Creating a marketing mix report usually includes research, compilation, formatting, and presentation. Businesses with a focused and sustainable marketing mix typically improve sales of goods and services while obtaining and retaining customers and increasing customer satisfaction. The research that goes into a marketing mix report can range from competitor analysis to customer surveys to focus groups. A good marketing mix depends on knowing what the current customers appreciate and what they want changed, as well as what competitors are doing to lure or keep customers.
Product review is also a large part of putting together a marketing mix. Some goods and services are best promoted by visual demonstrations. This may put television spots, videos, or supermarket giveaways into the marketing mix. Other products may benefit just as much from less costly marketing strategies, such as radio ads or coupons in the newspaper.
Compiling a marketing mix report typically requires sorting information by category, priority, and relevance. The first section is often a definition of marketing mix and its importance to market share and positioning. The following sections usually include a discussion of price, product, place, and promotion, concepts known as the Four Ps. Knowing what competitors are offering, what their market share is, and what their shortcomings are is also a critical part of marketing mix analysis. Businesses can alter their marketing strategies if they know their competitors’ current and proposed price lists, quality of goods or services, and customer satisfaction ratings.
The proper way to format a marketing mix report depends largely on who the report is being presented to. Small businesses may request a more informal, easy-to-follow step-by-step analysis, while large corporations may request a formal report to company specifications. No matter which style is preferred, proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation are generally a must. A table of contents, index, and glossary are helpful items to include. Breaking up chapters into small, easy-to-digest sections and using bullets and numbering systems also help the audience navigate through a marketing mix report.
A marketing mix report can be bound in a variety of ways. Informal reports can be stapled at the top left-hand corner if they are not too bulky, or placed in a brad-fastened or small ring binder. Larger, more formal reports can be bound like a book with either a soft or hard cover.
If an electronic marketing mix report is requested, it can be emailed, downloaded, or posted on a web site for review. It is usually advisable to turn a document created with word processing software into a portable document file (PDF) before attaching to email or uploading to a website.
