The 4 basic principles of marketing are product, price, location and promotion. By mixing these four ingredients in different ways (hence the term marketing mix), you can create a synergy between the four that drives product adoption in your target markets. The concept of marketing mix was introduced in the 1950s and refined within the framework of the four Ps in the 1960s. Identify key high-level areas that need to be addressed as part of any marketing plan, such as a marketing strategy to launch a product.
The marketing mix starts with the goods or services offered by the company. Anything sold to generate revenue can be classified as a product of the marketing mix, from manufacturing razor blades to providing legal advice. The product must solve a customer problem or need. The benefits of the product must be communicated through the customer's lens.
You may think your product is fantastic, but a skeptical customer wants to know what sets it apart from your competitors and how it will meet their needs. This means that you have to understand the customer as well as, or even better than, the product. A real example is the Happy Meal product sold at McDonald's. The Happy Meal combines food and drink with a toy, and is designed for customers who are children, right down to their name and packaging.
You'll want to align prices with the value that customers perceive from the product. This means that you understand the value of your offer from the customer's perspective, which also includes your time and effort to purchase the product. If customers consider that your offer is unique or of high value, you can charge more. If customers believe that your product is on par with competing products, you may need to discount your price below that of the competition to gain customers.
Is it possible to make an online purchase? In the case of a service, what is the geographical area served to? If you sell your product to companies, distribution considerations, such as the logistics for getting shipments to your company's customers, fall into this area. Your choice of marketing tactics and tools should complement your marketing plan, which is based on your product positioning. Create a product positioning statement that serves as a central element of promotion efforts. It encapsulates all the elements of the marketing mix in one or two sentences, so it can serve as a kind of North Star that guides your marketing business.
Personally, I found that these other models added unnecessary complexity, and the traditional marketing mix stood the test of time for the products I launched. The key is to remember that the ultimate goal is to have a happy and satisfied customer. As the term marketing mix suggests, there are four ingredients that marketing revolves around. They include the product, price, promotion and location.
A seller will choose to combine them based on the product or service of their choice to ensure that there is a powerful synergy between the product and the overall target market. People, processes and physical evidence are extensions of the original Four Ps and are relevant to current marketing trends. Whatever business you run, you'll need a marketing strategy and it's likely to be based on marketing principles. Whether it's a retail store, an online retailer, or a service provider, marketing is the only way potential customers will know what you're doing.
You might think you don't have any marketing right now, but even having a live website or social media presence that explains or advertises your business is a form of marketing. It makes sense that the product spearheads the four original principles of marketing, since without a great product you don't have a business. The product section of your marketing strategy should focus not only on the quality of the product itself, but also on its adaptation to the market and its high demand. You can start with market research, such as interviews, surveys, and audits.
As you understand the relevance and demand of your product, as well as what your customers like or would change, you can adapt your marketing strategy accordingly every year. Pricing is almost, if not as crucial to your business, as a well-thought-out product. Without a clear pricing strategy to help you optimize costs, you could end up closing your business, no matter how good your product or service is. There will always be unpredictable elements that affect your prices, such as new advances in the constantly evolving digital landscape or the emergence of new impressive competitors, but when it comes to your marketing, there's more to consider than the actual price of your product.
Remember to always research the profit margins and expected margins in your industry; the key to setting the right price for your product is to understand the value your customer perceives it should cost. Even brick-and-mortar companies must have an online presence to help expand their audience. But they also have the advantage of presenting their product to customers at events, trade fairs, markets, or even in partnership with other local companies. This can help reduce overhead costs, since positioning your physical product in places that you know your target audience will find means that you'll spend less time competing with other sellers and more time making sales.
Last but not least, of the original list of principles, promotions are the aspect that most people think of when they think of “marketing”. In physical stores, this can include displays, flyers, events and your general position not only in the market but also in your local area, so promotion is closely related to the place principle. The “people to consider” in your marketing aren't just your customers, although they are undoubtedly some of the most important. However, the people principle actually refers to the human side of your company, allowing your customers to know that there is a real person behind the digital or corporate face of your brand.
For independent brands, customer service can be easy, as a person is likely to be the owner, founder, creator and promoter of the business and “the people behind your business” will feel accessible. This also makes it easier for the independent brand owner to make their customers feel cared for, and that's not something you should let go of as your brand expands. This can include anything from developing training to ensure that all employees manage tasks in the same way or adopting new interfaces and software; for example, using Shopify if you're a digital retailer will make your business more fluid and intuitive. Your brand doesn't have to produce physical products or have a physical store to rely on physical testing.
For example, the physical evidence of a software developer could be a functional piece of code. For a writer, it could be a copy signed before the deadline. For a taxi driver, you can be a happy passenger who is left safe and sound at their destination. The purpose of marketing principles is that any company can and should apply them to its marketing strategy.
For this reason, you will discover that each of the P's is broad, so it can be applied universally and shaped to suit the needs of any type of business. This makes it easier to adapt to your own unique brand. In this sense, they are an excellent starting point for any company that needs guidance when developing a marketing strategy, and you may have even started thinking about ways in which you can apply them. So why not analyze the 7 principles of marketing in the order in which they apply to you? Reordering the 7 P's based on their relevance to your business will help your team understand them in order of priority, providing an approach that could make your entire marketing strategy seem more feasible.
While the 7 principles of marketing can be applied to any business and all must be considered when developing your marketing strategy, some will be clearer and easier to implement than others. A carefully planned marketing strategy based on the 7 key principles of marketing will help you make more informed decisions and work smarter when it comes to creating the brand your customers want. Market segmentation can help you identify these key considerations, allowing you to offer star products that they really like. Jerome McCarthy, professor of marketing at Michigan State University, refined the concepts in Borden's book and called them the four P's of marketing.
The good thing about correlating these factors is that your approach depends on what the company's marketing staff wants to adopt, the current market situation, customer tastes and preferences, among other things. Now, let's look at each of the seven marketing principles and how you can apply these concepts to your own business, whether it's a physical store, an online store, or a service-based company. This area covers the tactics used by the company to communicate with customers across all of its marketing channels. The four P's are the key considerations that must be carefully considered and implemented wisely to successfully market a product or service.
Understanding the basic principles of marketing lays a solid foundation and that will position you for future success. Developing a strategy that encompasses all departments and aspects of your business will help ensure that you follow the best marketing practices for you, as well as keep abreast of new and emerging marketing techniques that can help your business move forward. . .
