The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained

The marketing of services or products has been evolving. In the marketing of products, business people focus on fulfilling the wants and needs of their target population. In the service industries, they focus on developing good relationships with their customers with an aim of winning their trust.

Today, marketing is not only necessary for products. It is also important for ideas, services, properties, and experiences – you will also witness the marketing of people. The purpose of marketing is to make an impression of the services or products in the mind of the consumer in a way that the service or product will become a synonym for the brand.

The 4P’s and 7P’s of marketing

For a long time, most businesses have used the 4P’s of the marketing mix – product, price, place, and promotion. However, marketing has been changing rapidly and the marketing mix too. Today, the marketing mix fits larger and complex marketing landscape. Depending on the person you consult, you are likely to get some other aspects in the marketing mix such as passion, perseverance, and positivity. Whether you will add the extra P’s to your marketing mix, you should remember to keep it simple and use the key measurable components. Here are the 7P’s of marketing.

Product

Your products or services are the heart of the business. Without them, anything else will definitely fail. Some businesses put all their eggs in a single basket to gain success but that is not a good decision. Check whether the product is original or new, whether the demand is high, and whether it is appealing or functional.

Place

Place relates to where you are planning to distribute your product. That can be an e-commerce platform, a brick-and-mortar stores or anything in between. Online marketing has allowed business to reach customers in every part of the world. You have to consider whether your product will be more successful online or in-store, in the neighbourhood or internationally.

Price

Your pricing has to be profitable but fair. Mostly, the price does not relate to the amount of money a consumer will pay for your product. It represents time, goods and any other traded resource. It can be hard to decide on the price and you, therefore, need more research.

Promotion

Promotion refers to how your target customers will discover your products. They can discover them through social media, word of mouth, or television. Therefore, promotion is the communication aspect of your marketing. Promotion requires planning and forecasting.

People

People stand between the consumers and your product. Poor customer services will kill the reputation of your business, including when your products are of great quality. Choose the affiliates, employees, and partners wisely, because they will form part of your brand.

Process

The process relates to all the steps between your consumer and the product. In fact, many things will take place before someone orders for the product. If you are planning to operate an e-commerce store, you will have to establish a website in addition to the logistics system. Moreover, the process involves a lot of trial and error.

Proof

Proof relates to the product’s tangible evidence. Straight teeth, a box of cereal and the shipping notifications are the proof. Your customer will need something that they can taste, smell, hear or feel including if it is a receipt for exchange. It will validate the experience and provide the consumers with a sense of value.

The two important activities business people undertake are the procurement and production of the products and their distribution to the end users. Raw materials procurement and their conversion into products is a strenuous process because making a place for the products in the market is hard. The market is always flooded with a large variety of similar products and if no one is aware of your products, you should expect minimal sales.