In this course, we look at the price and place elements of the marketing mix. Pricing is a key ingredient of the marketing mix and one that creates revenue. We look at three ways of deciding pricing levels in the market and show the importance of a marketing-orientated approach. Generally, price is a controllable variable in the mix. In the UK, there are new challenges to marketers with the introduction of the euro as a base currency for business to business dealings in Europe.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• appreciate the role of pricing in the marketing mix
• differentiate between key approaches to pricing products, and evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses in given situations
• distinguish between strategic and tactical pricing situations
• recognise the factors which lead to price-based competition
• appreciate the challenges to European marketers of the introduction of the euro
• explain the strategic and tactical importance of distribution management
• distinguish between direct and indirect distribution systems
• identify key changes in the distribution environment
• select appropriate distribution channels for given products and services.