According to Manktelow and Carlson (2012), marketing is defined as offering a certain product at the required price, at a specific place and at the expected time. Market mix is the different mixture of decisions and choices that a firm has to make to make sure that they have offered a good or a service in the market at the right time. In order to market, one must identify a good or a service that is in high demand by the public. Then after producing the good and service; it is placed at a specific point where a big population of the public can view. Price also is placed on the item, a price that is appealing to the public. This essay on marketing mix will first discuss the elements of the market mix. It will also discuss an example of a company and marketing of one of its product. Digital camera DSC-RX 100 is the product produced by the SONY Company.

Elements of a Market Mix

A market mix consists of four elements that explain the marketing of a firm. These are elements that are combined in order to define a complete market. They are usually known as the four Ps of a market. By listing them they are the product offered by the company, the price of the product, the place where it is marketed and finally the promotion offered on the product (Manktelow & Carlson, 2012). It is good to discuss each element separately.

The Product. A product is a very essential thing in a market. For one to start a business there must be a product which serves a purpose of exchange in the market. A product is the first thing that a businessman has to identify in identifying a business opportunity (Gross, 2013). To determine the product that one will deal with, several things have to be considered. This is before choosing the component of the product. In a market mix one has to consider the product that he or she sells. One also requires knowing the attribute of the product and the characteristics of the product that are not the same in the market. Another important aspect in market mixing of a product is determining whether the product will be new in the market (Gross, 2013). By making the product decisions, all other variables in the market mix are affected. In case the product to be produced is not known, then it is hard to determine other variables of the marketing mix. In case the characteristics of the product do not fit in the mix, and then the product can be adjusted in a way until it fits in its position.

Prices. This is the second P of the market mix. Prices in a market keep changing from time to time due to the market forces. These market forces can be either a shift in the demand or supply variables. It means that the prices in the market have to keep on being examined to ensure that they are still within the interest of the customers. When the prices go high, they need to be lowered so as to meet the demand of the target group. At times, the prices need to be raised. These are in situations when the cost of production does not meet the price of the output (Gandolf, 2015). By raising the prices to meet the cost of production may scare away some of the customers but every sale that is made generates the profit.

Promotion: This is a sales and marketing habit where the person advertises the products that are being sold. You tell people about your goods and how they can be of help to them and then you sell the products to them. Changes on the methods of promoting goods and services, no matter how small the change is can lead to an immediate change in the outcome. The changes in advertisement also can lead to more sales in a given period of time (Gandolf, 2010).New methods of advertising and promoting products in the market have to be implemented from time to time. This is because at some point the methods that are currently being used change and stop working over time. They may change at times due to known reasons and other times due to unknown reasons. If new methods are not implemented then sales and marketing of the products deteriorates by a very big margin.

Place: This is the point where the product is sold. The place where the products and services are sold, that is, the market point also plays a major role in the sales that a company makes. The place has to be examined from time to time because it is the point where the customers meet with the sales persons. At times, changing the position of selling the goods may mean a higher level of sales. Sales of goods and services, is made in many different places depending on the positions of the customers (Gandolf, 2010).Some companies sell directly to the markets through employment of salespersons. These goods are distributed to the retailers and hawkers in the market. The goods can also be sold directly to the immediate consumers .A business person must make a good choice on the place where to sell his products. The best place should be where there is the biggest population of those that consume the product. The prices sold at a certain place should also determine the place where to take the products .Social class of the consumers around a certain place should determine the place to sell the goods according to the quality of products on sale.

Marketing Mix of SONY Company on its Product (Digital Camera DSC-RX100)

The SONY Company produces various products, mostly electronics and gadgets. In its production of the digital camera, it has a certain target group where the product will be sold. Before the manufacture of the camera, the managing board of the company needed to analyze all the elements of the market mix. This is because the company is targeting maximum profits from the sales of this product. On this product, the target market is a major factor to consider in marketing the product. Not every person in the economy would be interested in buying the digital camera. Just because not all people in the market know how this product is used. Some of them might be so ignorant to know if it is a camera or a radio. It becomes of importance to analyze and identify the target group before taking the product to the market. Below is an analysis of the companies market mix for the Digital Camera.

Product: As already said the SONY Company has introduced a new brand of a product in the market. The product being a digital camera, type DSC-RX 100.The product is of very high quality .It satisfies the need of the consumers to store their photographic materials safely as long as possible. The digital camera has specific special features that help the consumers to meet their need. It has an internal memory which a memory card which can store as many information as possible. It reduces the cost of the consumer of buying films every time a camera needs to be used. In case of any damage, there is no loss incurred since one can easily delete the information and replace with new undamaged information. It also reduces the cost incurred to buy batteries since it only requires to be charged and it gets going. The product is very portable and easy to carry around. This means that it can be used in various places and events to record data inform of photos.         It becomes helpful to the consumers in keeping the memories of the past events still fresh in mind since it can store the data for as long as possible without causing any damages on it. The Digital Camera DSC-RX100 is a small, rectangular gadget, with a lens that protrudes forwards whenever being used. It has a small screen on the other side where the user views the images before taking a shot. On the same screen, the owner of the camera views his or her stored data. The camera can be found in various types of colors according to the customers’ taste and preferences. The camera is very different from other cameras because of its special features and advantages that have already been discussed.

Place: This is the point in the market where the interested customers can access the product. The SONY Company product is distributed in almost the whole world. The cameras are sold in all the cities and towns .In these places; there are electronic stalls which deal with Sony products. It is not given that the stalls only deals with the product only but others have mixed different products from different companies. The product can also be accessed in supermarket and also purchased online. To access the right distribution channel, the sales person must be in possession o a license allowing him or her to deal with the product. For the right channel, the digital camera must be accompanied with all its details, manual, receipt and all its parts must be in the carton.

Price: The price of the camera is constant across all distribution channels. The value of the digital camera is fair to the customer who knows all about the camera and how it can help the consumer. The price tags are labeled on the cameras in each and every distribution channel or store that deals with the product. The price is fixed because any decrease in the price of the gadget may lead to high losses in the company due to the high cost of production. The company would benefit from an increase in the prices of the product since it would maximize their profits. Putting in mind that the ultimate goal of the company is to maximize profits and minimize cost. This is the law of each and every producer in the market since they involve in the business to make profit and not incur losses. On the prices, discounts are offered to make it more affordable to the customers. The price of the SONY camera is very logic according to the value and added advantages that it consists compared from those of other cameras from the competitors.

Promotion of the Product: The advertisement of the product is made across all media. Description of the camera and an image are usually among the advertisement details. The target market is reached by when the advertisement is done in the press, on the T.V and on the radios. Also, the advert gets to the customers faster and more appropriately when advertisement is done on bill boards. The digital camera in most cases is of interest to a specific group. The group that understands the use of the digital gadgets better. Hence, advertisement on the internet benefits helps the company in the marketing of the product and faster.

Recommendations to Improve the Market Mix Strategy

The company should look how its four elements (4Ps) operate and compare them with those of the competing companies. For example the SONY Company must ensure that the products that they manufacture are of higher qualities than those of the competing companies. This makes the consumers more interested with the products from the company since a bigger proportion of the consumers, value quality than quantity. The company must also ensure that the prices of its products are fair to the customers. The promotion methods that the company uses should be simple and reach the bigger population of the consumers. The advertisements should be all over the media, the internet, on billboards and also the sales team can approach the population by convincing them orally. It ensures that many people are aware of the product in the market and may interest a large number of the informed population. It leads to increased sales of the product within a given period. The company should locate a place where the buyers can locate the products easily.

In conclusion, the four Ps of the market mix are the main and important elements to analyze a market. Without these elements the marketing of goods and services produced by different companies would not be easy. For example, it is clear that with the SONY Company analyzing the four elements in the marketing of the Digital Camera DSC-RX 100, it has been able to make the sales successfully. The company has also created a ready market for this product since its promotion has reached the target group completely.

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