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Companies spent about 10% of revenue on their marketing budgets in 2019, according to Deloitte’s CMO survey. Considering that most of a company’s budget is wrapped up in rigid operating expenses such as materials, manufacturing, salaries, and utilities, t for growing a business. For any business, whether a global enterprise or small company, a comprehensive plan that outlines every possible avenue to attract customers’ attention is vital. The building blocks of an effective marketing strategy include the 6 P’s of marketing: product, price, place, promotion, people, and presentation. The effective integration of the 6 P’s of marketing can serve as the foundation for an effective growth strategy. The 6 P’s enable businesses to achieve the following:
What Are the 6 P’s of Marketing, and How Can They Benefit Sales?The traditional 4 P’s of marketing — product, price, place, and promotion — have their origins as far back as the 1950s. The 4 P’s gained increasing popularity and adoption after Harvard University advertising professor Neil Borden wrote about the framework’s benefits for successful product marketing in his 1964 article “The Concept of the Marketing Mix.” The 4 P’s of marketing have proven to be time-tested principles still relevant in the marketing mix and used by leading global companies and small businesses alike. Today, they remain a critical component of a successful marketing strategy. However, digitization has transformed the traditional marketing mix to include two additional P’s: people and presentation. What are the 6 P’s of marketing and how does each help sales?
Back To Top Back To Top #1 Products and ServicesProducts serve as the foundation of many businesses. Those that don’t offer products often provide services. Sometimes, businesses offer both products and services, such as a car dealership that sells vehicles and provides maintenance services. Before creating a product or service, a business should conduct research to determine its customers’ needs. A key component of its research includes determining marketplace opportunities. This may involve competitor analysis, investigating what other businesses in the field already offer, and identifying new products or services that can attract customers. Asking questions can help businesses develop effective products and services. Here are six examples:
Once the product or service is created, businesses should ask market research questions to determine its market readiness. Is it ready to be released? Do customers know the product’s purpose? Are customers primed to buy this product? As part of a product launch plan, businesses incorporate an education strategy to inform customers of a product or service’s purpose. A key step is to develop effective descriptions that explain how a product or service brings value. Salespeople — employees or partners — responsible for generating sales must also understand the value of the company’s offerings, so product launch plans must include education strategies for them as well. What does an effective product or service description entail? Consider these elements of successful descriptions:
Back To Top Back To Top Resources: Products and Services in Marketing StrategyThese resources provide more information about how products and services relate to marketing strategy: #2 Price Strategies in MarketingPricing makes a big difference in the success or failure of a product. Businesses must find the sweet spot between making a sufficient profit for themselves while providing financial value to customers. The most effective pricing strategies in marketing depend on several factors:
7 Pricing Strategies to Grow SalesYour pricing strategy must drive buyers to your product or service. These seven pricing strategies can maximize sales opportunities:
Back To Top Resources: Price Strategies in Marketing StrategyThese resources provide insight into different pricing strategies and offer tips about price points as part of an overall marketing strategy: #3 Place in MarketingWhere a product is sold affects business success. Place refers to the site where a customer can buy a product. Consumer products such as sneakers and electronics have traditionally been sold in retail stores. Today, many retailers have gone digital. They place their products on their websites or offer them through e-commerce sites such as Amazon or Etsy. Customers’ purchases are then delivered directly to their homes. Products should be strategically placed where customers can easily view, access, and purchase them. In physical stores, this may involve strategic product displays and merchandising. Placement in marketing also refers to product placement in large retailer displays, such as in Walmart or Target, and in television shows and commercials. In digital stores, the user interface and search function of a site play an important role in whether a customer can find a product or not. Beyond a business’s own site, search engine optimization (SEO) plays a key role in where a product appears in the results of a search on a search engine such as Google. SEO uses keywords to attempt to strategically place products at the top of the results, where customers are more likely to find them. Resources: Place Marketing in Marketing StrategyExplore the following resources about place marketing in relation to marketing strategy: Back To Top #4 Promotion in MarketingCommunicating a product or service’s benefits is an essential strategy for gaining marketplace attention and convincing customers to buy. One key step in promotion in marketing is to determine your target audience. After identifying an offering’s potential audience, businesses can tailor their messages to convert prospective customers into buyers, resulting in sales growth. Traditional promotions include a vast arsenal of tactics — from flyers and magazine advertising to partnerships with other companies and public relations. Today, traditional promotions support digital promotion, which has become the primary vehicle for promotion in marketing. Gartner’s CMO spend survey reports that about 80% of marketing budgets were spent on digital channels in 2020. Traditional and digital promotions can work together to maximize a marketing campaign’s success. Below are a mix of traditional and digital marketing strategies that can help businesses reach customers and generate sales:
Back To Top Resources: Promotion in Marketing StrategyWhat promotion in marketing strategies can help businesses succeed? The following resources provide strategies and tips: #5 People in MarketingThe fifth P in the marketing mix is people. Businesses regularly deal with people outside their organization such as customers and partners. Individuals working in marketing are focused on attracting external audiences to generate revenues for their company. A company’s internal people — production workers, managers, customer service representatives, salespeople, and support staff — are vital to the success of the marketing mix. These individuals set the tone for a company culture that either attracts or repels business. First impressions about a business count, and everyone involved in a product or service, from customer-facing employees to those working in production, distribution, and delivery, have both a direct and indirect impact on sales and customer satisfaction. People strategies involve recruiting and hiring individuals who can contribute to a business’s success. To find the right candidates, businesses use marketing strategies — selling the company itself — to attract top talent. Hiring effective staff can optimize the impact of marketing strategy and activities, and bolster a business’s reputation. Back To Top Resources: People in Marketing StrategyThese resources discuss the different roles of people in marketing: Back To Top #6 PresentationEven when a product or service is superior to the competition, selling it depends on effective presentation. This sixth P of marketing focuses on the product’s appearance and whether it accurately represents the business’s image. Designers, creatives, and other professionals involved in presenting products should identify the type of customers the business wants to attract, and tailor a presentation to appeal to that target audience. Important elements of presentation include:
Resources: Presenting Product in Marketing StrategyPresentation of a product or service matters. The following resources offer perspective on the role of presenting products in relation to marketing strategy: Different versions of the marketing mix model may incorporate other P’s, such as process and positioning. Process describes the start-to-finish effort involved in building and marketing a product, from conception and production to sales and final delivery. Positioning describes how a customer understands the product, its brand, and its benefits. Tailoring the 6 P’s in Marketing Strategy for Your BusinessA lot has changed since the introduction of the original 4 P’s of marketing. Digital innovation keeps changing how products are developed, presented, sold, and delivered. No cookie-cutter marketing strategy fits the needs of every business: Each company has to assess its brand’s and products’ value and identify the best strategies, tactics, and vehicles to garner customers’ attention. This requires understanding the needs of the market. When creating a marketing strategy, businesses should first understand all elements of the 6 P’s of marketing. With this knowledge, they can develop effective marketing strategies tailored to the unique needs of their business that highlight the benefits of their products or services to customers. Back To Top Infographic Sources The Balance Small Business, “10 Questions You Need to Answer to Create a Powerful Marketing Plan” The Balance Small Business, “What Are the Elements of a Marketing Mix?” Forbes, “3 Reasons Why Brand Storytelling Is the Future of Marketing” Houston Chronicle, “How Does Packaging Affect Consumers?” Houston Chronicle, “What Major Elements Comprise a Good Marketing Strategy?” Inc., “How to Increase Sales by Building Brand Equity and Shaping Brand Perception” Teneric, “The Marketing Mix Explained” |