Marketing managers around the world have been using the “marketing mix” for years. The term was coined in 1949 by Neil Borden, professor of advertising. Simply put, the marketing mix is a tool used by companies and sellers to help determine the offering of a product or brand. The 4 Ps have been associated with the marketing mix since their creation by E.
Jerome McCarthy in 1960 (you can already see why it may have been necessary to update the theory). In the long term, all four variables of the mix can be changed, but in the short term it is difficult to modify the product or the distribution channel. Professional Academy's Marketing Theories Explained is a series of videos that explain marketing models in more detail. A good salesman will learn to adapt theory to adapt it not only to modern times, but also to his individual business model.
This led Booms & Bitner to create the Extended Marketing Mix in 1981, which added three new elements at the beginning of the 4 P. While before there were 4 Ps to explain the mix, today it is more commonly accepted that a more developed 7 P's add an additional layer of much needed depth to the marketing mix, and some theorists go even further. The variables of the process or method included advertising, promotion, sales promotion, personal selling, advertising, distribution channels, market research, strategy formation, and the development of new products. According to Borden, when creating a marketing program that fits the needs of his company, the chief marketing officer must weigh behavioral forces and then juggle the marketing elements in his mix, without losing sight of the resources he has to work with.
This now allowed the expanded marketing mix to include products that are services and not just physical products. Even after 31 years (or 54 in the case of the original Ps), the marketing mix is still very applicable to a salesperson's daily work. For more detailed information on the marketing mix, you can download this free CIM guide to marketing and the 7 P. Marketing is an ever-evolving discipline, and as such, it can cause companies to lag far behind the competition if they remain immobile for too long.
Watch the Marketing Mix recording to see CIM professor, professional academic trainer and marketing expert Peter Sumpton talk about the model and how it can be used in practice. This makes them key knowledge for any marketer, which can be used in conjunction with other marketing theories, such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL theory, the Boston Consulting Group matrix and stakeholder mapping. They added people to the list of existing variables to recognize the importance of the human element in all aspects of marketing.
