The term "marketing-mix," was first coined by Neil Borden, the president of the American Marketing Association in 1953. It is still used today to make important decisions that lead to the execution of a marketing plan. The various approaches that are used have evolved over time, especially with the increased use of technology.

The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by marketers. The marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand's offer, and is often associated with the four P's: price, product, promotion, and place. In service marketing, however, the four Ps are expanded to the seven P's or Seven P's to address the different nature of services.

In the 1990s, the concept of four C's was introduced as a more customer-driven replacement of four P's. There are two theories based on four Cs: Lauterborn's four Cs (consumer, cost, communication, convenience), and Shimizu's four Cs (commodity, cost, communication, channel).

In 2012, a new four P's theory was proposed with people, processes, programs, and performance.

In marketing theory, a marketing mix is defined by the four "Ps," which include product, price, place and promotion. Because a company's products define them, companies must honestly do their best in backing up their product claims. For example, if a company advertises that a dishwashing liquid contains 100 uses but the bottles only yield 75 uses, that company must repackage the product to yield 100 uses or readjust the product claims.

Second, the price of the product must reflect the budget, moderately priced or high-end market of the company's intended customers. Therefore, a company must not charge inflated prices for very low-end ingredients contained within a product.