Unit 5
Marketing
Lead-in
Reading: The Marketing Mix
Session 1
Lead-in
Section I
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 1
television radio magazine outdoor
media-billboards signs
posters Internet
newspaper
(1) television: It is a vivid
and widespread method,
but it costs a lot and its
duration is short. It is hard
to deliver complex
messages and is not easily
remembered.
(2) Internet: It is the
cheapest way, but old
people or people who
live in poor places may
have no access to it.
Task 1
• (4) magazine: It is also not
expensive, but it has fixed
readers who may not be the
potential customers of the
products.
• (3) newspaper: It is a cheap
and widespread method, but
it is not easy to attract an
audience.
Task 1
• (5) outdoor mediabillboards: It is lasting and
stable, but it spreads slowly
and covers narrowly.
(6) posters: It can deliver a lot
of information, but it has
area limitation.
Task 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
Key
Technology：internationally advanced
Color：red, silver
Market price：1 800 yuan
Promotion price：1 500 yuan
Feature：nice-looking, small-size, and high quality
After-service：
---- Life-time warranty
---- One-month return and change guarantee
---- One-week money back guarantee
Key for task 2
•
I’m pleased to introduce our new product
to you. Canon IXUS 100 IS is the latest product
of our company. It is produced with
internationally advanced techniques. There are
two colors available for you to choose from —
red or silver. It is easy to operate. With it you
can take pictures in different kinds of weather.
With its nice-looking, small-size, and high
quality, it’s very popular with customers.
Key for task 2
• Besides, it also offers the best after-services:
• — Life-time warranty
• — One-month return and change guarantee
• — One-week money back guarantee
• The market price is 1 800 yuan, but you just
need to pay only 1 500 yuan for it during our
promotion period. Don’t hesitate.
Task 3
Do you have sharp eyes?
McDonalds
Rolex
Kodak
Task 3
Do you have sharp eyes?
Mazda
Sony
Adidas
Section Ⅱ
Reading
Introductory Remarks
Warm-up Discussion
Intensive Reading
Practice
Introductory Remarks
Marketing is an all-embracing
activity requiring the participation,
cooperation and coordination of all
major functions in a company to
satisfy customers. Marketing mix is
a combination of marketing tools
that are used to satisfy customers
and company objectives. Consumers
often call the marketing mix "the
offering." Your offer is controlled by
product, price, place (distribution)
and promotion which are often
called “the four P’s” in marketing.
Warm-up Discussion
1 Before you read, work in
pairs and discuss the
following questions.
(1) What’s the role of marketing
department in a company?
(2) What variables do you think
a successful marketing should
consider?
The Marketing Mix
Marketing begins long before a product hits the
shelf ⑴. It is an organizational function and a set of
processes for creating, communicating, and delivering
value to customers and for managing customer
relationships in ways that benefit* the organization and its
stakeholders*. The aim of marketing is to sell products and
services and make profits by satisfying customers ⑵.
Marketing decisions generally fall into the
following four controllable categories:
★ Product
★ Price
★ Place (distribution)
★ Promotion
They are the elements that are often referred to as
the marketing mix that a marketer can use to craft a
marketing plan ⑶.
The term “marketing mix” became popularized
after Neil H. Borden published his 1964 article, The
Concept of the Marketing Mix. Borden began using the
term in his teaching in the late 1940’s after James Culliton
had described the marketing manager as a “mixer of
ingredients”. The ingredients* in Borden’s marketing mix
of manufacturers included product planning, pricing,
branding, channels* of distribution, personal selling,
advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing,
physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome
McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four
categories that today are known as the four P’s of
marketing, shown below:
These four P’s are the parameters that the
marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and
external constraints* of the marketing environment ⑷. The
goal is to make decisions that center the four P’s on the
customers in the target market in order to create perceived
value and generate a positive response ⑸.
Product
The term product refers to what the business or
nonprofit organization offers to its prospective customers
or clients ⑹. The offering may be tangible* goods, such as
a car, a pen; or intangible goods, such as idea, image and
service. Product decisions therefore include a range of
activities that affect both tangible and intangible factors.
Here are some examples of the product decisions to be
made:
★ Brand name
★ Functionality
★ Styling
★ Quality
★ Safety
★ Packaging
★ Repairs and supports
★ Warranty
★ Accessories and service
Price
Price is the only element of the four P’s of
marketing that involves revenue rather than expense, so its
impact can be dramatic. The potential buyer is not only
affected by the absolute level of the price, thinking that it
is too expensive in relation to what the perceived cost
should be, but also its relationship to competitive prices,
so pricing decisions can be strategic and tactical ⑺. The
overall level of pricing is an important strategic ingredient
in the positioning of a product, while discounts and special
offers are used tactically to improve short-term sales.
Promotion
Promotion represents the various aspects of
marketing communication, that is, the communication of
information about product with the goal of generating a
positive customer response. Marketing communication
includes personal selling, advertising, sales promotions
and public relations.
Place
Place describes how products or services are made
available to the target market ⑻. It includes decisions on
distribution strategy which establish the appropriate
channels through which products are marketed (such as
agents, wholesalers and retailers) ⑼.
Each ingredient crucially affects the others ⑽. The
attributes of a product help determine its price, how it is to
be promoted and how it can be distributed ⑾. Price adds
to the intangible aspects of a product and may be an
important promotional vehicle; pricing levels influence the
channels of distribution available. Promotions draw on
product benefits and pricing strategies and often involve
the channels of distribution ⑿. Place is constrained by
product, price and promotional decisions. “The four P’s”
represents interdependent variables* symbolized by
overlapping circles in the figure ⒀.
Text analysis
1) Marketing begins long before a product hits
the shelf.
Translation
产品在摆上货架销售之前很久营销就已经开始。
Word study
hit: appear on
e.g.: The news of the product failure suddenly
hit the papers.
Text analysis
2) The aim of marketing is to sell products
and services and make profits by satisfying
customers.
Translation
营销的目的是销售产品和服务并通过让顾客
满意来获得利润。
Text analysis
3) They are elements that are often referred
to as the marketing mix that a marketer can
use to craft a marketing plan.
Translation
它们常被称为营销组合元素，市场营销人员可
利用它们来制定营销计划。
Analysis
The first that is a relative pronoun which
introduces an attributive clause. The second
that introduces an object clause.
Text analysis
4) These four P’s are the parameters that the
marketing manager can control, subject to the
internal and external constraints of the marketing
environment.
Translation
4P原则是营销经理可控制的因素，这些因素受到营
销环境的内部与外部制约。
Analysis
That introduces an attributive clause. Subject to
is a preposition meaning depending on sth as a
condition.
Text analysis
4) These four P’s are the parameters that the
marketing manager can control, subject to the
internal and external constraints of the marketing
environment.
Word study
parameter: quantity that does not vary in a
particular case but does vary in other cases.
e.g.: Parameters are factors or limits which affect
the way that something can be done or made.
subject to: depending on sth as a condition
e.g.: This plan is subject to the general manager’s
approval.
Text analysis
5) The goal is to make decisions that center the
four P’s on the customers in the target market
in order to create perceived value and generate a
positive response.
Translation
其目的是作出围绕目标市场客户的4P原则的决定，
以创造能感受到的价值并产生积极的反应。
Analysis
The customers in the target market are the center
of the four P’s.
Text analysis
6) The term product refers to what the business
or nonprofit organization offers to its
prospective customers or clients.
Translation
产品指的是企业或非营利性组织向它的潜在客户
提供的物品或服务。
Word study
prospective: expected to be or to occur
e.g.: Jane is showing the house to a prospective
buyer.
Text analysis
7) The potential buyer is not only affected by the absolute level
of the price, thinking that it is too expensive in relation to what
the perceived cost should be, but also its relationship to
competitive prices, so pricing decisions can be strategic and
tactical.
Translation
潜在客户不仅仅受产品绝对价格的影响，认为相对于它的感知成
本太贵了，也同样关注它的相对价格。所以定价决策可能是战略
性和策略性的。
Word study
in relation to: concerning sb. /sth; with reference to sb / sth
e.g.: I have a lot to say in relation to that affair.
tactical: of tactics
e.g.: a tactical advantage
Text analysis
8) Place describes how products or services are
made available to the target market.
Translation
分销描述的是产品和服务如何能在目标市场有售。
Word study
available: (of things) that can be used or obtained
e.g.: Tickets are available at ticket window.
Text analysis
9) It includes decisions on distribution strategy
which establish the appropriate channels through
which products are marketed (such as agents,
wholesalers and retailers).
Translation
它包括就分销策略作出决策，来建立销售产品的适当渠道（如
代理、批发和零售）。
Analysis
The first which introduces an attributive clause
which modifies decisions. The second which
introduces another attributive clause which modifies
channels.
Text analysis
10) Each ingredient crucially affects the others.
Translation
每个要素都会对其他要素产生决定性影响。
Word study
crucially: extremely important, decisively
e.g.: Crucially, he has to meet us at the airport.
Text analysis
11) The attributes of a product help determine its
price, how it is to be promoted and how it can be
distributed.
Translation
产品的属性对决定产品价格、促销形式及分销途径
都有促进作用。
Word study
attribute: quality regarded as a natural or typical
part of sb/sth
e.g.: Patience is one of the most important
attributes in a nurse.
Text analysis
12) Promotions draw on product benefits and
pricing strategies and often involve the channels
of distribution.
Translation
促销要利用产品优势和价格策略，并常常涉及分销
渠道。
Word study
draw on: to use sth
e.g.: We drew on his experience throughout the
project.
Text analysis
13) “The four P’s” represents interdependent
variables symbolized by overlapping circles in the
figure.
Translation
4P象征着在图表中用重叠圆圈代表的相互依存的要素。
Word study
interdependent: depending on each other
e.g.: All things in the world are interdependent.
inter- : a prefix with v., n. and adj.
① between, from one to another: interleave, interface,
international
② together, mutually: interact, intercommunicate,
interconnect
Practice
2 Read the text and finish the
following comprehensive tasks.
(1) What are the four ingredients
of marketing?
(2) How many ingredients are
there in Borden’s marketing mix?
(3) Can you list two tangible
products and two intangible ones?
(4) What aspects should we take
into account when giving price to a
product?
(5) Are there any relations among
the four P’s?
Keys
Keys for comprehensive tasks
(1)The four P’s : product, price, promotion, and place.
(2)Twelve. Product planning, pricing, branding,
distribution channels, personal selling, advertising,
promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical
handling, and fact finding and analysis.
Keys for comprehensive tasks
(3)Leather shoes and computers are tangible products;
service and ideas are intangible products.
(4)The cost and value of a product, overall level of
pricing, discount and special offers.
(5)Each ingredient crucially affects the others, which can
be symbolized by overlapping circle in the article.
3 Read the text again and decide if the
following statements are true (T) or false (F).
T (1) Marketing mix represents the methods by which
T
F
F
F
marketing managers seek to meet marketing objectives.
(2) Product decisions include a range of activities that
affect both tangible and intangible factors, from new
product development to packaging and branding.
(3) Pricing involves communicating to a target market
about the benefit on offer.
(4) Promotion equals to discount or special offers.
(5) These four P’s are independent of each other.