ABSTRACT
In many ways this unit seeks to draw together some of the key issues and concepts that we
have considered in previous units. We shall see that, although of necessity we have to consider
the individual elements of the marketing mix seperately, in practice, it is vital that the marketer
ensures these individual elements are combined and co-ordinated in planned marketing
programmes. Many factors influence what is an appropriate combination and use of the
marketing mix elements in marketing programmes including many of the factors considered in
Unit 2 ‘Marketing planning and budgeting’ encompassing, for example, opportunities and
threats, company strengths and weakensses and the selection of marketing strategies
including the selection of target markets and positioning strategies. In addition, however, it is
now recognized that the use and combination of the marketing mix elements is greatly
influenced by the context in which these tools are applied. These contextual settings for
marketing encompass in particular FMCG contexts, business-to-business (supply chain)
contexts, large or capital project-based contexts, services contexts, voluntary and not-for-profit
contexts and small and medium enterprise (SMEs) contexts. We shall therefore compare and
contrast the marketing activities and particularly the use of the marketing mix tools of
organizations that operate and compete in these different contextual settings.
