Introduction
Over the recent past, marketing has evolved from the traditionally perceived business support function to a significant functional area of an organization. This is a result of several factors such as increased competition, consumer needs volatility, and the ever changing consumer environment. This has in effect compelled companies to adopt product mix and other marketing tools that promote products among the consumers. This paper discusses marketing mix and price as tools for enhancing product adoption among the consumers.
Marketing mix
Marketing mix is a marketing tool that is used to determine the brand offering. There are four main components of marketing mix. These are Product, Place, Price, and Place (Cant 69). One important component of the marketing mix is product. It is the main item that defines the relationship between the customer and the producer. There are two common attributes that define a product.
These are product mix and product line. The producer must always be aware of these attributes in order to ensure that the product enjoys consumption of the users and also promotes the brand presence in the market.
Product mix
Product mix is the aspect of offering more than one product. It is also referred to as product portfolio. Several companies have embraced product mix and this has helped them increase sales while gaining on economies of scale.
A company is able to have several products and with the aid of its flagship product, the other products generate consumption from the consumers of the other products from the same company. An example of a company that has product mix is Procter & Gamble (P&G). It produces Duracell batteries, Baby diapers, Bathing soaps, and Washing detergent.
Product line
This refers to a group of related products which are manufactured by one company. A company that has a product line usually manufactures different related products so as to promote its sales. Consumers are more likely to consume related products from a company that produces brands which are more familiar to them (Lamb, Joseph and Carl 109). This therefore, can be used to increase the sales for a company since people will tend to consume products from one company.
An example of product line is the production of Ariel, a powder soap from Procter & Gamble, and Safeguard, a bathing soap from the same company. This is used to market the other product that the company produces since the loyal buyers of Ariel will also buy safeguard. This is a good example of a company taking advantage of its brand name to increase its sales in the market through adding a product in its product line.
Price
Price is referred as the consideration that the customers pay in order to acquire and use goods or services of a company. Price is usually a determinant of the product affordability. This is because demand is defined as the willingness and ability to buy a product (Cant 112).
A consumer may be willing to buy a certain product but he/she may not be able to buy that particular product. Therefore, price plays an important role in determining product adoptability among the consumers. In effect, manufacturers need practice pricing policies which are non-exploitative on the consumers without which the demand will go down.
Conclusion
The concept of product and price as components of marketing mix need to be given a serious consideration by organizations. This will go a long way in ensuring that the company’s product enjoys consumption by the target consumers and continue to boost the sales of the company.
Works Cited
Cant, M C. Marketing Management. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta, 2006. Print.
Lamb, Charles W, Joseph F. Hair, and Carl D. McDaniel. Essentials of Marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.