,
and the process for creating communicating and delivering. It is also an
exchange of offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society
in large (Burrow & Bosiljevac, 2009).

Marketing has 4 Ps namely Price, Product (Services), Promotion and place

(Distribution) (Anselmo, 2010). In the world of Marketing they always focuses in
the 4 Ps. Why? Because it will help them to be more successful in your own
business, company and making a new product well-known. So, people are not
just focusing in the 4 Ps but they take or treat the 4 Ps a very important factor
The 4Ps (Price, Promotion, Product and Place) is not easy if they do not
understand well and know how to use the things in the proper way. Learning

4Ps in marketing is one of the best key how to reach your dreams especially
when you dream about in business. Entering into a business world will lead
you to success in life. Earning money is very easy when you have business
especially when you rally know how to play in business world.

Marketing really focuses on their consumers. According to American Marketing

association they define Marketing as Marketing is an organizational function a
set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to consumers
and for managing customers relationships in in ways that benefit the organization
and stakeholders. For them marketing is all about the consumers, they are
evolving around the consumers in the market. They depend it to the consumers.
(Pride & Ferrell, 2008)

1.2 Purpose of the paper

The purpose if this paper is to discuss how important the 4 Ps of marketing
for their new business product or service and to widen their knowledge in
every definition of marketing and to understand well the world of marketing.
1.3 Organization
Our paper will discuss the importance of marketing in the business world, the
different definition of marketing and how marketing can help people in
making and doing their business then the researchers will discuss the role of
the 4ps in marketing. The Product, Price, Place and Promotion will be

enumerated, defined and explained well as the paper goes deep after
explaining and discussing the 4Ps of marketing the researchers will make a
conclusion about the paper.

2. Body

2.1 Product: The Right Product

2.1.1 Definition of a product
According to Handley,Product is actually a complex, multidimensional concept.

It is defined as the services, programs, and attitudes and he also included that
whatever the producer are offering in the target market they will give an effort to
meet the consumers need. (Handley, 2013).
Launching a new product is very difficult because the successful rate is very low.
The producer do not know if they can attract lots of consumer to their new
product or service. For Balachandra and Friar they noted that bringing new
products successfully to market is the lifeblood for most organizations, but it is
also a complex and difficult task.. If the producer really want that their product
will become successful they really need a good marketing strategy about their
product. (Hamburg & Bornemann & Totzek, 2009).
Preaannouncement intensity is different from a new product success.
Preaanoucement aim to reduce the time that the marketer will be able to accept
and they are focusing in the products innovation. (Hamburg & Bornemann &
Totzek, 2009).

2.1.2 Decision made in Product

2.1.2.1

Functionality, Appearance and Quality

A product must have an appearance that can attract the consumers. An

appearance that it looks like when they see in the market they are already
attracted not just a colorful or a cute appearance but it should be more like a
need for them and it must be unisex.
The functions of the product or service must be usable for all. It should be
usable so that the consumers will not regret buying or use the product or
service and so that the consumers will buy again the product if they needed
it.
The quality of the product must be highly. Having a high-quality product
or service will or can attract the consumers. The consumers who tried the
product will endorse it to their other friends because if having the highquality. A high-quality product can also gain a loyal buyers because they are
satisfied using the product.

2.1.2.2

Packaging

Packaging is very important in every product because it helps a company

to protect and and identify their own product. It also attracts consumers if the
packaging of the product is very attracting. Packaging also has a vital role in
marketing because it develops the companys image and the product. If they
fail to have a good packaging and wrong labeling this will cause a big
problem and it will lead you to closing and stop producing your product.
(Handley, 2013)

2.1.2.3 Branding

According to American Marketing Association (AMA), they difined branding as a

"name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to
identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of other sellers. (Merz & He & Vargo, 2009)

Branding is not about getting the target market and compete with other
competitor in the market but branding is the one that the company use to let the
people remember it. (Merz &He & Vargo, 2009). Brand logic also brings a new
understanding that brand value is very important. (Anselmo, 2010)

The meanings of brand and branding is evolving already in the past several
decades in the business world. The evolution of brand and branding is
converging on a new conceptual logic, which views in brand collaborative, value
co-creation of the firm and in the stakeholders. ( Anselmo, 2010)

2.2.1 Pricing strategies

There are several pricing strategies when it comes to the marketing mix. First of
which is the Market Introductory Pricing which is a type of introductory pricing;
products of this type of pricing have low starting prices in order to capture the
market. Second strategy is Market Skimming Pricing, another introductory pricing
but this time, products come with a higher price. Pricing strategies also include

Cost-Based Pricing that involves the mark-up to make up the suggested retail
price, Market-Based Pricing which involves the market forces: supply and
demand, and Competitive Pricing with the benchmark competitive as its basis for
pricing. Another pricing strategy is Value-Based pricing which emphasizes on the
perceived quality of the brand and oftentimes the products highlight its value for
money. (Liongson, 2013)
Another set of pricing strategies includes seasonal pricing. Seasonal pricing is
the type of strategy is based on peak and off seasons. Sales and discounts are
mostly applied in this strategy. Products often are air travel tickets, seasonal
clothing, fruits, and vegetables. Another kind of pricing is Promotional pricing
which makes the buyer make immediate purchasesfor example, Buy 1 Take 1
items. The last pricing strategy is called Psychological Pricing which makes use
of odd or round number to make consumers think that they are paying for a lot
less, when in reality, theyre just paying 25 to 50 centavos off the price. Examples
of this strategy would include the items with the decimals in their prices and red
tag promotions. (Liongson, 2013)
2.3 Place: Product sold in the right place
The place or the distribution is a vital element of marketing because this is where
you decide where to distribute your product or service -- since marketing is about
having the right product, in the right amount, being brought to the right place and
at the right time (Anselmo, 2010). This is when you get to you use your product
or service by means of many distribution channels to the ultimate purchaser or to

the end-user of your product or service. This means this is where and how the
consumer buys your product or service. In addition, the place is important
because it is how you can reach your target market. This concerns with the
location of your business, location of your target market, how to reach your target
market, warehousing of your stock, and transportation of your stock. In planning
a product placement, one must think of the multiple possible ways and places
through which the product or service can be sold. At the same time, it should be
noted how these certain placements can match the marketing promotion
(Grnroos, 2013).
There are many choices in distributing one's product or service. One can choose
a convenient retail location to distribute and sell products, negotiate with sales
representatives, use online sales shopping, personal selling through mail order
strategy, or choose a wholesale channel. The sales and overall company
performance is directly affected by the convenience of the chosen distribution
channel to the target market (Levy, 2012)

To explain further, one type of a place channel is an indirect distribution. This

involves distributing your product by the use of an intermediary like a
manufacturer selling to a wholesaler and then on to the retailer. This is also chain
of intermediaries by means of moving a product in order to be made available for
purchase by a consumer. An indirect channel of distribution usually requires a
product passing through additional steps as it moves from the manufacturing

business distributors to wholesalers and then retail stores. Indirect distribution

has many advantages, which is why a large part in the business world
chooses this type of distribution channel. Different firms specialize in different
categories, which is why it's hard to specialize in all the aspects of the
product lifecycle. This leads firms to decide to focus on what they specialize
in, and use outside companies for the other tasks (Anselmo 2010). Another

type is direct distribution, which concerns distributing direct from a manufacturer

to the consumer. One example would example Dell Computers providing directly
to its target customers. This is an advantage of direct distribution because it gives
a manufacturer complete control over the product or service. Direct distribution
leads to lower prices for the consumer. Since the product is only marked up
once, the selling price is much cheaper. As a result, consumers that purchase
a product directly from the wholesaler or manufacturer will pay much less for
a product. While direct distribution is very appealing due to low prices, it can
be far from efficient. There is a legitimate reason why many manufacturers
and wholesalers do not distribute directly in order to gain competitive
advantage. They are not adept in business to consumer type selling. Instead,
they rather sell in bulk to another business. It will be that business who will
have expertise in selling to consumers. These businesses will have proper
logistics and consumer relations in order to support high individual demand
whereas manufactures and wholesales do not have similar capacities. (Levy,

2012).

2.4 Promotion: Product using the most suitable promotion

The main aim of promotion is to ensure that customers are aware of the
existence and positioning of products. Promotion is also used to persuade
customers that the product is better than competing products and to remind
customers about why they may want to buy. It is the process of reaching,
communicating and influencing the firm's target market. This is what lures the
consumers to the company's marketing table. Consequently, it is the method
used to spread the word about the firm's product or service to customers,
stakeholders and the target market. It is all about communicating to your
target market because it is the way the firm or the business can make its
products or services known to its potential or current customers. Once the
target market is identified, it well help give a good idea of the best way to
reach them, but most businesses use a mix of advertising, personal selling,
referrals, sales promotion and public relations to promote their products or
services.

One element of the promotions strategy is advertising. Many people think

that advertising and marketing are almost the same but in truth, advertising
is just one of the many elements of marketing. This is a form of nonpersonal
promotion. It is when companies pay to promote ideas, goods, or services in a

variety of media outlets. It can be found everywhere. With advertising, a company

engages in a one-way communication to the prospect or customer. Similar to the
definition of promotions itself, it is a form of communication designed to persuade

the target market. The goal of advertising is to increase profit by increasing the
sales of the company. It serves to make the business, product or service name
known to the public. This helps educate and inform consumers more about the
product. And of course, it aims to attract consumers to buy the product. There are
many ways of advertising a product. It can be through print or non-print media.
This can include brochures, bookmarks, pencils, pens, banner ads on websites,
television commercials, radio advertisements, public service announcements,
and any public relations method possible (Bjerrisgaard and Kjelgaad, 2013).
Another element is public relations activities, which enable an organization to
influence a target audience. Most of the time, public relation campaigns try to
create a favorable image for a company, its products, or its policies. Companies
give news releases to announce newsworthy developments about a company's
products or services, distribution channels, facilities, operations, partners,
revenues and earnings, employees, and events. Publicity is one tactic that public
relations professionals use. This means bringing newsworthy information to the
public. Public relations is another important element of the promotion mix and,
frequently, it is the least obvious but most effective method. This is because
information usually is spread to the media in hopes that it will generate news
coverage and therefore results in a form of free advertisements. Press releases
often are sent to editors, newsworthy promotional events are held, and charitable
contributions are given as methods to get this attention (Ali, 1998). Another
element is personal selling. This is when there is one on one communication
between seller and the customer. It generates direct contact the customer and

seller. It is one of the most expensive forms of promotion because itrequires a lot
of time, effort, etc. Examples of these are personal meetings, telemarketing, and
correspondence. The sellers promote the product through their attitude,
appearance and specialist product knowledge. They aim to inform and
encourage the customer to buy, or at least trial the product (Anselmo, 2010). An
additional element is direct marketing. It is a type of advertising directed to a
targeted group of prospects and customers rather than to a mass audience. Two
forms of direct marketing are printed by mail, or direct by e-mail. The goals of
direct marketing are to generate sales or leads for sales representatives to
pursue. Direct marketing allows a business to engage in one-way communication
with is customers about product announcements, special promotions, bulletins,
customer inquiries, and order confirmations (Geoffrey 2013).

Conclusion
Marketing is essential in every aspect of any business because it brings about
success. Marketing has many components as mentioned above, like advertising,
public relations, sales, and promotions which is the method companies use to
introduce their products, offers and services to potential customers. Good
marketing is what gets you customers, which is what you need in a business.
Without your consumers, your business will not have sales. Marketing involves all
of the ways in which you communicate with the consumers. Essentially,
marketing is presenting a message to customers and influencing customer
perceptions. According to Riviere, marketing is an investment in future sales. It is
what you need as a businessman, because as an entrepreneur, the goal must
always be to look forward to the next sale, (Rivire, 2013). In order to make your
to gain one's potential customer, they need to be aware of the existence of the
company. The customers need to know what the company is all about and what it
offers. Marketing is the solution in gaining those potential customers. Using the 4
elements stated above: Price, Place, Promotions and Product, these elements
will help generate consumer interest and prompt the buying response of the
consumers. These factors also help one's business sustain and grow because
this builds product or service demand from the consumers. These will help
promote the flow of goods and services from the company to the potential
customer. Once you have the right product or service, the right location or
distribution method, an effective promotion and sales programs then these will
yield to the success of the company's business. Small businesses may think that

marketing is a cost that can be cut but it is actually what will produce sales. For
the company to be able to make money, one must spend money. If the
company's brand, image, products or services are not marketed to the company's
potential consumers then the business will not be generating sales and
sustaining the company for a long time, (Levy, 2012).
Marketing is all about the consumer. If the consumer doesn't know anything
about the product or service then there is no point of the business. No customer
will go up to a company and just ask about the product or service, it is
marketing's task to communicate with the consumer and influence their decisions
when it comes to buying the company's product or service, (Burrow, 2009).
In addition, marketing helps build the company's brand. Marketing strategies and
decisions help in giving the company an edge compared to competitors. It helps
the company know what the company can do better than other companies and
what the company can offer from what others cannot. Once a company figures
out the 4 elements of Marketing, this will help as a core to determine how the
company can build a brand. It will create the company's corporate identity, which
is how potential customers will recognize the company, (Handley, 2013.)

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