Kodak's Marketing Mix and Marketing Strategy

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Marketing Mix - The Four P’s

The use and specification of the four P's, i.e. product, price, place and promotion, which illustrates the strategic position of the product in the market place is termed as or accepted as the marketing mix. A set of marketing tools used by an organization in order to achieve its marketing objectives in the target is termed as marketing mix. A marketing program or plan is developed by a marketer so as to achieve the desired objectives of the organization effectively. Several decisions regarding the mix of marketing tools used in the organization together constitute the marketing program. The four P's or the elements of marketing mix are product, price, promotion and place (Kotler, 2002).

- Product: A product is a physical or tangible entity that can be purchased or sold in the market. It is a kind of service or object that is manufactured or produced on a large scale by means of a definite volume of units. Decisions regarding the product include the brand name, packaging, quality, warranty, safety, functionality, accessories and services, repairs and support, appearance, etc.

- Price: The amount that a consumer or the customers pay for the product is termed as the price. Several factors are responsible for determining the price of a product, which include market share, product identity, competition, material costs and the customer’s perceived value of the product. Decisions regarding the price of product include price strategy, price flexibility, price discrimination, seasonal pricing, suggested retail price, bundling, etc. (The Marketing Mix, 2007).

- Place: The location from where the products can be purchased is termed as the place. It is also known as the distribution channel or intermediary. Physical stores as well as the virtual stores on the Internet can be included in place. Decisions regarding the place include inventory management, warehousing, transportation, order processing, market coverage, distribution channels, etc.

- Promotion: All the communication tools that a marketer use in the market place to encourage its product can be kept under the promotion element. Advertising, public relations, word of mouth and point of sale are the four different elements that are included in promotion. Today, the most prominent means of promotion is promotional product (Bruner, 1989).

Marketing Strategy:

Marketing strategy forms an integral part of the marketing planning. Marketing strategy is the complete and unbeatable plan, designed specifically for attaining the marketing objectives of the business. The marketing objectives indicate what the firm wants to achieve. The marketing strategy provides the design for achieving them (Ramaswamy & Namakumari, 2007). For example, if the ...