Marketing Mix the base of a business plan; it’s the strategies, actions or actions taken a by a company to promote its name, service or product. It helps you to define your marketing strategies with regards to the following parameters… price, product, promotion, place so that your offering meets a specific customer need or want. It helps identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, competitiveness and adaptability.
All the elements of the marketing mix influence on one another. They make up the business strategy for a company and if handled right, can yield great results, conversely if handled wrong and the business could take years to bounce back. The marketing mix needs a lot of understanding, market research and consultation with several people, from users to trade to manufacturing and other players in the market.
Traditionally, the marketing mix out together by E. Jerome McCarthy were product, price, place and promotion and have been the cornerstone of a successful marketing strategy for over 50 years however, with the rise of social media, digital marketing has become the crux of any given brand’s marketing strategies that offer new ways to meet consumers’ needs and customize messaging for audiences that expect personalization.. The 4 new P’s are partnership, process, performance and pedigree.
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-Product
- Is there a need for this product/service in the first place?
- What are the customer’s expectations?
- Will this product/service be able to solve the particular problem with ease?
- What does the product/service look like or consist of?
- What will it be called?
- What am you doing to make my product/service better than that of your competitors?
- What will happen after you launch my product/service?
- How can it penetrate the market fully?
- What changes/upgrades can you make to the product/service once it reaches maturity in the life cycle?
- Will you introduce a new product/service range? If yes, when?
-Price
Low price brands often copy the market leaders and may be generic own brands, such as those produced by supermarket chains. The main purpose of price here is to indicate value for- money and such brands do not expect customers to show loyalty.
Product pricing is connected to it’s perceived value. Economically priced items will expect a higher volume of sales while luxury items achieve the same revenue with low quantities but high per-unit price.
There are some products which aren’t price sensitive, they’re so unique and aspirational that customers are willing to pay whatever the price tag states. This also results in customer loyalty. Ex: iPhones
- market penetration, where a new product has economical to attract a high volume of sales
- market skimming where a new product/service has premium pricing to give high returns whilst the product/service is one of a kind in the market
- premium pricing, where there is a uniqueness and exclusiveness about the product so that it can conjure a high price
- economy pricing, which are basic products, where the costs of manufacture and marketing are kept to a minimum.
- What are the prices set by the competitors? Are your prices going to be at par with theirs?
- If not, what is so special about your product that a customer should feel compelled to pay the premium?
- Is your selling price going to cover the cost of manufacturing and leave a profit margin?
- Should you choose cost-based pricing or market oriented pricing?
- Is the the product worth the price?
- What offers to provide?
- What strategies to use during the off-season?
-Place
This refers both to the places where your products may be bought and to the channels of distribution used to deliver the products to these places.
Place is not always a physical building such as a supermarket or shop, but includes any means by which the product is made available to the buyer. It can be online, stores, pyramid schemes, catalogs etc., A business has to balance getting enough of its products to its target customers against the problems or costs of distributing them.
For a premium or luxury brand, making the products too easily available might reduce the perceived value of the brand. This illustrates the need to select carefully how the marketing mix is put together to match the product to the needs of the target market.
- Where do customers look for your product or service?
- If they look in a physical store, what kind? A standalone store, boutique or in a supermarket, online, via a catalog?
- How can you reach the right distribution channels?
- What do your competitors do, and what can you learn from that and/or differentiate?
-Promotion
It is important to promote the product/service one is offering to raise awareness of it and to obtain as well as retain customers.
- Where and when can you get your promotional ads across to your target market?
- Will you reach your target customers by advertising in a selected channel?
- When is the best time to put out ads? Is there seasonality in the market?
- What are your competitors’ promotional strategies? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity?
- Weather to employ ‘above-the-line’, which is using independent media to reach a wide audience easily, but over which your company may have limited control, for example, magazine advertising. This reaches a maximum amount of readers but can be hard to measure its impact.
- Or to use ‘below-the-line’, which uses media over which your business has control, for example, direct mailing. This type of promotion can be more cost-effective and give more measurable response rates.
Mediums through which you can promote:
- direct mail – catalogues, newsletters via by post or email
- exhibitions or events
- sales promotions – such as discounts, coupons or competitions
- public relations – press conferences or CSR
- sponsorship
- product placement – to celebrities or influencers.
- branding
-Pedigree
Pedigree refers to the ethical practices and the values that a brand believes in. Some brands aim to create sustainable products while other aim more towards employee happiness or some focus on zero wastage and recycling. Each company has it’s own goal with regards to how it wants to be perceived in the eyes of the public.
To read how ethical practices have become the crux of a fashion brand, CLICK HERE
Want to know why Sustainability is the new Black? CLICK HERE
-Partnership
The web which is a true people-driven communication channel, the key to effective communication is personalization. There is a major diversity among people who exist online, each with their own tastes and interests. For example you can appeal to a Star Wars fan by quoting the movie’s lines and turn it into an add.
Every netizen is an influencer, a public figure, a blogger, a vlogger, a reviewer, an unboxer, a customer. It is indeed a great platform to get word of mouth going which can work in your favor or against. So, it is very easy to know what the customers are expecting and respond to their grievances. Adopting a steadfast Customer Relationship Management strategy can improve teamwork, customer relationships and retention.
-Process and Performance
Streamlining your process to improve consumer relationships starts with a few key questions:
- Is your product/service ready for today’s marketing environment? Is it too outdated or futuristic?
- What elements would help you market to the correct viewers, stay relevant, personalize messaging at larger scale, and respond to interest effective immediately?
- How can you translate your company’s vision, needs and goals into a fully functional marketing strategy?
- Can you justify the budget and quantify return? Is the budget justifiable and the return quantifiable?
- Are the right stakeholders, bandwidth, competency, and partners at your side?
The best platforms in the world won’t mean much unless you’re collecting data around the success of your organization. Some of the essential key performance indicators for measuring the success of your CRM are customer service, customer engagement, loyalty, response time, conversion, and advocacy.
References
-Marketing Mix- economictimes.indiatimes.com
-the new 4Ps of digital marketing- clickz.com
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