Marketing management is the process of designing and executing a marketing program for the targeted markets. The goal is to design organizational policies and procedures that will lead to a combination of the best product, the best price, the best promotion, and the best place of distribution for the targeted markets.
Product policy covers all of the elements that make up the product, service, or idea, including tangible characteristics (such as the core product and its packaging) and intangible characteristics (such as brand name and warranties ). Many products are a combination of a concrete product and a service; for example, in buying an IBM computer, the purchaser receives not only the product but also an extensive service contract.
Pricing policy determines the cost of the product to the customer. Price is the only revenue-generating element of the marketing mix. An important consideration in pricing policy is the channel of distribution; profits to be made by the distributors who assist in the marketing effort must be taken into account, as must functional, quantity, seasonal, and cash discounts and promotional allowances.
Promotion ( communications ) policy relates to the use of promotional tools such as advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and publicity to reach customers, distributors, and the public at large. Promotion is the most visible and sensitive of the marketing mix elements.
Distribution (place) policy covers channel management and logistics management. Channel management encompasses setting up and operating the contractual organization, which may consist of various types of wholesalers, agents, retailers, and facilitators. Logistics management focuses on providing the product at appropriate times and places in the marketing channel. Place is the most permanent of the marketing mix elements-it is the one that is most difficult to change in the short term.
Blending the various elements into a coherent program (the "marketing mix") requires consideration of the type of product or service being offered, the stage in the product's life cycle, the resources available for the marketing effort, and the type of customer to whom the marketing efforts will be directed.
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