IB Business Management SL — The Seven Ps of the Marketing Mix: Notes, Questions & Solutions

IB Business Management SL — The Seven Ps of the Marketing Mix: Notes, Questions & Solutions

The marketing mix at IB level has seven elements — Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence — and exam answers must show how a change in one element affects the others, not just define each one.

Key points

• Product, Price, Place and Promotion are the original four Ps; People, Process and Physical Evidence were added for service-based businesses.

• Pricing strategies include penetration pricing (low price to enter a market fast) and skimming (high price to target early adopters).

• Place covers distribution channels, including direct-to-consumer e-commerce versus traditional retail.

• These decisions only make sense once you understand the target market from introduction to marketing.

Practice questions

1. Name the three Ps added to the original marketing mix for service businesses. (People, Process, Physical Evidence.)

2. Explain the difference between penetration and skimming pricing. (Penetration sets a low initial price to gain market share fast; skimming sets a high initial price to target customers willing to pay a premium before lowering it over time).

3. Give an example of “Physical Evidence” for an online bank with no physical branches. (A professional, trustworthy website design and secure checkout process).

4. A firm raises its price significantly. Which other P is most likely to need adjusting to justify this, and why? (Physical Evidence or Product — premium pricing needs to be supported by premium packaging, branding or product quality to remain credible).

5. Why do examiners reward answers that link two or more Ps together rather than describing each one separately? (Because a coherent marketing strategy requires every element of the mix to reinforce the same market position).
   Written by sortmyprep | Reviewed by IB Teacher | Last updated: September 15, 2026