A FRAMEWORK FOR MARKETING MIX CUSTOMIZATION

In light of all these transformations in the marketing field, particularly the trend toward "individualization" of the consumer, the focus here is on the impact of "customization" on the marketing mix. Five different instruments of the marketing mix--product, purchase price, communication, distribution and logistics, and after-sales support and costs--can be customized, either by the marketing firm or by consumers themselves. This is outlined in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Marketing Mix Customization and Customizability Options

Marketing Customization
Mix
Elements By Company

Product * Offering enhanced and/or bundled
products (to meet individual customer
needs)

Purchase Price * Price discounting (dependent on sales
volume, sales history, time of purchase)
* As a result of product customization

Communication * Using one-to-one communication tools
(direct mail, sales force)

Distribution and * Offering multiple channel and logistics
Logistics solutions (partly customizable)

After-Sales Support * Offering augmented product solutions
and Costs (with single or bundled services)
* Using remote control systems

Customization

By Customer ("Customizability")

Product * Offering final products with different
options
* Offering a menu of product components
(from which customers can select and
design their final product)

Purchase Price * As a result of product customizability
* As a result of customers' bargaining
power
* As a result of customers' decision
timing

Communication * Offering a customizable interactive
information network (such as the
Internet)

Distribution and * Offering a customizable interactive
Logistics logistics
and distribution network (such as EDI)

After-Sales Support * Offering do-it-yourself solutions
and Costs * As a result of product customizability
(such as the way the product is used)

In the computer industry, different hardware configurations may be developed by the customer. Menu options offer choices of disk capacity, processing speed, software drivers, and so on. Capacity can be expanded, new cards can be added. Software firms are also developing new tools that allow users to perform several operations more effectively. Powerquest recently introduced the package "Partitionmagic," which allows users to partition their hard disks more effectively.

Business-to-business markets, in which suppliers sell products to manufacturers, are using both customization options. Some manufacturers, such as auto makers, hold suppliers responsible for integrating their products into the final version. Others tend to prefer buoying customizable products from the supplier and adapting them on their own. In the latter case, manufacturers often rely on competent integration-engineering departments. The Laboratory of Production Technologies of Siemens in Belgium transforms basic technology into integrated solutions that fit perfectly into the production lines of different Siemens divisions.