Page 165 - MARSIUM'21 COMP OF PAPER

■ 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 MARKETING MIX

The marketing mix is defined as a tool used by a company to continue achieving marketing objectives (Ohrabi et al.,
2017). The marketing mix is one of the essential roots of marketing performance. For example, Hanaysha (2017) highlighted
that customer retention in the retail industry is influenced by selecting marketing mix elements such as store location, store
image, price, advertising, and distribution intensity. A marketing mix is a combination of action and results between
expectation goals from the company and meets the customer needs (Isoraite, 2016). Also, it is a combination of different
marketing mixes being applied by a company to sell its products and service (Singh, 2012; Pranulis, 2012).
According to Badi et al. (2015), the marketing mix includes creating, communicating, and delivering value (wishes,
needs, and wants) of the customer for profit by selling its product and services. Marketing mix has two vital advantages
which firstly, it is a measuring tool to monitor the work of marketing manager use for benefit (competitive advantage) using
marketing mix elements for customer satisfaction. However, marketing mix concludes the decision that the manager has to
do to make its product and services meet customer needs (Thabit, 2018). Al - Badi (2018) defined a marketing mix as a set
of values in customers' minds that could generate relationships with customers as well as provide benefits to the organization.
Many studies use marketing mix for different industries such as a hotel (Tinakhat, 2021), café or restaurant (Erlina
& Hermawan, 2021), retail store (Hanaysha, 2017), aviation (Wang, 2021), and travel agencies (Othman et al., 2020). For
the hotel industry, Das et al. (2017) found the factors that influence customer satisfaction and service quality in the hotel
industry include affordable price, food quality, and friendly staff. Hence, many researchers found that a marketing mix plan
is essential for companies or organizations to use existing resources to continuously connect with their customer’s needs
(Pride et al., 2010). Therefore, firms should use good marketing mix elements to sustain in their target market.
According to Singh (2021), the factors of increasing the customer behavior towards many services depend on how
the hospitality industry makes marketing mix important tools for them. As highlighted by Kiatsongchai and Choibamroong
(2014), the marketing mix strategy is a vital tool for the boutique hotel industry to enhance the awareness of a brand value.
The boutique hotel industry uses distinct style design and reasonable price of room rates and frequent social media interaction
to attain potential customers.
The marketing mix is important for companies to enhance customer satisfaction and customer loyalty such as the
café or restaurant industry (Vaitone & Skackauskiene, 2020). Businesses must implement the marketing mix strategy very
well to increase the profitability of a company (Supriyanto & Taali, 2018). Also, marketing mix elements of place, product,
promotion (Tjan, 2015) people, and physical evidence (Marcelina, 2017) influence customer loyalty and buyer decision in
Surabaya. All the activities that synchronize with marketing mix elements will be applied and have a positive effect on the
financial and operation of the café/ restaurant industries (Milan, 2020).
Kotler and Armstrong (2010) defined a marketing mix as a tool that can be applied to the organization to attain the
marketing goals. Also, marketing mix is a factor that will guide and instruct the business master plan and point out which
marketing strategy is more influenced to the retail industry (Pourdehghan, 2015). As stated by Kim and Hyun (2011), seven
elements of the marketing mix can be in practice, but five elements only used by the retail industry which is advertising,
distribution intensity, price, store image, and store location. All these factors could influence customer behavior and retention.
Airline industries implemented several marketing mixes to meet their target market demand. Seven elements of the
marketing mix used by airlines services are product, place, price, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. During
an economic crisis, most companies must change and rebuild their marketing strategies to make sure that they remain
competitive in the market (Muninarayanappa & Ravikumar, 2014).
Abdelhady et al. (2018) found that promotion could influence the passenger’s decision to choose the option of the
airline company that connects with their preference such as a comfortable seat and affordable price to board pleasingly. Also,
Wang (2021) expressed that the efficiency of the company’s technique in customer service can affect the marketing mix
strategy's effectiveness towards the airline industry. Raewf et al. (2018) found that organizations may apply the marketing mix
to influence the customer’s response and satisfaction. Also, an organization used marketing mix strategies to grasp the target
customer’s mind but depended on the goal of the organization and marketing purposes.
Othman et al. (2020) found the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty of Umrah travel agents in Malaysia can
be affected by the service marketing mix. Also, the study examined that long-term relationships can be maintained with the
customer if they used marketing mix strategies of 7P’s combination of 4P. Through the traditional marketing mix, the service
marketing mix can elaborate into 7P’s which is known as service/product, price, promotion, place, people, process, and physical
evidence (Aras et al., 2017). A firm that is established and uses a systematic approach (the combination of marketing mix
element) product, place, price, the promotion will obtain an effective impact on customers (Rad & Akbari, 2014).

2.1.1 PRODUCT STRATEGY
Product or services can be defined as anything that can be offered to the market for use, own, action to please the
needs and wants of the customer (Sudari et al., 2019). Consequently, it is important of service value for customers’
preferences (Kushwaha & Agrawal, 2015). Product is a physical product or service to be consumed by customers who are
willing to buy (Singh 2016). Dang (2015) stated that the opening marketing element is product strategy. Kotler and Armstrong
(2013) emphasized that the product element can be presented to the market, to get recognition, consume, and fulfill the
demand and requirement of customers.

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