The Marketing mix theory was conceived by Neil Borden and developed into seven (7) basic rules of marketing. These rules include the product, price, distribution, selling, advertisement, promotion and market research. The theory was later crystallized into the four Ps, (4Ps) namely products, place, price and promotion (Jefkins 1994). It is relevant to the issues related to marketing in the library and is also in conformity with the terms used in marketing activities as well. For example, the first P means Product, which refers to the product as well as services.
The second P implies Place, which entails the location where the products and services are received. While the third P means Price and thus involves the value of the information provided through satisfaction. Finally, the last P implies Promotion, which consists of the use of media platforms for publicity and advertisement (Busari, Anyakola and Ladipo 2014).
The advantages of the 4Ps marketing mix are: marketing appears to be easy to organize and manage. It is autonomous from the activities of libraries and assigned to professionals, who will ensure the analysis, planning and implementation of some marketing tasks, such as an advertisement, sales, pricing and packaging. In fact, marketing mix research remains the marketing truth in significant parts of the academic world even today (Gronroos 1994).Figure
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2.2 below shows the scope of the 4Ps marketing mix, as well as the elements that are involved and how they are connected.
Figure 2. 2: 4Ps Marketing Mix
(Internet Centre for Management and Business Administration 2011: 01).
The theory comprises rectangular linkages, which include 4Ps elements, namely Product, Price, Place and Promotion and all the items are geared towards a common goal, which is the target market of library users, and every part targeted towards satisfying users (Odine 2011). Hence, the theory is based on the following;
Target market
This entails the marketing of the library to users who are frequently in the library and use it remotely and those who do not use the library at all. The target market appears in the middle because it is the essential element in the marketing mix. Thus, every component of the marketing mix is aimed at satisfying users (Odine 2011:41). The target users in this study are the medical students and medical practitioners.
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A product is anything that can be provided to fulfil the needs of a market. These include books, journals, manuscripts, newspapers, databases, electronic resources, e-mails, current awareness services, reference services, the inter-library loans, selective dissemination of information and reference services etcetera (Busari et al 2014).
Price
This involves the satisfaction library users could derive from using the library resources and services. In other words, users’ efforts that are put in place to get the information resources and services. From another perspective, price means the financial aspect that is the money generated from the membership dues, the reprographic services, internet access and overdue charges. More so, it entails the relevance of the information products to the satisfaction of the users (Samanian and Khosropanah 2016:758).
Place
This involves the area or location where resources and services are provided to users. To support this point, Samanian and Khosropanah (2016) refer to place as the distribution venue of the products and services of a library. This includes the main library, faculty/college libraries and remote access via the internet/intranet, library web page, databases, teleconferencing, video conferencing and social media.
Promotion
According to Mohapatra (2017) promotion entails all the decisions taken to ensure that users are fully informed of the library services. In terms of information resources and services, this could be using the telephone, fax, e-mails, brochures, library orientations, leaflets, posters, seminars and workshops, radio programmes and television to reach both existing and potential users.
Based on the discussion, therefore, it was discerned that the 4Ps theory emphasizes the provision of the right information resources and services through the 4Ps marketing elements, which are product, place, price and promotion. Therefore, the aspects of the theory have marched with the components of the library’s overall objectives for providing users with information resources and services. Moreover, the theory focuses mainly on the product and
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management aspect thereby neglecting other fundamental elements that are as important as the product itself. It does not emphasize the services to users which are equally important and a vital component of attracting and retaining users/customers. Habit and Raewf (2018) identified some of the challenges bedevilling 4Ps marketing mix includes:
i. The marketing mix sees users as passive; it does not allow interaction and cannot capture relationships;
ii. The marketing mix does not regard user behaviour; however, it is internally oriented;
iii. The marketing mix ignores theoretical content and functions solely as simplistic instruments for steering management focus; and
iv. The marketing mix does not assist in personifying marketing activities.
However, the issues of 4Ps marketing mix as highlighted above would be address by the 7Ps marketing mix as the theory had the capacity to handle the challenges posed by 4Ps theory because the theory includes peoples, process and physical evidence. The users are not only disregarded or considered as passive but they are central because product and services must be user centred for it to satisfy their needs. More so, the combination of these constructs will lead to efficient product and services provision that is user centred. Grönroos (1994) further affirms that the 4Ps speak to the worldview of the 1960s and may not be worthwhile in this aggressive environment of the 1990s. Therefore, this indicates that the theory is outdated and cannot stand the test of time. The researcher disagreed with Gronroos's (1994) argument and believed that the theory was still valuable and could guide this study. More so, the theory's primary focus was the product that stands for the resources and services in the context of this study. Therefore, marketing of any kind must come up with the product to sell and the other components are require to attain their objectives, for example, a place is required as a medium for the promotion of such a product to satisfy the needs of the clients and so forth.
Moreover, the theory emphasizes that marketing activities should be autonomous from other library activities, which are almost not feasible in the library environment because all the library departments work interdependently. Furthermore, the researcher supported the above argument that separating marketing from other library activities was not the best if the marketing is to be efficient. It must be everybody’s responsibility and must not be left at the mercy of the marketing departments. This explains why Kennedy and LaGuardia (2017) noted
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that marketing is everyone's job. If the library aims to communicate with a consistent message, everyone must prioritize it efficiently. Therefore, for the library to speak with one voice, communication cannot be strictly controlled within one department but must be a part of the everyday discourse among all library staff (Kennedy and LaGuardia (2017).
These and other assorted problems attracted severe criticisms of the 4Ps and, therefore, called for a total review or a total overhaul of the theory. There were so many suggestions on what to do with the theory from different marketing scholars and the famous one is Booms and Bitner (1981). Rafiq and Ahmed (1995:5) ascertained to this when they proclaimed that the most significant of the other frameworks is the Booms and Bitner 7Ps mix. However, the 7Ps marketing being the upgraded version of 4Ps would bridge the gap left behind by the 4Ps theory, namely being the product centred, user as passive, no human interaction is allowed and so on. With the 7Ps in place, all these issues will be addressed. That is to say, it is a services- centered theory that is as pertinent as the product itself. The other three additional Ps that include people, process, and physical evidence not only regard people as active clients but also allow interaction between the service provider and the clients. Therefore the presence of these three constructs will tackle the major problems of the 4Ps highlighted. These and other issues did not stop the research from using the 4Ps theory from guiding the study. Hence, the theory was used alongside the later version that is the 7Ps.The subsequent section presented the 7Ps marketing mix model.