Marketing practices extend well beyond the common items of public relations and advertising. Marketing encompasses all of the information that is put forth about a product, sometimes including internal information. Price lists, catalogs, promotional pieces, collateral material and a host of other types of marketing literature are all part of marketing practices and represent some of the most important aspects of the marketing of a product or service. Marketing is an integral part of the marketing mix, and although marketing (through the highly visible advertising) is often most closely associated with promotion, it is dependent on (and can greatly affect) other areas of the company's operations. This research considers the role of marketing practices, how effective marketing practices are developed, and considers how better marketing can improve a company's competitive position.
The marketing mix is composed of four components: product, distribution (place), promotion and price. Product refers to the specific product or service that is being offered for sale, and is the foundation for the remainder of the marketing decisions. Even within a particular product category, decisions must be made about the exact characteristics that a product will have, and whether the company will market variations on its primary product. For example, companies that sell soft drinks must decide not only on whether the beverages will be carbonated or noncarbonated, but also on flavors and additives: will the products have sugar or no-sugar, caffeine or no caffeine?
At Goodyear Tire, product includes not only the tires associated with automobiles and trucks (and other vehicles), but also rubber products often not associated with the company by the public. Even within the area of tires, there are decisions to be made as to how many resources will be dedicated to radial tires, how many resources will be used to create tires for various vehicles,...