The
marketing mix (7 P model)
Product
Product refers
to the items you are selling or service you are providing. Your product based
tactics link back to your overall strategy - if your strategy is market
penetration (see the Ansoff matrix), then there may be little need to do
anything to the product. However, if you have chosen product development or
diversification then a certain amount of research and development, and product
design will be needed.
Should the
product be premium, or good value? Disposable or last a lifetime? Fast or slow?
How will it be packaged? Where will it be made? Is it environmentally sound?
Price
Pricing is one
of the most important factors when deciding your marketing tactics, which could
involve the following:
Skimming – low
market penetration, high pricing strategy for premium products
Comparable
pricing – if you are not the market leader, competitors will have set a price
expectation which can be followed
Market
penetration strategy – deliberately low pricing in order to enter or control a
market quickly.
Place
Place refers
to the method of getting your product to the consumer - this could be a
dealership or an online shop.
How will you
attract more retailers to sell your product? How will you maintain a premium
appearance? How will your distribution network function? How many countries
should you operate in?
Promotion
Promotion is
much more than just advertising - this is the discipline of marketing
communications.
What is your
branding strategy? Which promotional channels will you use? How will you divide
up the budget? Will billboards work better than TV ads? What should be the
discount for special offers? How will you generate positive PR? Should you
out-source the creative work?
People
People refers
to all the customer facing staff in your organisation, not just the sales
staff.
What training
do they require? Do they know the products well? How much commission should
they get? Should you out-source? Do they need a uniform? What incentives can
you give?
Process
Process refers
to the procedures which are followed when delivering a service to a customer.
For example,
for a hotel - how are customers greeted? Who takes the baggage to the room?
When are the rooms cleaned? What time is breakfast?
This element
of the marketing mix should also include your customer relationship management
(CRM) process, or in other words, how you manage customers through the
purchasing funnel.
Physical evidence
This element
of the marketing mix is mostly used to promote services. If you're not selling
anything tangible, how will people know what they're getting?
This is where
physical evidence becomes important. Examples of physical evidence include a
brochure for a holiday tour, customer testimonials for a dentist, or a
portfolio for a website design company.
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