MARKETING MIX

Once you have identified your target audience and the competition, the
next thing on your to-do list should be developing a marketing mix. Every
business needs its very own marketing mix to appeal to its customers.

What is a Marketing Mix?

Marketing mix is a set of actions a business takes to build and market

its product or service to its customers. It helps to make sure that you
are able to offer your customers the right product, at the right time
and at the right place for the right price.

Whereas traditionally the marketing mix was executed through the 4 Ps

of marketing, nowadays 3 more additional tools have been added to the
mix, making it the 7 Ps of marketing. Businesses use a blend of these
marketing mix elements to generate the response they want from their
audience.

Importance of Marketing Mix

There are several benefits of the marketing mix that makes it important to
businesses;

 Helps understand what your product or service can offer to your

customers
 Helps plan a successful product offering
  Helps with planning, developing and executing effective marketing
strategies
 Helps businesses make use of their strengths and avoid unnecessary
costs
 Helps be proactive in the face of risks
 Help determine whether your product or service is suitable for your
customers
 Helps identify and understand the requirements of customers
 Helps learn when and how to promote your product or service to your
customers

Elements of Marketing Mix

Developing the correct marketing mix for your product or service starts with
understanding the Ps of Marketing.
Product

Product is a good (such as music players, shoes etc.) or service (such as

hotels, airlines, etc.) that is offered as a solution to satisfy the needs of
your customer.

When developing the product, you need to consider its life cycle and
plan for different challenges that may arise during the stages of it.
Once the product reaches its final stage (sales decline phase), it’s time to
reinvent the item to win the demand of the customers again.

Price

The next element of the marketing mix is the price your customer is
willing to pay for your product. This helps determine the profit you will
be able to generate.

When setting a price for your product, consider how much you have
spent on producing it, the price ranges of your competitors, and the
perceived product value.

Place

This is about the distribution center of the product and the methods
used in distributing it to the customer. Wherever this is, it should be
easily accessible to the customer. For example, if you have a physical
store, it should be located in a place that can be easily discovered by the
customer. If you own a website to market your product, make sure it is
easily navigable.
Promotion

Promotion refers to the methods a business uses to gain the attention

of the customers to their product. These includes sales promotions,
customer service, public relations, advertising etc.

When creating your promotion strategy, consider the tactics used by your
competitors, the channels that are most effective in reaching your
customers, and whether they match the perceived value of your
product.  
Marketing Mix 7 Ps

7 Ps of marketing mix is an extended, modified version of the 4 Ps of

marketing. This model is widely used in the service industry. It adds 3 more
elements to the 4 Ps discussed above.
People

This refers to the people – both your customers and employees – who
are directly related to the product or service.

While you need to study your target market to understand whether they are
in need of the type of product you are offering, you need to hire the right
people who are capable of giving their best to build it.

Process

Systems and processes play an important role in building and

delivering a quality service to your customer.

Make sure that you process is free of bottlenecks and blockers in order to
reduce the unnecessary expenses associated with executing the service.
You can use process maps to map process steps and analyze them to
identify where you need to make improvements.
Physical Evidence

Physical evidence refers to what the customers see when consuming

your product or service. This could include your branding, packaging,
the physical environment where you are selling your product etc.

Make sure that all physical aspects associated with your product or service
adhere to its values.

How to Develop a Marketing Mix

Define Your Goal and Set a Budget

Developing an effective marketing mix starts with setting the right goals.
Establish what you want to achieve with your marketing plan; is it to grow
sales? Acquire more customers? Build brand awareness?

Once you have set realistic and measurable goals, determine how much
you are willing to spend on achieving your objectives.

Study Your Target Customer

In order to build a product or service that your customers would want to

buy, you need to know who they are.

Find different segments in your target audience and create separate

customer profiles for each. Refer to these when you are developing your
strategies.
Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition

Clarify what your unique selling proposition is through customer surveys,

interviews, focus groups etc.

Here you will identify the benefits your product or service will bring to your
customer, and how you are better than anyone else in solving their
problems.

Understand Your Competition

Carry out a competitor analysis to understand the different strategies and

tactics used by your competitors. This knowledge will be especially helpful
when you are creating your pricing strategy.  

Record important information about your competitors on a competitor

profile like the one below
Identify the Unique Features of Your Product

List down the unique qualities and the value of your product. You can build
on these when you are marketing it to your customers. You can use the
mind map below when you are identifying the unique features of your
product.

Create a Pricing Strategy

Using the competitor research you have done, build a pricing strategy.
Make sure that you have not overpriced or underpriced your product.

Choose Your Distribution Channels & Promotional Methods

Choose the channels you will be distributing your product through based on
the type of your product or service and your target customer. And select the
promotional techniques you want to choose based on your budget, and
again the customer and your product.