Planning is a crucial part of marketing a business, and if you’re approaching a marketing plan for the first time, it can be daunting to know where to begin.
This is where applying a marketing model can help. In the past, we’ve talked about the AIDA model, the SOSTAC model, the STP model and how these can help to market your business. Today, we’re going to talk about one of the more widely known models – the 7Ps, also called the ‘Marketing Mix’.
The Marketing Mix in its original form dates back to 1960, where McCarthy coined the 4Ps: product, price, place and promotion. These Ps were then expanded in 1982 to include people, process and physical evidence. The idea behind these Ps is that they address the tactics a business has at its disposal to deliver on its customers’ needs and position its offering, as well as meeting the challenges of marketing.
Completing your 7Ps analysis is simple – you simply work your way through each P:
Product
With the first P, you should consider what is your product or service, and how does it fulfil the pains, needs and desires of your customers? How does it beat the competition?
Consider the values your product or service provides, and how it stands out from the crowd.
Price
Perhaps the most self-explanatory of all the Ps, consider the price of your product or service, and also the cost of any marketing activities you intend to carry out. Is your price competitive, but also profit generating? Will you still earn a profit when your marketing expenditure is factored in? This should all be considered before you invest in marketing.
Place
With this step, each ‘place’ a customer interacts with you should be considered and, in particular, you want to think about where your customer makes a purchase. This could be in a physical shop, on a website, or via an app, for example.
Promotion
The promotion step is the key stage to consider for marketing. How are you going to communicate your message to potential customers, where are you going to communicate it, and what tools will you need to use? All aspects of promotion should be considered – the forms, such as organic social media vs paid advertising; any assets that may be required, such as imagery and copy; the exact platforms to be used; the schedule for the promotion; and more.
People
‘People’ doesn’t just concern your team members – ‘people’ concerns every single person involved in the delivery of your product or service to your customers.
If you’re an ecommerce business, for example, your people could include those that make your product, your internal team, your web company, and your delivery fulfilment company. Every person who has an impact on your customers’ experience should be considered here, because whether they are a part of your direct team or not, they’re a reflection on your business. If a customer has a negative experience with the delivery agent, they’ll associate that experience with ordering from your company.
Every person within the process, be that internal team members or a middleman company, should be selected to provide the best possible customer experience.
Process
Process refers to your customer journey. What steps take place from a potential customer finding you to becoming a paying customer? This could include finding a company on social media, filling in an enquiry form, having a discovery call, signing a contract, the process of receiving their service or product, and then any actions after this, such as a request for a testimonial. The customer journey should be a clear, easy and positive experience.
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence can help to push potential customers over the line. Most commonly, this can refer to testimonials, case studies and ratings from customers – evidence that your product or service is worthwhile and that you’re trustworthy. This could be in any form, from written to video – any social proof is ideal.
Once you’ve put together your Marketing Mix, you’ll have a much clearer idea of what the value is of your product or service; whether your pricing is competitive, enticing and profitable; and, perhaps most importantly, the customer journey.
If you need help putting together a plan of action for your business’ marketing, we can help. Speak to our team at Engage Web today to learn more.
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