Use The 7Ps To Unlock Huge Business Growth
As a business owner, understanding the complexities of marketing can be daunting. However, by taking some time to familiarise yourself with the fundamental principles of marketing, you can transform your approach to business, leading to increased growth and success.
While you might have heard of the 4Ps of Marketing, we'll be looking at the expanded 7Ps, which take things a step further. The Extended Marketing Mix, as it's sometimes called, while simple, holds the potential to revolutionise your marketing strategy and propel your business forward.
Product: Innovating and Responding to Market Needs
In the competitive and ever-changing business landscape, the key challenge is ensuring that your product (or service) stands out and addresses a real need or problem. If your product fails to resonate with your target market's demands, it may get lost in the sea of competitors, regardless of its quality.
Without a deep understanding of what makes your product unique and how it benefits your customers, your offering could remain undervalued and underused. The cost of stagnation is missed opportunities and the potential loss of market presence.
You can overcome this by using a two-part approach. First, conduct thorough market research to understand the specific needs and preferences of your target audience. Use this information to tailor your product or service to meet these specific market needs. Secondly, regularly update your product's features, improve service quality, and consider expanding your product range.
Price: Strategic Pricing for Competitive Edge
Pricing is a vital element in the marketing mix, but it is often misunderstood as just a means to cover costs and generate profit. Incorrect pricing can lead to a misalignment with customer expectations, potentially harming your product's competitiveness and market appeal.
If the price is set too high, it might alienate a significant portion of your target market, especially if it doesn't align with its perceived value. On the other hand, pricing too low can devalue your offering, creating a sense of lower quality and discouraging customers who associate price with quality.
Aim for a pricing strategy that balances the cost of production with the value to the customer. This involves understanding your product's unique value proposition and how it fits within the broader market. You could also look at how seasonality and consumer trends impact sales so you can adjust your prices accordingly.
Place: Optimising Distribution and Accessibility
A major challenge in marketing is ensuring that your product is accessible to customers. It's not just about having a great product, but also about making it available where and when your customers need it. If your product is hard to find or purchase, potential sales could be impacted.
Choosing the wrong distribution channels, or having poor geographical availability, can lead to missed opportunities. Customers who prefer convenience might turn to competitors if your product isn’t easily accessible.
To combat this, make sure your product is available where your target customers are most likely to shop. Take some time to assess the geographical areas where demand is high and consider expanding your reach to these regions. By improving distribution and increasing accessibility, you're not just selling a product – you're offering convenience.
Promotion: Effective Communication with Your Market
Another key marketing challenge is effectively communicating your product's value to your target audience. We're currently being bombarded with digital advertising and promotional content, so it can be difficult to cut through the noise and capture the attention of potential customers.
If your promotional strategies fail to resonate with your audience, your product might get overshadowed by competitors. Ineffective communication can lead to low brand awareness and a weaker market presence, while neglecting the power of public relations and brand image can impact customer trust and loyalty.
Tailor your messaging to address your customers' needs and desires, creating content that is suited to each channel. Implement sales promotions, such as discounts, limited-time offers, and loyalty programs, to attract and retain customers, keeping in mind that retaining existing customers is often more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
People: The Power of The Human Element
You should ensure that every person involved in your business, from senior leaders to customer service staff, enhances the brand experience. Inconsistent or poor interactions with any of your team members can lead to a negative perception of your brand.
If your team lacks a clear understanding of your brand values, they might fail to deliver the quality of service your customers expect. This can result in missed opportunities for building strong customer relationships, leading to lost sales and decreased customer trust.
Create a culture that prioritises excellent customer service and fosters positive interactions at every touchpoint. By valuing the human element in your business, you can turn every employee interaction into an opportunity to reinforce your brand's values and build lasting customer relationships.
Processes: Streamlining Operations for Customer Satisfaction
The efficiency and effectiveness of your internal processes can significantly impact customer satisfaction. Inefficient or complex processes can lead to delays, errors, and a general decrease in service quality, which can frustrate customers and harm your brand's reputation.
If your operational processes are not streamlined and customer-centric, they can create bottlenecks and inefficiencies that directly affect your customers. Poorly designed processes not only affect the customer experience but can also lead to increased costs and reduced employee morale.
Focus on improving and streamlining your operational processes to rectify this. This includes everything from order processing and fulfilment to customer service and complaint resolution. Aim to regularly review and update your progress to ensure it remains aligned with your brand identity.
Physical Evidence: Enhancing Customer Trust
Physical evidence refers to what customers experience when interacting with your business or offering. The challenge is that without tangible proof of your quality and reliability, customers might struggle to trust or appreciate its value.
The absence of concrete proof of your brand's quality and effectiveness can result in lost sales and reduced brand health. Without this, your marketing efforts may fall short of convincing customers of the value and credibility of your offering.
Focus on providing clear proof of your service quality and product reliability. This can include anything from a well-designed website, professional-looking brochures, and customer testimonials, to the physical environment in which your service is delivered. By offering solid physical evidence, you reassure customers of your commitment to quality.
Why It Matters for Your Business
Mastering the 7Ps of marketing allows you to position your business in the market. While it's not the end-point for your introduction into the world of marketing, it provides a sound foundation you can build from, which can significantly impact your business and bottom line.
By effectively combining the 7Ps of marketing, you make your business more visible to potential customers, which can increase sales opportunities. If you're looking to expand your offering to new market segments or geographical locations, this is something you should definitely keep in mind.
Integrating the 7Ps into Your Business Strategy
The 7Ps of Marketing provide a powerful framework for structuring your marketing strategy. By focusing on this, you can create a robust marketing strategy that resonates with your target audience and drives your business towards long-term success.
If you're keen to get your marketing moving in the right direction but are unsure how to get started, get in touch. We'll help to find solutions that you can either implement with your own internal team, or with the assistance of our in-house marketing specialists.
To book a free one-hour consultation, submit an online form or give us a call on 01492 463209.