1. LEARNING GOALS
 Key learning goals:
This topic will continue the discussion of marketing
management issues, especially marketing mix and
product life cycle.
1. Explain the four elements of marketing mix.
2. State the difference between place and promotion.
3. Explain the stages of product life cycle.
4. Explain how a business can extend its product life.
5. State the reasons why a business may analyze its
product life cycle.

2. Marketing Mix
 What is marketing mix?
• Marketing mix refers to those four elements
(product, price, promotion, and place) of a
firm’s marketing strategy which are designed to
meet the needs of customers. These are often
known as the four “Ps”.
• Simply, to meet consumers’ needs, businesses
must produce the right product, at the right
price, make it available at the right place, and let
consumers know about it through right
promotion.

3. Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix
Product
-Appearance
-Function
-production costs
Capable or solution
Price
-Cost based
-Competition based
-Consumer based
Cost
Place
-Retailers
-Wholesalers
-Distribution
-Transportation
Convenience
Promotion
-Advertising
-Sales promotion
-Personal selling
Communication
Figure 1 Elements of marketing mix:

4. Marketing Mix: Product
 Product:
Products must be ensured to meet the needs
of customers in terms of the following
aspects:
1. Appearance
2. Function
3. Cost

5. Table 10-1 Features of a product to meet the needs of customers
Aspects Brief explanations or examples
The appearance Color, size, shape, etc. must meet the
consumer needs.
The function Able to be used
Convenient for use
Meeting special needs of customers
The cost Production costs must be low enough to earn
some profit.
High cost, higher price.
Too high price, customers unlikely to buy.
Marketing Mix: Product

6. Marketing Mix: Price
Price:
The pricing policy that a business chooses is
often a reflection of the market at which it is
aiming.
The right price set must take into account of
production costs, competitors’ prices and
consumers’ purchase ability and demand level.

7. Table 2 Influences from the pricing factors
Factors Influences on the price of a product
High production costs High production costs would mean the high sale price
for the goods supplied by sellers.
High customer
demand
High customer demand will lead to the increased price
of the goods or services. Suppliers are more wiling
to provide the goods or services as it is more
profitable for them to supply.
Low prices charged by
competitors
If the price of the substitute product offered by
competitors decreases, the demand for a product
will be decreased as well.
Marketing Mix: Price

8. Marketing Mix: Price
 Attention: High-price strategy
• In general, from the economic point of view, the higher the
price of a product is, the less quantity demanded by
consumers. Or there are few buyers who would like to high-
price products.
• However, in practice, a business may charge a high price
because it is aiming to sell to those customers who regard its
products as unique and high quality although the production
costs are not high. For example, high pricing strategy is one
of the marketing strategies for China Haier.

9. Marketing Mix: Place
 Definition:
Place refers to the means by which products can
be distributed to the consumers. The product
must get to the right place at the right time.
Decision making may be based on the following:
1. How the product is distributed physically, such
as air, sea, rail, or road.
2. How the product is sold, such as through
retailers, wholesalers, or direct mailing, etc.

10. Marketing Mix: Promotion
 Definition:
• Promotion refers to a number of promotional
methods, such as advertising, sales promotion,
competitions, and personal selling, etc.
• A business must choose a method of promotion
which is the most effective in its particular market
and for its own product. For example, TV
advertising may be better for the product with a
high sales turnover or a wide appeal. But for high-
technology machines or equipment, it is better to
choose personal selling methods.

11. Marketing Mix
 Question for your critical thinking:
Please guess what each of the four “Ps” on
the side of business represents on the side of
customers (four “four Cs”) in the marketing
mix?

12. Marketing Mix
 Factors for making choices of marketing mix:
1. The type of product sold, e.g. for high tech.-equipment, the business needs to
emphasize the product and its quality rather than promotion.
2. The market sold to, e.g. for consumer markets, promotion may be
emphasized.
3. The degree of competition, e.g. if the competition is high, price is needed to
be emphasized in order to gain some advantages in the market.
4. The position of the business in the industry, e.g. if the business is large or the
market leader, it has more freedom to choose the market mix.
5. The stage of product life cycle in which a product is, e.g. if the product is in
the stage of introduction, of course, promotion must be emphasized...

13. Product Life Cycle
 Definition:
Products pass through several stages of development in its life
from introduction to decline:
Stages of product life cycle usually include:
1. Development
2. Introduction
3. growth
4. Maturity
5. Saturation
6. Decline
 Explanations:
See the following tables and figures.

14. Product Life Cycle
 The stages of the product life cycle:
Development Introduction Growth Maturity Saturation Decline

15. Table 4 Explanations of the stages of Product life cycle
Stages Brief explanations
Development
The product is being designed.
Suitable ideas are tested.
Decision is to be made whether or not to produce the product.
If OK, the business begins to produce.
Introduction
The product is new in the market.
Sales are still low and increasing.
Promotion is needed to increase the sales and make it aware widely.
Product is still not profitable.
Growth
The product is established in the market.
Sales begin to grow rapidly.
The product becomes very profitable.
The business needs to seek new opportunities and enlarge the market.
Maturity
The product has a stable market share.
The growth levels off in the sales.
Sales have reached the top.
Competitors have entered the market.
The business needs to consider new product development or innovate the product.
Saturation
 Too many competitors have entered the market.
Some businesses are forced out of their business.
Businesses have to develop some extension strategies to extend their product life cycle. For example,
find new uses of the product; finding new markets for the product; changing components of the
products, etc.
Decline
Sales decline.
Consumers have changed their taste or styles.
New products have to be produced by competitors
Businesses have to develop new products or improve the old product with new technology or simply
give up the product.

16. Product Life Cycle
 Uses of product life cycle:
The reasons why the business needs to analyze the product
life cycle are as follows:
1. It can help a business find out which stage its product is in;
2. It can help to find out when to launch a new product or stop the
production of a product;
3. It can help to identify when to introduce an extension strategy;
4. It can help to identify the revenue trends or profitability of a product at
each stage;
5. It can help to plan different marketing strategies for a product in
different life cycles…

17. • Marketing Strategy Implications of the
Product Life Cycle

18. • Categories of Nontraditional Marketing

19. Expanding Marketing’s Traditional
Boundaries
• Nontraditional Marketing
– Person Marketing—efforts designed to attract
attention, interest, and preference of a target
market toward a person
– Place Marketing—attempts to attract people
to a particular area, such as a city, state, or
nation

20. Expanding Marketing’s Traditional
Boundaries
• Nontraditional Marketing
– Cause Marketing—efforts to promote a cause
or social issue, such as the prevention of child
abuse, antilittering efforts, and anti-smoking
campaigns

21. Expanding Marketing’s Traditional
Boundaries
• Nontraditional Marketing
– Event Marketing—marketing or sponsoring
short-term events such as athletic
competitions and cultural and charitable
performances
– Organization Marketing—attempting to
influence consumers to accept the goals of,
receive the services of, or contribute in some
way to an organization

22. Developing a Marketing Strategy
• Target Market and Marketing Mix within
the Marketing Environment