What are the four elements of the marketing mix in what sense are they controllable?

What are the four elements of the marketing mix in what sense are they controllable?
The 4 Ps of marketing classify the controllable elements of your marketing plan. Product, place [distribution] and promotion are all expenses; price brings in revenue.

"It is critcally important for family businesses to pay close attention to controlling each," according to leading family business marketing expert Don Schwerzler. "Many family businesses do a poor job of coordinating their marketing and business development efforts (marketing materials, promotions, web site)- and do an equally poor job of connecting their marketing efforts to the strategic vision of the company."

Schwerzler has been studying and advising family business entrepreneurs for more than 40 years and is the founder of the Family Business Institute.

One of the best books on marketing is Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach written by professors E.Jerome McCarthy and William Perreault.

McCarthy's earlier classification of the 4 Ps of marketing in Basic Marketing remains a great way to help us focus on the elements of a good marketing plan that we can't control but must be aware of and anticipate such as:

New Competitors

New Legislation

Change in Consumer Confidence

Change in Consumer Tastes

The 4 Ps of Marketing are the controllable elements.

  1. Product

    The first element of the 4 Ps of marketing focuses on your individual goods and their product line. Product includes services and electronic or digital products such as e-books that don't have a recognizable physical substance..

    Includes features and benefits, installation, service, warranty, packaging, branding.

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  2. Place [Distribution]
  3. The next of the 4 Ps of marketing focuses on getting product to your customer.

    Includes warehousing, fulfillment, electronic download, shipping, middlemen.

    Packaging Products and Services
    Packaging, as a business term, is a very broad umbrella that describes a multitude of different segments of product and service industries.

    There's A Product in Every One of Us
    not only shows you how you can develop your own product from your own knowledge, but also how this type of product solves major distribution problems, thus taking care of the second of the 4 Ps of marketing.

    An Affiliate Program
    lets you sell other people's products while you build your own product and business and is usually accomplished without carrying inventory or shipping problems.

  4. Promotion
  5. This element of the 4 Ps of marketing focuses on communicating with your customer.

    Includes advertising, copywriting, media selection, sales force, personal and mass selling, sales promotion, positioning.

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    A significant problem for many family businesses - their entire marketing effort is focused on promoting products or services and little or no attention is paid to promoting the company's "brand" in a way to create interest from the M&A experts. When planning for retirement , the exit strategy most favored by family business owners is to pass the business to their kids.

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    Community events are one of the best ways for family businesses to promote and "brand" their business products and services. One of the most popular community events are air shows. If you are an aviation buff and/or enjoy the patriotic theme of most air shows, and your family business supports the local air show but would like to expand the reach of your promotional program - one resource to consider is air show advertising. Another option worth considering is being a "sponsor" for an organization - an organization that aligns with the values of your family business. One such organization that we recommend is the Wounded Warriors Project Advertising and promotion are important components of any marketing strategy – be it print, radio, TV, web site, or social media.

    The major advertising event of the year for larger-sized companies is the Super Bowl. The ads not only get a lot of pre-game hype, they are effective days, weeks and months after the game.

    Our family business marketing expert presents a simple but elegant approach to positioning in The ABC's of Positioning.

    It's Words That Sell - Not Graphics
    will get you primed for the copywriting and advertising that you need to do with this element of the 4 Ps of marketing.

  6. Price
  7. The successful producer of an article sells it for more than it costs him to produce - that's his profit. The customer buys it because it is worth more to him than he pays for it - that's his profit. No one can long make a profit producing anything unless the customer makes a profit using it.

    - Samuel Pettengill, US Congressman, 1930's

    Price is the only element of the 4 Ps of marketing that involves revenue rather than expense, so it's impact can be dramatic.

    Pricing includes discounts, allowances and incentives, and strategies like penetration pricing or skimming.

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    • Access and download a free course and book about Pricing
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    • Access this tool online and in just a couple of minutes see for yourself just how easy it will be for your customers and prospects to provide you with the vital information you need to price correctly.

      No more guesswork, no more over-pricing that kills off sales, no more under-pricing that leaves money on the table...

    Pricing Strategy Applied With Help of Pricing Software
    Read about our own experience using this survey tool with our colleagues on one of their products!

Webmaster's Note

The 4 Ps are a type of "push" marketing. Advertising and promotion play a strong role in pushing sales to customers.

In recent years, customers are starting to get too many messages. So, they listen to each other. Customer relationship marketing [CRM] focuses on how sellers can use in-depth Marketing Intelligence to build trust, loyalty and long-term engagement with customers.

Click here to learn about the 4 Rs of customer relationship management.


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    What are the controllable elements of marketing?

    product, price, promotion and place (distribution) - that the firm blends to produce the desired market response; also called the Four Ps.

    Are the 4 Ps of marketing controllable?

    The “4Ps” are considered controllable marketing mix factors (i.e., they can change or be altered as needed). Habits, lifestyle, and diet are all considered to be controllable risk factors. Product is the first P representing the actual product. Price represents the process of determining the value of a product.

    How is the marketing mix controllable?

    The marketing mix is the combination of the four controllable variables–product, place, promotion, and price (the four Ps)–people are sometimes added (but that's within HR). Chanimals blend these variables to create a mix that satisfies the needs of the target market.

    What are the four elements of the marketing mix explain?

    The marketing mix, also known as the four P's of marketing, refers to the four key elements of a marketing strategy: product, price, place and promotion.