7P’s
in
Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix is a set of controllable and
connected variables that a company
gather to satisfy a customer better than its
competitor. It is also known as the “Ps” in
marketing. Originally, there were only 4Ps
but the model has been continually
modified until it became 7P’s. The original
4 P’s stands for product, place, price and
promotion. Eventually, three elements have
been added, namely: people, packaging
and positioning to comprise the 7 P’s.
1. PRODUCT
Marketing strategy typically starts with the product. Marketers
can’t plan a distribution system or set a price if they don’t know
exactly what the product will be to the market.
Product refers to any goods or services that are produced to meet
the
consumers’ wants, tastes and preferences. An example of goods
includes tires, MP3 players, clothing and etc. Goods can be
categorized into business goods or consumer goods. A buyer of
consumer goods may not have thorough knowledge of the goods
he buys and uses. An example of services includes hair salons
and accounting firms. Services can be divided into consumer
services, such as hair styling or professional services, such as
engineering and accounting.
2. PLACE
Place represents the location where the buyer and seller
exchange goods or services. It is also called as the
distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well
as virtual stores or online shops on the Internet.
STAGES OF DISTRIBUTION
CHANNEL
3. PRICE
The price is a serious component of the marketing mix.
What do you think is the meaning of a Price?
In the narrowest sense, price is the value of money in
exchange for a product or service. Generally speaking, the
price is the amount or value that a customer gives up to
enjoy the benefits of having or using a product or service.
One example of a pricing strategy is the penetration
pricing. It is when the price charged for products and
services is set artificially low in order to gain market share.
Once this is attained, the price can be higher than before.
For example, if you are going to open a Beauty Salon, you
need to set your prices lower than those of your
competitors so that you can penetrate the market. If you
already have a good number of market share then you can
slowly increase your price.
4. PROMOTION
Promotion refers to the complete set of
activities, which communicate the product,
brand or service to the user. The idea is to
attract people to buy your product over others.
Advertising, Personal Selling, Sales Promotion,
Direct Marketing, and Social Media are
examples of promotion.
5. PEOPLE
Your team, a staff that makes it happen for you, your audience, and
your
advertisers are the people in marketing. This consists of each person
who is involved in the product or service whether directly or indirectly.
People are the ultimate marketing strategy. They sell and push the
product.
People are one of the most important elements of the marketing mix
today. This is because of the remarkable rise of the services industry.
Products are being sold through retail channels today. If the retail
channels are not handled with the right people, the product will not be
sold. Services must be first class nowadays. The people rendering the
service must be competent and skilled enough so that that the clients
will patronize your service. Therefore, the right people are essential in
marketing mix in the current marketing scenario.
6. PACKAGING
Packaging is a silent hero in the marketing
world. Packaging refers to the outside
appearance of a product and how it is presented
to the customers. The best packaging should be
attractive enough and cost efficient for the
customers. Packaging is highly functional. It is
for protection, containment, information, utility of
use and promotion.
7. POSITIONING
When a company presents a product or service in a way
that is different from the competitors, they are said to be
“positioning” it. Positioning refers to a process used by
marketers to create an image in the minds of a target
market. Solid positioning will allow a single product to
attract different customers for not the same reasons.
For example, two people are interested in buying a
phone; one wants a phone that is cheaper in price and
fashionable while the other buyer is looking for a phone
that is durable and has longer battery life and yet they
buy the same exact phone.
