The four Ps of Marketing mix

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Marketing & Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Product.............................................................................................................................................4
Pricing..............................................................................................................................................5
Place (distribution)...........................................................................................................................6
Promotion........................................................................................................................................6
Direct marketing strategy................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Marketing is all about putting the right product in the right place and at the right time.
The marketing mix is categorized under the four Ps of product, price, place, and promotion. An
effective marketing strategy covers a broad range of areas rather than focusing on one message.
This helps the marketer to reach a wider audience by keeping the four marketing Ps in mind
(Jain, 2013, pp.24). The marketing mix framework help organizations to make strategic decisions
when coming up with new products and pushing those that are already available in the market.
The classification of the 4ps was first introduced in 1960 by Jerome McCarthy, who was a
marketing professor. Promoters and marketers can make use of different approaches to each of
the 4ps. Each of these elements can be examined on its own but in general, they are dependent on
each other. Apple Inc. is the largest technological brand going by the revenues it creates in its
financial year. The company is headquartered in Cupertino California in the United States of
America, with operations in almost all the countries in the world. In the third quarter of the 2019
financial year, Apple took the third spot in the global sale of smartphones coming after Samsung
and Huawei. The company shipped 46.6 million iPhone units, which was a slight decline over
the years. This represented a market share of 13 percent (IDC - Smartphone Market Share -
Vendor, 2020). Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate company that has its
headquarters in Samsung town in Seoul.it has numerous affiliated businesses under the Samsung
brand. the brand is a leader in worldwide smartphone distribution having shipped 78.2 million
units in the last quarter of 2019, representing a 21.8 percent market share (IDC - Smartphone
Market Share - Vendor, 2020). The mid-tier smartphones propelled the company to these
heights. However, still, Apple dominated the market by revenue. This report will analyze the
marketing mix of the two smartphone giants by comparing and contrasting the 4ps of the market
mix.

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Product
According to the Levitt model of product, brands have three distinct levels which are the
core benefit or the need, the actual product itself and the augmented or the expected product. The
product strategy for Apple can be termed to be innovative (Fan, Lau and Zhao, 2015, pp.30) The
company launches new products each year and the product is categorized to be of premium
quality. Some of Apple products include the Mac, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple
TV. The Mac or the mackintosh is one of Apple’s premier products for the company when Steve
Jobs and Steve Wozniac were first founding the company. It was the first computer made for
mass people usage with a mouse and graphical interface. The Mac has developed over time to
include the desktop version which is the Mac Pro and iMac, and the laptop version which is the
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The core need for the computers is to enable the user to use
software and applications while the expected product is the additional features such as music
players and video capabilities (Pinson and Brosdahl, 2014, pp.13). The iPhone is the greatest
revenue earner for Apple as compared with the other products. the iPhone was the first phone
that had multiple touch interface. It was first introduced in 2007 and has gradually developed to
iPhone 11 pro and the latest addition the iPhone SE launched recently. Another product is the
iPod which is a digital portable music player. The Apple watch enables the user to keep track of
their fitness while Apple TV has not penetrated the market quite well. Another product in the
Apple portfolio is software services.
Unlike Apple, Samsung has an assortment of products ranging from smartphones to
home appliances. The company has invested significantly in research and development to deliver
quality products to its consumers. Samsung product can be categorized into mobile devices
which includes Samsung Galaxy phones, tablets, and wearables. There are also the Samsung

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Home appliances that include washing machines, televisions, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners,
cooking appliances, air conditioners and audio and video accessories (Jing, Pitsaphol and
Shabbir, 2014, pp.188). Samsung also manufactures printers and desktop monitors and laptops.
Other accessories include USB flash drives, memory cards, portable hard drives, and solid states
drives. The assortment of the products gives Samsung an edge over Apple because the company
has a wide portfolio of products, therefore, increasing its profit margins.
Pricing
Samsung prices Apple prices
Samsung s20 ultra $ 1039 iPhone 11 pro $1030
Samsung s 20 $ 1000 iPhone 11 $ 1000
Samsung galaxy
tab
$ 400 iPad $ 800
Samsung galaxy
watch
$ 300 Apple watch $ 500
Samsung TV $ 300 Apple TV $ 700
Samsung laptop $ 400 MacBook $ 900
The table is a comparison between some of the products offered by the two companies.in
the analysis, Apple products are priced on the premium segment. Their products do not target
every segment in society. Most of Apple product falls under premium pricing strategies
(Machado, Cant and Seaborne, 2014, pp.960). This makes the products to be costly as they elicit

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a status symbol. Additionally, Apple has been lauded as having an effective ecosystem and
innovative technology that make their devices performance to be above the rest.
Samsung makes use of both skimming and competitive pricing strategy in that it develops
devices for both the high-end market and the middle-class segment. For instance, the Galaxy S
series devices are developed to compete with iPhones. To cater to the other markets, Samsung
makes budget devices such as the A series which are priced as low as 100 US dollars (Ramiz, et
al., 2014, pp.330) This strategy enables the company to maximize on both markets.
Place (distribution)
Apple uses limited channels to distribute its products to the market. The company relies
on its store outlets and company website, online e-commerce portals and contract with telco
companies to distribute the smartphones under contract. The purpose of using these limited
distribution channels is that the company believes it can create efficiency in the channel by
controlling which product enters the market and to which market. For Samsung, the company has
an open distribution channel in that they sell their products to any retailer willing to stock them
(Londhe, 2014, pp.338). This gives the company an edge as it can sell directly or indirectly to the
consumer. In comparison to Apple, Samsung can saturate the market with its products thus
increasing its chances of gaining much profit. Additionally, this open distribution network saves
on the cost for the company to bring new products to the market. Unlike Apple, these distribution
networks will still be available to Samsung for the dissemination of other products in the future.
Promotion
The promotional and advertising strategy of Apple is that it specifically targets a certain
segment of the market. One of the core differentiating factors in Apple advertisement is that it
focuses on the uniqueness of its products and how it is different from the competition. The

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company uses aggressive advertising channels including social media ads, print media,
billboards, and TV. The advertisement is generally simple and straight to the point. Additionally,
Apple uses the services of promoters to hype their new products that are about to be launched.
The company is known to use leaks and hints online to promote new devices before the actual
launch dates. Additionally, Apple products are generally launched to a much-publicized and
well-attended events. For Samsung, the company also considers promotion to be a significant
factor to penetrate the market. Apart from using digital media and newspapers to promote the
brand, the company also relies on celebrities who act as brand ambassadors for the company
(Hasan, Meuthia and Berry Yuliandra, 2014, pp.702). Additionally, Samsung has been known to
sponsor major sports events and also support teams such as Chelsea Football Club. The company
also offers festive discounts and bonuses to its customers and this further promotes the brand.
Direct marketing strategy
Apple makes use of email marketing to directly convey targeted information to its million
customers and potential customers. This mode is used during product launches or educating the
customers. Apple uses multiple languages according to the region to ensure the message is well
understood (Cant, Machado and Seaborne, 2014, pp.540). The information covers all aspect
including how a customer can get Apple products.
Samsung also uses Email as a form of direct marketing. Additionally, the company
makes use of Social media platforms such as Facebook to directly interact with its customers
(DjatmiNoak and Pradanab, 2016, pp.222). For example, Samsung carries out online Facebook
quizzes through Facebook lives whereby the consumers answer questions concerning the brand,
for a chance to win merchandise including smartphones.

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Conclusion
From the foregone, both Apple and Samsung have made extensive use of the 4P’s to
promote their products. the companies have an assortment of goods in their portfolio but
Samsung has an upper hand since it deals with more products including home appliances.
However, it is key to note that their marketing mix strategy is different, with Samsung focusing
more on targeting both the premium and competitive market while Apple has established its
niche in the premium products. from the analysis, Samsung is more successful in its marketing
mix, since its assortment of products and competitive pricing strategy attracts more consumer
base as compared to Apple. Apple can improve its 4P’s by reducing its pricing to attract more
consumers. Additionally, the company should open its distribution network to ensure the
products reach a wider base. For Samsung, the company regulates its distribution network to
have more control over its products.

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Bibliography
Cant, M.C., Machado, R. and Seaborne, H.C., 2014. Brand advocates–An Apple phenomenon?
An exploratory study on brand advocacy amongst Apple consumers. Journal of Corporate
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DjatmiNoak, T. and Pradanab, R., 2016. Brand image and product price; Its impact for Samsung
smartphone purchasing decision. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 219, pp.221-227.
Fan, S., Lau, R.Y. and Zhao, J.L., 2015. Demystifying big data analytics for business intelligence
through the lens of marketing mix. Big Data Research, 2(1), pp.28-32.
Hasan, A., Meuthia, Y. and Berry Yuliandra, I.D., 2014. Analisis hubungan bauran pemasaran
terhadap keputusan pembelian smartphone Blackberry dan Samsung Android. Jurnal optimasi
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IDC: The premier global market intelligence company. 2020. IDC - Smartphone Market Share -
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[Accessed 20 April 2020].
Jain, M.K., 2013. An analysis of marketing mix: 7Ps or more. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary
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Jing, Z., Pitsaphol, C. and Shabbir, R., 2014. The relationship of brand equity dimensions: A
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Londhe, B.R., 2014. Marketing mix for next generation marketing. Procedia Economics and
Finance, 11(1964), pp.335-400.

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Machado, R., Cant, M.C. and Seaborne, H., 2014. Experiential marketing on brand advocacy: A
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