Marketing mix: definitions, examples, step-by-step guide

Published on 23 October 2021'Marketing mix terminology',

The marketing mix is the operational extension of your marketing positioning. How do you create a marketing mix according to the 4Ps or 7Ps model? This guide is full of specific examples and even complete case studies. We designed it to be infinitely richer and more precise than other guides on the internet. It’s an efficient guide that aims to help you understand and apply the marketing mix easily.

Marketing mix : definition

Once you have decided on your marketing positioning, you have to make it concrete. In other words, you have to make your offer tangible in the market and go to the customers.

This concretization takes many forms that are summarized in the acronym 4P or the more recent 7P.

The 4P’s or 7P’s are just a mnemonic to remember all the facets of the marketing mix.

Marketing mix : the 4P and the 7P

The marketing mix is often associated with the terms “4P” and “7P”. The first acronym was coined in 1961 by Eric McCarthy. It covers 4 essential aspects of the marketing mix:

The Product: all aspects related to the product you are selling
The Price: all aspects related to pricing policy, discounts, and how to determine prices
Communication (“Promotion” in English): aspects related to promoting your product or company such as advertising in all its forms, sponsorship, partnerships. In the broadest sense of the term, this is the communication strategy.
Distribution (“Placement”): aspects related to the distribution of your product (the Distribution Policy)

To reach the 7Ps, we need three more “P’s.” They were added in the 1980s when relationship marketing was born. These three “Ps” are:

The People: the aspects related to interactions with people through the multiple channels available today (primarily digital)
The Processes: the customer’s “journey,” i.e., the steps that lead the customer to purchase a product or service
The Physical environment: the arguments (customer reviews, etc.) and tangible elements (sales outlet design, etc.) used to convince the customer

Complete case studies

We have prepared several comprehensive case studies that analyze in-depth the different facets of a company’s marketing mix.