Starting and successfully propelling a business to success is no easy feat. It calls for a deep understanding of your target market and on top of it all, a good marketing strategy. That said, you may have an excellent business idea, but if your marketing strategy is wanting, you’re probably headed towards entrepreneurial suicide.
This applies not only to startups but also established entities. With that in mind, it’s crucial to fully understand what a marketing mix is and how you can use it in this digital era to increase conversions and boost sales.
WHAT IS MARKETING MIX?
The marketing mix refers to a set of four controllable variables that a business uses to promote its products and services in the market. Simply put, it’s a set of actions or elements that a company uses while promoting its brand or its products and services in the marketplace.
The concept is made up of 4Ps, namely: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. This was originally developed by Neil Borden back in the 1950s. Even though the 4Ps are still an integral part of this concept, it has been evolving, and now thanks to technology include several other Ps and Cs.
A LOOK INTO THE 4PS OF A MARKETING MIX
The primary purpose of the mix is to enable business owners to create the right products, put them at the right place, at the right time, and price. The 4ps of a good marketing mix are as follows.
PRODUCT
The product in this mix is any good or service your business will offer the targeted market. Your product should fulfill a particular need or should be compelling enough for the consumers to believe they need it. Therefore, while developing it, ensure it has features that meet the clients’ needs, it’s easy to use, and it is different from what your competitors offer.
Also, you need to understand the life cycle of your product and have a plan that’ll enable you to maintain consistent demand for it at every stage.
PRICE
The price, as you know, is what the customers you’re targeting pay for the product. Even though all other Ps are of the essence, the price is paramount as it determines your survival. Also, the price tag you put on your product dramatically contributes to how the customers perceive your brand. For instance, in the eyes of the consumer, a low-priced product translates poor quality. A price that’s too high, on the other hand, pushes them to look for faults in your product, so they can decide whether it’s worth the cost. With that in mind, you must price the product accordingly.
PLACE
This P is all about where you sell your product. The goal of this P is to ensure you distribute or place the product where your customers can easily find them. For you to get this element right, you need first to understand your target market. For instance, where do they usually turn to when looking for the kind of product you offer? Do they prefer to shop online or at brick and mortar stores?
PROMOTION
Promotion refers to all the activities aimed at informing consumers about your product, showing them why they need it or why they should pay a specific price for it.
HOW TO ALLOCATE IMPACT IN A MARKETING MIX
As noted, the 4Ps are all about creating a product that a specific group of people need, putting it in a place where those people can find it, at a price that gives them value and ensuring you do so at the right time. On the surface, it might sound simple, but when you dive a bit deeper, you’ll realize that it’s not as easy as it sounds, and deciphering it will take a good deal of organizational strategy.
Unfortunately, getting one of the 4Ps wrong can spell disaster. For instance, your product might meet customers’ needs, but if placed wrong, it won’t sell. Alternatively, it might meet the consumer need, be in the right place, but if it’s ridiculously priced, it also won’t sell.
Therefore, for your excellent business idea to yield a good outcome, you need to ensure that you get all elements of the mix right. One way to do so is by using your company’s and industry data to allocate impact. Nowadays, data plays an integral role in how businesses operate, and you too can leverage it to allocate impact to each of the 4Ps in the marketing mix.
DATA ANALYTICS AND STRATEGY
When it comes to the product, for instance, analyze your industry’s data to find out which kind of goods and services consumers prefer. With this information, tailor your product to meet and exceed their expectations so you can increase lead conversion. As for pricing, you want to set a price that offers value and is at the same time profitable. Again thanks to data you can avoid over and underpricing by analyzing the data to see the average tag provided by a majority of your competitors.
For the place, make the most out of the available data to monitor the spending habits of the targeted market. For instance, most millennials prefer to do their shopping online while a majority of baby boomers prefer shopping at the store physically. Again through data, you can determine which placement model is fit for your business.
MARKETING MIX: TO SUM IT UP
Thanks to the vast volumes of data created every day, all businesses have an opportunity to thrive as it has created a leveled playground. Thus, a good marketing mix is one that incorporates big data in all the 4Ps.
Now it’s up to you to leverage on the available data and combine your results with the marketing mix to grow your business. As always, Helios is here to help.
In addition to our superior data analysis and analytics services, we offer ongoing organizational strategy consulting for sales, financial matters, and business intelligence. Our team can help you create, develop, and fine-tune effective and efficient internal processes for both daily operations and big-picture growth.
Learn more about what we do and how we can help you take your business to the next level when you call us at (833) 743-5467 or contact us online.
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