What is Marketing Mix? State the Elements of Marketing Mix in service marketing

Meaning of Marketing Mix: 

“Marketing Mix refers to the amount and kind of marketing variables, the firm is using at a particular time”. Under marketing mix we include mainly product mix, distribution mix, communication mix, and service mix. The basic task of marketing is the delivery of a total offer to the consumer such a manner that 

• The fulfills the need of the consumers; 
• The terms and attributes of the offer are acceptable and beneficial to the consumer; and 
• All the organisations goals, including profit, are achieved in the process 

In the fires place, it choose the product that would meet the identified needs of the chooses consumer / consumer’s group. Secondly it performs various distribution functions like transportation, warehousing, channel management, etc., so that the product conveniently reaches the consumer. Thirdly, the firm carried out a number of promotion measures like personal selling, advertising and sales promotional programmes with a view to communicating with the consumer and promoting the product. Lastly, the firm uses the pricing mechanism to achieve the consummation of the marketing processes, striking the level of price that is acceptable to the firm as well as to consumer. These four elements – Production, place, Pricing and Promotion constitute the marketing mix of the firm. 

What variables are being used by the company and what is the effect of such variable mix. The company should evaluate the variable-mix from tome-to-time and make the necessary changes whenever necessary in order to make it most suitable to the concern. An idle marketing mix may give the concerned the maximum profit and satisfaction to the consumer. An idle marketing mix is really a problem because there are innumerable variables but an efficient marketing manager may decide upon the idle marketing mix on the basis of his own experiences. 

Elements of Marketing Mix: 

1. Production: We define a product as anything that can be offer to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption and that might satisfy a want or need. Products include more than just tangible goods. Broadly defined products include physical objects, service, person’s places, organisation, ideas, or mixes of these entities. Thus, throughout this text, I used the term product broadly to include ant or all of these entities. Because of their importance in the world economy, I give special attention to services. Services are a form of product that consist of activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially tangible and do not result in the ownership of anything. Examples are banking, hotels, tax preparation, and home repair services. 
2. Place: another element of marketing mix is ‘place’. Place is also known as channel, distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or service are moved from the manufacture / service provider to the user or consumer. A channel of distribution comprises a set of institutions which perform all of the activities utilise to move a product and its title from production to consumption. 
3. Price: stated simply, price is an exchange value of a product. But in practice, price remains vague, unless all the details about it are spelt out. It is essential, for instance, to know whether the price is ex-works, or f. o. b. or delivered price; whether the price is for cash purchase or credit purchase or instalment purchase; whether the price is for the product plus the various accessories put together as a package, or the accessories are prised extra; whether the price includes or excludes servicing; whether the price mentioned is applicable for the trade or consumer; whether the price is applicable for small quality of purchase of for a minimum prescribed bulk and also on. 
4. Promotion: promotion is another one element of market mix. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for marketing communication; as with marketing mix. Marketing communication has its own ‘promotions mix’; think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However, if you vary the amount of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign.