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Theoretical Inspection And Rethink of Marketing Mix

Ismat Ara Eti

Independent Researcher
Email: ismataraeti1200@gmail.com
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2357-4352

Md. Murshedul Bari

Independent Researcher
Email: murshedulbari@yahoo.com
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2739-309X

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3685642

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Abstract

The world is relentlessly changing which creating new trades. A few ages past,

speediness of these revolutions, maybe it was every fasten of years or every decade, but

straightaway, every year or every month we are nearsighted new goods and products that in the

history there was not any kind of them. Every company should not neglect to take virtuous

maintenance of customers that helps to partake the right planning and aiming people, the right

product or service, right place or distribution, right price, right promotion, right physical and

psychological evidence, with the right amount of productivity & quality performance in carrying

the Ps of Marketing. This paper aims to undertake an extensive literature review from the past

studies related to the concept of the marketing mix and descriptive analysis is used to analyze the

best practice among the 8Ps or more Ps of marketing mix towards business performance.

Equally, a tool of marketing strategy and theoretical framework grants a view of different

theories of marketing mix where marketers should be considered before launching a product.

Firms should plan a targeted approach on these different components which help the firm in

formulating strategic decisions. The study provides managers with theoretical guidance and

concept on how the marketing mix will improve the organization's performance.

Keywords: Marketing Mix, Pros and Cons, Five product level, Product Life cycle.

1. Introduction

Every target market entails a distinctive marketing mix to placate the needs of the target

customers and meet the firm’s goals. All strategies must be blended with the strategies of the

other elements. Hence, the marketing mix is only as good as its floppiest part. For example, an

outstanding product with a pitiable distribution system could be destined for failure. An

outstanding product with an excellent distribution system but an incongruous price is also

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destined to fail. A successful marketing mix requires careful styling. Finding the difference

between product and services among competitors, every organization should hold and deeply

understand the marketing mix strategic and significant difference for survival. The Marketing

mix is among those marketing concepts whose foundation and development are faintly

mysterious for the most marketing knowledge seekers which concept is a structural and

pedagogical axiom in the field. Still, unlike many ideas in marketing, the concept has reminded

an unquestioned pillar of marketing theory and practice (Silverman, 1995). The primary factors

that make the marketing mix a powerful approach are: marketing appears easy to handle with the

availability of this framework. It also delegates marketing tasks to experts and separates the

marketing domain from other organizational activities. And the elements of the marketing mix

can be instrumental in altering a firm’s competitive standing (Gummesson, 1994). Companies

can reward a profound thoughtful around the target market and target audiences and motivated

how to approach the target area. The various P’s can be recycled lucratively by businesses,

service firms, for-profits or nonprofits selling directly or indirectly to consumers (B2C), and

other businesses (B2B). Firms create a marketing mix where marketing managers use this mix to

satisfy target consumers. The mix can be applied to nonbusiness as well as business situations.

So in the globalization era, we need to consider the concept of modern marketing and its role and

place at the companies and organizations. As marketers know that in a given market, they can’t

function lucratively all customers with dissimilar needs and satisfy all of them in a matching

way, they allocate into the total market, pick the best segment and plotting strategies to

accomplish the twofold goal of marketing to attract potential customers through promising

superior value and to keep & grow prevailing customers through delivering satisfaction (Kotler

& Armstrong, 2004). Progress and transformed the industry with institutions and companies to

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deal with problems and activities, alongside with competitors, and each institution should adopt

policies concerning long-term vision, mission, goals and opportunities and arrangements and the

internal facilities of an external to develop ample marketing because today's global business

environment with increasing complexity, hasty change and astonishing enlargements in the

markets is (Borden,1964). The marketing mix is originating from the single P (price) of

microeconomic theory (Chong, 2003). McCarthy (1964) offered the “marketing mix”, often

referred to as the “4Ps”, as a means of translating marketing planning into practice (Bennett,

1997). The marketing mix is not a scientific theory, but merely a conceptual framework that

identifies the principal decision-making managers make in configuring their offerings to suit

consumers’ needs.

2. History of Marketing Mix

Many researchers have attempted to distinguish and introduce new and more relevant Ps

to the existing framework. This process has continued over a long time now since new Ps keep

coming up in light of the evolving commercial environment. This paper seeks to review the

present frameworks available for the marketing mix. The beginnings of the 4 Ps which all can be

sketched to the former 1940s (Groucutt, J., Leadley, P., & Forsyth, P. 2004b). The initial

acknowledged remark of a mix that has remained credited to a Professor of Marketing at Harvard

University, Prof. James Culliton (Banting, P. M., & Ross, R. E. 1973). In 1948, ‘The

Management of Marketing Cost’ was an article that had a tremendous invention where the author

Culliton describes marketers as 'mixers of ingredients' (Culliton, J. W.,1948). By inspiring of

Culliton's announced article, his colleague Professor Neil Borden published a reflective article

describing the early record of the marketing mix. After as a consequence, he credits himself with

propagating the concept of the 'marketing mix (Borden, B. & N. H. 1964). Bestowing to

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Borden's account, he used the term, 'marketing mix' steadily from the late 1940s. For that, he is

notorious to have utilized the term 'marketing mix' in his presidential address given to

the American Marketing Association in 1953 (Dominici, G.,2009).

As late as the 1960s marketers could not reach any real consent about what elements

should be included in the mix the idea of marketers as 'mixers of ingredients' caught (Van

Waterschoot & Van Den Bulte, 1992). The modern structure of 4 Ps which was first proposed in

1960 by E. Jerome McCarthy gave them inside a managerial approach that

shielded analysis, consumer behavior, market research, market segmentation, and planning

(McCarthy, 1960). By propagating this approach, Phillip Kotler helped to increase the 4 Ps

model. McCarthy's 4 Ps have been extensively adopted for extra research not only in academics

but also in open research. (Constantinides, E.,2006).

At the time of foundational AMA Conference dedicated to Services Marketing in the

early 1980s, the vision of extending the marketing mix foremost took embrace and developed on

theoretical works and also pointing to numerous essential limitations of the 4 Ps model ( Fisk,

Brown, & Bitner, 1993). During that conference, the papers presented service marketers were

thinking about a revision to the general marketing mix constructed on a considerate that services

were profoundly different from products what is more consequently required different tackles

and strategies. In 1981, Booms and Bitner recommended a model of 7 Ps that containing the

original 4 Ps prolonged by the process, people and physical evidence, as presence more pertinent

for services marketing (Booms & Bitner, 1981). Particularly since the 1980s, some new

introductions were made the marketing mix. A fifth P-People was suggested by Judd (1987).

Booms and Bitner (1980) introduced 3 new Ps (process, participants, and physical evidence) to

the existing 4 Ps to make the marketing mix framework applicable to services. Kotler (1986)

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recommended the addition of public opinion formation and political power to the existing 4Ps.

Goldsmith (1999) recommends 8Ps (product, price, place, promotion, personalization,

participants, process, and physical evidence).

3. Theoretical Inspection of Marketing Mix

The marketing mix contains four elements that are product, price, promotion. By routing

organizational resources that will the endowment of products and services on behalf of the

organization touchy will eventually attain the objectives. (Bennett, 1997).

In prospering for improvement is a compulsory tool for the marketing mix that is

arranged of marketing tools for companies that are used for achieving marketing goals. The

marketing mix is controlled variables which can shake consumers from unambiguous market

segments that the company is aiming for. In booming out marketing activities where the

company syndicates four variables that are very supportive in determining marketing strategies,

the combination of the four variables is known as marketing mix which consists of product,

price, place, and promotion. In line with Authors, the marketing mix is a tool of strategic

marketing tools that can be coordinated, product, price, distribution, and promotion combined by

the company to produce the desired response in the target market (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004)

The phrase "marketing mix" which is referred to as the hotchpotch of elements are useful

in pursuing a certain market rejoinder. To accelerate the practical application of the concept is to

be solid for operating complications (Van Waterschoot & Van Den Bulte, 1992). Services need

another type of marketing and also an altered type of marketing mix. For that, they distinguished

service marketing from product marketing. In their marketing mix, three Ps namely personnel,

physical assets, and procedures were added, and finally, 7Ps were shaped. (Culliton, 1948).

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4. Importance of Marketing Mix

According to the research of Ahuja (2016) and Bhasin (2018), there are some key

features and importance of marketing mix which have a great impact on business.

I. Helping to reach marketing aims: From side to side using this set of the mix, the

business be able to accomplish marketing targets.

II. Continuous supervising: The company which is together with in the market must be

safeguarded that the elements in marketing mix stopovers pertinent and efficient because it plays

a vital role in changing trends.

III. Customer as a principal fact: In the marketing mix, a vigorous item is that the customer

which is the principal fact of the activity. To accomplish a fulfilled goal and loyal customer, the

value of the product is strongminded by customer perceptions in this situation.

IV. Helping to create a clean mix: Marketing mix that has all the P’s well-matched with

each other where the price should be well-matched with the placement of the product or the

product should be well-matched with the promotions. All the P’s are fundamentally

interconnected to each other that converts a chain of the robust bond. By these bonds, creating a

spotless marketing mix for the product.

V. Helping in new product upgrading & product portfolio: Here is numerous quantity of

thoughts that can come when designing an accessible product. Each product has a different

marketing mix which can be helped to categorized a new product. If a business wants to increase

product line and length, they have to make minor changes that can be the product features,

pricing which creates product portfolio.

VI. Controlling to increase business: Physical evidence as being an important part of a

service marketing mix that can more effective for restaurants or interior design businesses.

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VII. To assist in differentiation: By analyzing the marketing mix of Competitors, it helps to

find the competitor's weaknesses and aid to create better promotions of the firm's product. By

using the marketing mix, it helps to get a competitive advantage in the market.

VIII. To support organizations in being dynamic: A sound prepared company always

prepared in disaster, strikes. A company that is well prepared is also prepared when disaster

strikes. As being dynamics, such a company needs to understand all Ps deeply. There are a lot of

ways but the marketing mix analysis is the best way to be being dynamic and ROI might be

higher at that time.

5. Pros and Cons of Marketing Mix

In a combined style, many physical businesses dealing and drafting the implementation

of the P policies remains principally the task of various departments and persons within the

organization. the customer is experiencing the individual effects of each of the 4Ps on diverse

occasions, times, and places, even in the case that some companies take great pains to fully

integrate their marketing activities internally (Constantinides, 2002). Robicheaux (1976) found

that important marketing policies had changed drastically where pricing was considered the most

important marketing activity. Based on the production-oriented definition of marketing the

concept of 4Ps has been criticized, but not a customer-oriented (Popovic, 2006).

Among the two benefits of the marketing mix, the first one is an important tool which is

used to facilitate one to see the marketing manager’s job for the benefits of one’s competitive

strengths in the marketing mix versus the benefits of others and the second benefit of the is that it

helps to uncover another feature of the marketing manager’s job (Goi, 2009). All the managers

ought to denote available resources among different needs and competitive devices of the

marketing mix. So, this will help to inaugurate the philosophy of marketing in the organization

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(Low & Tan, 1995). Nevertheless, Möller (2006) underscored the 4Ps marketing mix

configuration, equally the obelisk of the antiquated marketing management becoming the target

of strong criticism. This criticism can be abridged as (Fakeideas, 2008):

• The marketing mix that does not believe in customer behavior but is internally oriented.

• The marketing mix respects customers as passive; it does not allow interaction and

cannot capture relationships.

• The marketing mix is invalid of theoretical content which is works primarily as a

simplistic device that focusing the attention of management.

• The marketing mix does not have a bargain-basement helping system for the

personification of marketing activities.

• The unique elements of services marketing which is not taken into thoughtfulness by

marketing mix.

• The product is announced in the singular but most organizations do not sell the product

barely.

• Where marketers sell the lines of product or trademarks which all are interconnected in

the consumer's vision.

• The building of relationships has been the major goal of marketing or the experiences that

are taken by consumers which are not declared by the marketing mix.

• The concept of the marketing mix has unspoken for marketers which are considered as

the major element.

According to the research of Marketing Evolution (2020), traditionally through

optimizing marketing strengths, it is not only proficient in running the person-level but also

granular visions that modern marketers hope for which is repetitively progressing, and changes

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in a hasty way. In today’s marketers need disparate elements which will help to beyond the

marketing ecosystem, including:

• Individual-level, behavioral data

• Have visions which will impact into cross-channel marketing

• The impact of brand authority who has on marketing spend what is more campaign

optimization

• Proper acknowledgment on which has effective in individual marketing media

• Creative messaging has impact across channels

• Source strategic times for sending marketing notes

Marketing mix modeling includes equally internal and external factors into its

accumulative data collection where the situation provides a holistic approach to general

marketing trends and gives marketers a 360º view into imminent markets.

Now, there are a few promoted modern marketing mix which expresses the best

performs to certify get the visions that are looking for exclusive of damaging foot line:

• Confiscated too much time and budget

• Sustain MMM generation intramural

• Managing modeling one to two intervals a year

• Consuming MMM for basic distinguishing of one’s target market for superior

structure budget planning.

6. Powerful Elements of Marketing Mix

6.1. Product: Product is proposed to a market to pacify a want or a need, plus physical goods,

services, skills, events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas. Product

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of the consciousness can be understood bodily and presented to encounter and fulfill the needs

and also the appeal of the market (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Service is something which could be

an endeavor, benefit, or satisfaction offered for sale. It essentially indefinable and shall not lead

in the ownership of anything (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). Product is defined as a physical

product or service to the consumers that they are enthusiastic to pay. It includes parts of the

material goods, and intangible products, such as services, which users buy (Singh, 2012).

According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (2009), in juxtaposes, the efficacious company

will find out customers need or want. After searching, progress the right product with the right

level of quality to meet needs from this time forth. The faultless product has to deliver value for

the customer. This value indicates eyewitness. A product goes without tangible an insurance

policy that can be a product. A product must have two components that are described below.

• Five product levels: Kotler and Keller (2012) suggested that five product levels denote

the product broadly those are given below.

a) Core benefit: The basic need that placates consumers by consuming the product or

service. Core Product denotes to the problem-solving services or core benefits that aid

customers are reaching whilst they buy some product.

b) Generic Product: It is a version of the product containing that only those attributes or

characteristics necessary for it to function.

c) Expected Product: It contains the set of attributes or characteristics that buyers

normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product.

d) Augmented Product: The augmented product refers to any product variations, extra

features, or services that help differentiate the product from its competitors.

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e) Potential product: This includes all the augmentations and transformations of a

product that might undergo in the future. To ensure future customer loyalty, a business

must aim to surprise and delight customers in the future by continuing to augment

products.

Figure 01
Source: Five Product Levels
Kotler and Keller, 2012, p.326)

• Product life cycle: At the stage of product development, sales are zero and

investment costs amount. When in the introduction stage, slow sales growth and

profits are fictional. After that at the growth stage, rapid market acceptance, and

increasing profits. When product at the maturity stage, the slowdown in sales growth

and profits level off or decline. At the final stage, product decline product sales fall

off and profits drop.

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Figure 02
Source: Sales and profits over the product's life from inception to demise
Kotler et al, 2013, p.337)

6.2. Price: Price is the amount of money indicated for a product or service. It is the sum of

values that customers interchange for the settlements of having or using the product or service.

Authors quantified that the prices ought to be based on the perceptions of consumers in

contradiction of value received. But it should not on the cost of the seller and producers (Kotler

& Armstrong, 2012). The price is the ultimate element that has a great impact on the services

marketing mix (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011). Kotler et al. (2005) wrote cost-based pricing is the

most naive pricing strategy whereby using this strategy price is set by tallying some mark-up to

the cost of the product. This strategy works only if the firm’s prices are not too extreme as equal

to the competition. Another cost-oriented pricing strategy is called Break-even Pricing. With this

strategy, firms conclude the price as a result firms can recapture manufacturing and marketing

cost, or make an aimed profit. (Nagle, Hogan & Zale, 2016). Again, Kotler et al. (2005) show

that competition-based pricing is creating conditions when a company sets prices by the

competition. Prices are fundamentally centered on the prices of the competitors and in customer-

value based pricing, products are priced on the foundation of the superficial value of the product.

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The company will uncover what value customers allocate to competitors’ products and what

value they notice of the company’s product. Calculating superficial value is problematic and if

the more prices are charged than the superficial value, the more sales will suffer (Kotler et al.,

1999). Bestowing to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (2009) the price needs to be

economical, this does not point that means the cheapest because it is the only element of the

marketing mix that spawns revenue. Furthermore, pricing should take the following factors such

as fixed and variable costs, competition, company objectives, proposed positioning, and target

group. An organization can embrace many pricing strategies where the pricing strategy will

usually be centered on corporate aims. As like as effective product development, distribution,

and promotion breakthrough the organization success where efficient pricing master plan is the

harvest (Avlonitis & Indounas, 2005). Among the other elements, effective pricing strategy not

entirely compensated for poor effecting but from financial good achievement, abortive pricing be

able to go those works (Nagle & Holden 2002).

6.3. Place: Making a product or service accessible for use or utilization by the consumer or

business customer marketing channels are sets of codependent organizations that support. The

distribution channels are a key significant element for the transportation of products or services.

For better comfort trades in the speed is helping service delivery and timing are the principal

elements that can add value to consumers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). However, maintenance

storage, inventory, and distribution costs to a suitable level, the product should be presented in

the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. Again place means exhibit product to

customer assemblies. This could be in a shop window or on the internet (The Chartered Institute

of Marketing, 2009). Distribution contracts with the convenience and user-friendliness of

products and services which well-known the reputation of distribution channels that depending

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on different varieties of organizations (Jones, 2003). The distribution channel is demarcated as a

fundamental part of the service, which involves the service benefactor, arbitrators, and the

consistent service user (Gattorna, 1978). For sequencing rheostat and manage these processes,

this author companies prerequisites to cultivate an appropriate marketing channel which helps to

overlap with the company's goals. The author declarations that for the creation of the distribution

chain, it is necessary to:

• Investigate consumer necessities;

• Accomplish the distribution chain purposes and achievable impediments to achieve them;

• Pinpoint the key distribution chain replacements;

• Evaluate these replacements.

Distribution networks that are fundamentally categorized into two different make-ups

which indicates direct shipping to the customer plus indirect shipping which surrounds one or

two levels of intermediaries for example distributor or retailer warehouse with different methods

to distribute the products from these intermediaries to customers. A tiny distribution channel

which is comprised of very few buyers in a constrained market area and have a long distribution

channel consists of numerous loading sites to move products (Djafar, Amer, & Lee, 2013).

6.4. Promotion: Company makes use of believably communicate customer value and also

construct customer relationship through promotion or marketing communication mix which is

the specific blend of promotion tools. It regulates the success and betterment of the marketing

program. There are some elements in the promotion which have three key roles i.e. providing

evidence and instruction needed, motivating the target customers, and prompt that customers to

buy at the right time. Promotion or hotchpotch of marketing communications that be made up of

five models of communication is key: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public

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relation, and direct marketing (Kotler & Armstrong,2012). Other authors stated that eight main

models of communication that are: advertising, sales promotion, events & experiences, public

relation & publicity, direct marketing, interactive marketing, word of mouth marketing, and

personal selling (Kotler & Keller,2012). Promotion is the pathway where a company

communicates what it performs and what it can give a proposal to customers. It contains

activities such as branding, advertising, PR, corporate identity, sales management, special offers,

and exhibitions. The promotion that is committing to gain attention, be engaging, convey a stable

note, and first of all offer the customer an intention to choose a product. Good promotion has

many ways to communicate which overlays the way for a conversation with customers.

Promotion ought to transfer the benefits where a customer obtains from a product, not for the

features of that product (The Chartered Institute of Marketing, 2009). Coffman (2002)

emphasizes that communication with the public is important for both internal and external

communications. Internal communications, spreading further affect the company employees'

opinions about their firm and production because each worker transmits the information for

many people with whom he interacts. And, external public relations, helping to shape public

opinion by external means, namely promotion primarily various events, actions, charitable

activities, relationships with influential people, relations with the press, press conferences,

contacts with various organizations, fund establishment. To amplify the chances of success,

campaigns habitually synchronize media efforts with having a combination of other interpersonal

plus community-based communication stations.

Thus, public relations activities can help achieve the objectives related to the company's

reputation and confidence in the market, but the company needs to anticipate and to choose the

appropriate means of communication, namely:

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• Promotion is a piece of free information about business products, services, or

dissemination in the media reached a short-term effect. Promotion measures groups include

newsletters, feature articles, press conferences, authoritative views of those deliveries (Kotler &

Mindak, 1978).

• GÜREL, E. (2016) shows that exhibitions and fairs. Fair in certain locations

periodically organized an event in which the participants, the various business areas of the

company, offering potential users of their products or services. The exhibition is can be defined

as an event which aims to show the public and specialists familiar with their business

achievements and new ideas.

• Advertisement "word of mouth" - this is where information about the company passed

through the business staff, customers and so on., Without the use of the media or other outsider's

communication channels (Papasolomou, et al., 2014).

• Event Marketing this is a purposeful and impressive product, service, and company

presentation in a particular event, corporate promotion.

• Indirect demonstration is "unintentional" company goods, services Showing films,

theatre, and television broadcasting (Sundstrom, B., 2012).

6..5. People (Personnel): Personnel is the bare element that delivers customers with services

wherein employees get used to consumers directly. These types of organizations try to attain a

particular situation in the market to train their employees on sales and how to handle customers

(Yasanallah & Bidram, 2012b). Following the authors, the people variables classified into

operational staffs like cleaners, security officers, and store staff (Kirkup & Rafiq 1999,

Warnaby,Bennison & Davies, 2005). Tracking people from the upper line Sales staff to the

Managing Director all the companies are reliant on the people. Moreover, Marketing will be

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good at best with the employees confidential the organization that having the right person at the

right position is important because it also reflects into the fact where marketers must view

consumers as people to understand their lives remarkably, not just as they shop for consumer

products and services (AHUJA, 2016). Those who come into contact with customers convey an

impression and develop a profound effect that may be positive or negative or maybe on customer

satisfaction. The reputation of a brand depends on people’s hands. (The Chartered Institute of

Marketing, 2009).

6.6. Process: Processes are imperative to deliver a quality service that might be intangible.

Process diagraming certifies service is seen as being dependable on the target segment (Kar,

2019). The process is one of the 'P's that is frequently ignored. Issues like waiting times over the

phone call by customers to get most of the time to have to stay hold listening to a recorded

message before reaching over a company. As a result, customers will stop the attempt to go and

promote the negative attitudes to others just because of the poor process that is in place (The

Chartered Institute of Marketing, 2009). A process mirrors all the creativity, discipline, and

structure put forward marketing management. In the marketplace, marketers have to escape

rough and ready planning and decision making and establishing the right set of processes

(AHUJA, 2016).

The process delivers a planned procedure where any firm and customer are up to

cooperate and accomplish their roles excellently in a market transaction (Wickham, 2009).

Procedure management that certifies availability and sustainable and also proper excellence of

services where marketing mix is to equilibrium in service demand and supply. By rocketing the

procedure of providing services to customers, associations can tile the field for consumers’

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closeness which comes out with repurchase and at last sale increase (Yasanallah & Bidram,

2012b).

6.7. Physical Evidence: Physical evidence assumes the customer’s satisfaction where it

tragedies a part of the waitresses and calculate the quality of experience through alternatives and

its services being intangible, customers depend on other clues to judge the offering

(Kar,2019).Firms cultivate place trust in running material clues such as packaging, websites,

paperwork, brochures, furnishings, signage, uniforms, business cards, warranties, etc. to indicate

the class of offerings (Wickham, 2009). Physical assets signifying eco-friendly capabilities

needed by companies to provide services to customers that can enlarge consumers’ choices by

providing capabilities like self-service, paramount shelves, etc. as a means big shops that can

prevent buyer departure exclusive of any purchase (Yasanallah & Bidram, 2012b). The physical

evidence demonstrated by an organization must confirm the assumptions of the customer. Before

purchase customers do not have any experience, so they get experience from others regards

services. The views of that customer are credible because of the first purchase. Some companies

demand feedback from these customers so that they can foster reference motivate new customers

to purchase with a high level of trust (The Chartered Institute of Marketing, 2009).

6.8. Productivity and Quality Performance: Guaranteeing the required level of service is

provided to the consumer with strong regard for customers' expectations all the time purchase

event (Wickham, 2009). It has been recognized that the overall profitability of a firm may be

greatly impacted by focusing on not only at the top-line by improving sales but also focusing on

the bottom-line by lowering the overall cost of delivering services. In services management,

often the variable costs are a lot more than fixed costs, and so incremental costs, if managed

properly can have a huge impact on productivity. To progress productivity is an essential part of

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cost management defined by integral service management but quality, as defined by the

customer, is essential for a service to differentiate itself from other providers (Kar, 2019). The

8th P of Services Marketing has transpired in research what is more are called as Productivity

and Quality or Performance that also is outlined as in universal marketing, facilitating capture

the area of potential outcome such have financial and non-financial implications for instant

profitability as well as brand and customer equity and effect elsewhere the company itself, for

example, social responsibility, legal, ethical, and community-related. It has also been established

in research such procedure increases to deliver better standardization and quality in services.

Quality perception is a distinguishing factor in services management and for long term

supportable (AHUJA, 2016).

7. Is there any P also?

In some spheres of thinking, there are some P of the Marketing Mix. This Extended

Marketing Mix is explained below in detail.

The premature 1960s at that time the 4Ps of marketing were apprehended where the

superior of payment procedures depend on cash, check, and credit card. The authors indicated

that there is a little bit of possibility or chance to use a credit card at that time. Nowadays, there

are more payment procedures accessible for the consequence of technology advancement as a

result authors claim payment is a genuine component in the marketing mix (Shevlin,2012 &

Fetter, 2012). According to the research of Larry (2017) shows 3 Ps where the first P is partners

which signified to as Alliances as functioning with others besides organizations for with shared

risks and profits. Another P is a presentation that is the act of exhibiting customers, suppliers,

wholesalers, retailers, salesforce, marketing intermediaries, clients, employees, partners. The

extra P is a passion where some intense or overmastering feelings have emotions in planning,

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developing, pricing, promoting, partnering, selling, and overall marketing of products or

services. Again, Morris (2018) argues that there are two more Ps in Marketing mix that is

portfolio and project.

8. Conclusion

This report is an overview of the past, present, and future of the Marketing Mix as the

biggest challenge. According to the literature review, marketing Mix (MM) is the well-

disciplined group of variables that the organization may use to affect the customer’s

responsibility. These all P’s actually to all disciplines within the company, and by thinking this

way, managers grow more closely aligned with the rest of the company. These all Ps each

element must be coherent with the other. All the elements of marketing mix prerequisite vigilant

alteration and minute study with complete concentration. Promotional tools depend upon the

type of product, the price which will be charged for the product and the procedure through which

it would reach to the customer furthermore while deciding the price of a product; the important

things to consider are manufacturing cost of the product, promotion cost and amount incurred on

distribution channels. Productivity in this regard is always combined with quality – supply of the

best quality every time. Each organization aims to build up such a structure of 4P’s, which can

make customer satisfaction's highest level and meet its organizational objectives at the same

time. Thus, this mix is gathered to hold over in mind the needs of target customers. Even after 80

years, the marketing mix is still very much applicable to a marketer’s day to day work. A good

marketer will learn to adapt the theory to fit with not only modern times but their business

model.

Future research is suggested to measure the theoretical consequence of known marketing

mix elements for the understanding of knowledge performance. However, notwithstanding

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 22

limitations, this study has contributed toward the existing literature by indicating that identified

marketing mixes such as physical evidence, process, place, and people have a positive and

significant effect on marketing.

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