Whether you are a small business owner or an executive for a Fortune 500 company, you know the strategies taken to promote your goods or services will factor heavily into their success.
One popular promotional tactic is “the Marketing Mix,” otherwise today known as “the 7 Ps of Marketing” vs “the 4 Ps of days gone by.” The 7 Ps include product, price, place, promotion, people, processes, and physical evidence.
College professor Jerome McCarthy is credited with coming up with the original marketing mix concept when he introduced 4 Ps, including product, price, place and promotion, in his 1960 book, “Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach.” As the importance of customer service grew, Bernard Booms and Mary Bitner added onto the original 4 Ps two decades later, by including people, physical evidence and processes.
Here is a more in-depth look at each of the 7 Ps and how they play into the marketing mix:
Product — What does the customer need? Whatever is offered to fill this “need” is the product being offered, whether it is a physical good or a service. It is important to note that the product can evolve as a customer’s needs change.
Price — Of the Marketing Mix’s 7 Ps, price is the only revenue-generating of the group. Selecting the right price is the ultimate balancing act for a business. By selecting too low of a price, a business yields its maximum earning potential. However, by choosing a price that is too high, you could be giving up market share as some customers will look elsewhere for products.
Place — When it comes to the 7 Ps, Place is defined as being wherever a product is sold. Place does not have to be a physical location; a website or social media channel can serve as the place. Ultimately, any platform where the product can be purchased serves as the place.
Promotion — The ways in which a product is marketed to potential audiences is defined as promotion. These marketing tactics have evolved over the years, starting with print and radio advertisements, and expanding to TV commercials. Today, businesses are more prone to use the help of tools like social media, email campaigns, or targeted advertising on search engines to promote products.
People — The people component of the 7 Ps includes, but is not limited to, sales representatives. Anyone from a business or organization who communicates with customers serves as a de facto brand ambassador. As ambassadors, it’s important that all people have a solid understanding of the product and can advocate for its benefits.
Physical Evidence — How do you prove your business exists? Physical evidence provides this proof of existence. This can be done through the presence of a brick-and-mortar building or a website. Physical evidence also includes everything associated with the product, including packaging and how it is presented in a physical store or on a website or social media.
Process — Process is defined as being the overall journey from the time a would-be customer initially inquiries about a product to the way it is ultimately delivered. An easily overlooked part of the marketing journey, the process phase provides a look at how businesses operate and how they value prospective customers. What a business reveals during the process phase may offer insight into the product being promoted. Customer service, delivery methods and follow-up all fall under processes.
The 7 Ps of the marketing mix work in collaboration with one another, and when used strategically, can help form a marketing plan that becomes a business’ blueprint for success. Consider assigning committees in your organization to take a deep dive into each of these categories to have a clear picture of how your organization is implementing the 7 Ps of marketing.
Betsy McCloskey is a partner at Plaid Swan Inc. with offices in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque. Plaid Swan is a female-owned and operated marketing communications firm.
