Some of you may have heard of marketing mix, some of you haven’t. However, we all know how precious an online presence is today. Whether we talk about personal goals or doing business, it’s important that you are present online. It’s a way people can find out more about you and what you are doing. So let’s discuss why marketing is such a big deal for your online business. 

In today’s world of modern technology, it’s much easier to spread the word about your business than ever before. But how? The answer is marketing. Now, let’s talk about what marketing is, how it can be used, its marketing mix, and its elements. Or —to be more precise—what constitutes the 7 Ps of the marketing mix.

Marketing vs. Marketing Mix

While there are many definitions of marketing, it is best described as an activity a business does to promote its products or services, including market research and advertising. However, its main focus is the customers and finding ways to reach them.

This also includes conducting focus groups, sending out surveys, and studying the online shopping habits of their customers. And, of course, to find out when, where, and how clients want to communicate with the business.

Once a business has set its goals, and a company has been created, it’s time to start entering the market. This can be done by using the marketing mix. It’s actually a set of actions and tactics a business uses to promote its image or brand and place it in the market. The basic form of the marketing mix consists of 4 common elements. They are:

• Price

• Product

• Promotion

• Place

That is why it is also known as the 4 Ps of the marketing mix. Each letter P refers to a business’s decision when introducing a new product to the market and its customers. This is just a base that can lead a business to a huge success if managed well. If not, it might fail.

So, let’s focus on how to bring the best out of business and the ways to increase the chances of its growth in the market. This can easily be done by adding another 3 elements to our marketing mix, include:

• Physical Evidence

• People

• Processes

This is how the 4 Ps marketing mix gets extended into the 7 Ps of the marketing mix. The main idea of this concept is to include services.

The 7 Ps of the Marketing Mix

So, we have our business up and running with a strong set-up marketing strategy, but what comes next? This is the right time to use our 7 Ps of the marketing mix to evaluate the existing and improve the upcoming activities of our business.

As we have discussed the marketing mix, its elements, and what benefits it can bring to a business, let’s see what constitutes the 7 Ps of the marketing mix and what each of the 7 Ps stands for. First, we will consider that each letter “P” of the 7 Ps’ structure has a unique question to be answered. Then, we will see what each of the elements means to a business and improve it.

Product/ Services: How can you develop your products or services?

A product or a service is an asset or skill that can be the object of selling or buying. This may be the most important element of the 7Ps of the marketing mix. People are in search of different kinds of products or services every day. They can look for them in real-time by going to shops or look for them online.

Sometimes customers are ecstatic about the purchase, but there are also times when a customer feels disappointed about the product or service for many reasons. Both situations are normal. Therefore, our main goal should be satisfying the needs of our clients. The way to do that is by considering the features, benefits, and advantages that a product or service can bring them.

Prices: How can we change our pricing model?

The second big question about the 7 Ps in a marketing mix is the price. Or, in other words, the balance between the value of a product or service and a customer’s budget. Again, this is a very challenging issue to resolve as in some cases we need to think about lowering and, in other cases, rising prices.

Lowering prices is often a good strategy to attract new clients, whereas rising prices can lead to losing existing ones. There are many ways to manage this balance successfully:

• Providing sales, special offers, and seasonal pricing

• Spreading the price over a series of months or years

• Including free additional items that aren’t as expensive for your business but can improve the satisfaction of your customers

Place: What distribution options are there for clients to get to know our products or services (online, in-store, mobile shopping)?

• Direct selling: salesperson meets with a client in person

• Telemarketing: offering products or services via phone

• Through catalogs or mail order, which can be a time-saver for busy clients

• Via a well-designed website

• Combination of some of the elements above

Promotion: How can we juggle between the variations within paid, owned, and earned media channels?

Promotion is the fourth element of our 7 Ps of the marketing mix. It mainly refers to the way you communicate with your target audience. This can be done by traditional advertising, TV or radio commercials, billboards, and some modern ones such as ads within websites, podcasts, push notifications, and more.

The trick about promotion is understanding your audience, their needs, and their motivation for buying your product or service. Once you get that, you will find the proper way to convey an effective message to your customers in the best possible way.

And, just as importantly, how much your company needs to invest into advertising and what channels to use to get the most out of business.

Physical Evidence: How can we reassure our clients (excellent customer support, an attractive company building, an attractive website)?

This element of the 7 Ps is essential as it deals with our customers’ feelings and emotions while making a purchase and afterward. It involves:

• Physical environment: location where the customer buys the product or service.

• Ambiance: the temperature, the smell, the sound, color, music, and noise. These differ among different shops and other selling points such as markets.

• Packaging: the looks of a product or service. This part of the 7 Ps of the marketing mix is crucial as it only takes 30 seconds for most people to form their preliminary opinion about something based on the first impression. So, try to give your best when thinking about your product’s proper kind of external appearance – the better the package, the greater the profit!

People: Who are our people, and what are their skills?

The sixth element of the 7 Ps of the marketing mix refers to our team and its people. We are talking about employees, staff, and team members. We can have a brilliant business strategy with perfect goals but won’t perform well in the market without an excellent team.

Therefore, it is essential to recruit team members who are skillful at what they do, know how to deliver their work appropriately, and work together well. And, of course, to share the same goal – bring the business to the peak of its success.

Processes: How can we deliver our products or services to customers?

And finally, the seventh “P” of the 7 Ps of the marketing mix stands for processes. It refers to the way a business delivers its products or services to its customers. By this, we mean choosing the right sales funnel, payment system, distribution procedures, and managing customer relationships.

The main idea of processes in the 7 Ps strategy is maximizing benefits and values to our customers while minimizing the company’s costs. Some examples of good process strategies are:

• Repeatedly delivering the same standard of a product or a service to our customers to achieve high efficiency and therefore lower costs.

• Saving time and money by increasing the efficiency of our business elsewhere

• Allowing the business to engage more with its customers

• Ensuring the quality of a company’s product or service

Conclusion:

Having a good business strategy for performing well in the market is the main goal for every company. One thing is for sure, though: Without the use of the marketing mix and its elements, it’s hard to achieve. The basic 4 Ps of the marketing mix is essential, as they can bring numerous benefits to the company. However, adding the extra 3 elements to reach the 7 Ps marketing mix is a bonus!

Usually, companies will not use all of the elements of this strategy every time. Sometimes they will use some of the Ps separately, while other times, they will mix them. For example, the 4Ps of the marketing mix allow a company to develop its products and services, whereas the 7Ps can do much more.

They can help a business exceed its results as they are on the customers’ side of the market. So, whatever route you choose to follow when doing business, remember to:

• Stay focused on your main goal

• Be persistent and determined in achieving it

• Keep in touch with the latest trends and demands of the market

• Do not be afraid to take risks, as this is an inevitable part of any business

• Believe in your dreams

Just like Chris Grosse once said:

“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.”

We hope you like and feel informed by this blog post. If you’d like to find out more about copy and content writing, social media, the modern technology, and other similar topics, do follow us at https://eyespycopyandcontentwriter.rs/blog/! Stay tuned!