The Marketing Mix (TMM) is a business tool utilised by marketers. TMM is critical to determining a company’s offering and is often associated with the 4P’s; price, product, promotion, and place. TMM is a conglomerate model originally compiled by academics and simplified by Professor E. Jerome McCathy (1960); he described the marketer’s usage of the tools as a “mixer of ingredients, who sometimes follows a recipe prepared by others … sometimes prepares his own… and who sometimes experiments…” (Banting P, Ross R, 1973). McCathy simplified TMM and created the 4P’sto ensure the successful creation and execution of a marketing vision and strategy.
The 4P’s involve identifying a target segment, creating a product to appeal to the targeted segment and providing a suitable price, promotion and placement; an online promotion may be more suitable for 18 – 23yr olds who are more active online. Thus the 4P’s attempt is to satisfy business objectives and meet customer needs.
Waterschoot W. and Bulte C. (1992) criticise the 4P’s “inherent negative definition of sales promotion and its lack of mutual exclusiveness and collective exhaustiveness”. TMM has several restrictions including lack of focus on services (Martin P. 2014). Other limitations include:
• Doesn’t allow for prioritised issues.
• Doesn’t offer answers or suggest alternative decisions.
• Generates too many situations, without guidance.
• Produces masses of information, but not all useful.
Pursuing the 4P’s strategy may not have been successful as TMM lacks focus on supporting services suitable for CESIM.
TMM and the 4P’s may have been useful in identifying our target audience and distribution channels, but would have lacked the ability to prioritise issues. An equal focus on all elements of TMM would have been beneficial; a well-balanced marketing mix is essential. Global Connect created a clear market leader position, addressing the needs of the niche segment, while retaining a high market value. Unfortunately, Whilst structurally sound, TMM isn’t prioritised towards variables such as distribution or promotion, yet “An effective marketing mix can mean the difference between a flash in the pan product or one that is bound to become a well-loved classic” (Martin P. 2014).