Marketing Mix Paper

Essay by Aguilar22204University, Bachelor'sA+, July 2008

download word file, 5 pages 5.0

According to Armstrong and Kotler (2005) "marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization" (p. 113). Several variables can be used to help aid in making the right marketing decision. This paper will discuss the four elements of the marketing mix (4 P's) as well as describe how each of the four P's influenced the development of the marketing strategy for Starbucks Coffee.

Marketing MixThe marketing mix can be broken down into four categories: product, place, price and promotion. The idea behind the marketing mix (4 P's) is to not include the customer into the mix, but rather to build a marketing strategy that is around the customer. This helps to put the target group at the focus of the strategy and to create a campaign that will influence, motivate, and persuade the target group.

StarbucksStarbucks is a coffee chain that is famous throughout the world for its coffee.

The company started out in Seattle and now, 33 years later, is operating more than 5,000 stores across the United States, and more than 2,000 stores in 28 countries. Starbucks has only made it this far by having an above average marketing strategy. According to the Starbucks website (2007), "Starbucks customers are people of diverse ethnic, income, and age groups with varying tastes and interests" (p. 1). Having such a diverse clientele makes marketing a challenge as the company needs to market to all these groups of individuals. Starbucks uses the four elements of the marketing mix to successfully develop the company's marketing strategy.

ProductProduct is the first component of the marketing mix. This requires the organization, or the marketing manager to create the right product or service that will be desired by the targeted customer. The...