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7 Ps of Marketing and How They Apply to Your Marketing Mix Looking for picture perfect marketing formulas that will likely outlast and adapt to any trend? Read on.

By Brian Tracy • Apr 26, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

No matter what industry your business operates in, there is competition to outperform and ever-evolving trends to keep up with.

You must find a way to get your business to stand out. Whether you are trying to build a name for your business or maintain its stature, marketing is the key to getting people's attention and showing them what you can do.

Marketing strategies are roadmaps that allow your company to grow brand awareness and boost consumer engagement, relationships, and trust. It takes time, effort, and sometimes budget to build a marketing plan; however, it can pay huge dividends.

Once you've developed your marketing strategy, there is a "Seven P Formula" you should use to continually evaluate and reevaluate your business activities. The formula can help you create a system of checks and balances for physical evidence that your business is constantly evolving to ensure your marketing efforts reach your target audience .

With technology as an ever-evolving factor, updating your marketing campaigns to include more than just word of mouth is essential. Nowadays, you can use many distribution channels, like digital marketing, social media, and podcasts.

No matter which platforms you choose as your marketing tools, the seven Ps can serve as tried and true basic marketing tactics that you can adapt into your marketing efforts to best fit your business.

The 7 Ps of Marketing include:

  • Positioning

Read on to learn more about the 7 Ps.

To begin with, develop the habit of looking at your product as though you were an outside marketing consultant brought in to help your company decide whether or not it's in the right business at this time. Ask critical questions such as, "Is your current product or service, or mix of products and services, appropriate and suitable for the market and the customers of today? Is this product offering any remedy to a customer's pain point?"

Whenever you're having difficulty selling as much of your products or services as you'd like, you need to develop the habit of assessing your business honestly and asking, "Are these the right products or services for our customers today?"

Is there any product or service you're offering today that, knowing what you now know, you would not bring out again today? Compared to your competitors, is your product or service superior in some significant way to anything else available? If so, what is it? If not, could you develop an area of superiority? Should you be offering this product or service at all in the current marketplace?

The second P in the formula is price. Develop the habit of continually examining and reexamining the pricing strategy of the products and services you sell to make sure they're still appropriate to the realities of the current market. Sometimes you need to lower your prices. At other times, it may be appropriate to raise your prices.

And other times, you need to research the competition to see what similar products in your industry space are going for, to ensure you are listing competitive pricing. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain new products or services doesn't justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them. By raising their prices, they may lose a percentage of their customers, but the remaining percentage generates a profit on every sale. Could this be appropriate for you?

Sometimes you need to change your terms and conditions of sale. Sometimes, by spreading your price over a series of months or years, you can sell far more than you are today, and the interest you can charge will more than make up for the delay in cash receipts. Sometimes you can combine products and services together with special offers and special promotions. Sometimes you can include free additional items that cost you very little to produce but make your product prices appear far more attractive to your customers.

In business, as in nature, whenever you experience resistance or frustration in any part of your sales or marketing plan, be open to revisiting that area. Be open to the possibility that your current pricing structure is not ideal for the current market. Be open to the need to revise your prices, if necessary, to remain competitive, to survive and thrive in a fast-changing marketplace.

Related: How to Create a Marketing Plan - Entrepreneur.com

3. Promotion

The third habit in marketing and sales is to think in terms of promotion all the time. Promotion includes all the ways you tell your target market about your products or services and how you then market and sell to them.

Small changes in the way you promote and sell your products based on segmentation can lead to dramatic changes and booms in your results. Even small changes in your advertising can lead immediately to higher sales. Experienced copywriters can often increase the response rate from advertising by 500 percent by simply changing the headline on an advertisement.

Large and small companies in every industry continually experiment with different ways of advertising, promoting, and selling their products and services. Right now? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) , is meant to improve the quality and quantity of traffic to a website.

But no matter what the favored method of the time, there is one tried and true rule. Whatever method of marketing and sales you're using today will, sooner or later, stop working. Sometimes it will stop working for reasons you know, and sometimes it will be for reasons you don't know. In either case, your methods of marketing and sales will eventually stop working, and you'll have to develop new sales, marketing and advertising approaches, offerings, and strategies.

While many might guess that email marketing and Facebook ads are today's most popular marketing activities, much of the market has already moved on to new methods.

The top five advertising techniques in 2022 include:

  • Sound-free, short-form video ads.
  • Advertising on mobile games.
  • Machine learning and artificial intelligence.
  • Collecting and advertising third-party data.
  • LinkedIn and other social media platforms.

The fourth P in the extended marketing mix is the place where your product or service is actually sold. Develop the habit of reviewing and reflecting upon the exact physical location where the customer meets the salesperson. Sometimes a change in place can lead to a rapid increase in sales.

You can sell your product in many different places. Some companies use direct selling, sending their salespeople out to personally meet and talk with the prospect. Some sell by telemarketing. Some sell through catalogs or mail order. Some sell at trade shows or in retail establishments. Some sell in joint ventures with other similar products or services. Some companies use manufacturers' representatives or distributors. Many companies use a combination of one or more of these methods.

In each case, the entrepreneur must make the right choice about the very best location or place for the customer to receive essential buying information on the product or service needed to make a buying decision. What is yours? In what way should you change it? Where else could you offer your products or services?

5. Packaging

The fifth element of the marketing mix is the packaging. Develop the habit of standing back and looking at every visual element in the packaging of your physical product or service through the eyes of a critical prospect. Remember, people form their first impression about you within the first 30 seconds of seeing you or some element of your company. Small improvements in the packaging or external appearance of your product or service can often lead to completely different reactions from your customers.

With regard to the packaging of your company, your product or service, you should think in terms of everything customer experience —what they see from the first moment of contact with your company through the purchasing process. Consider branded packaging to make an impactful first impression.

If your customer begins experiencing your brand with an eye-catching design, they are more likely to remember that experience with fond associations. Including your business logo and social media handles is another great addition to custom packaging that can invite customers to engage with your brand and promote repeat interactions.

Packaging refers to the way your product or service appears from the outside. Packaging also refers to your people and how they dress and groom. It refers to your offices, your waiting rooms, your brochures, your correspondence and every single visual element about your company. Everything counts. Everything helps or hurts. Everything affects your customer's confidence about dealing with you.

When IBM started under the guidance of Thomas J. Watson, Sr., he very early concluded that fully 99 percent of the visual contact a customer would have with his company, at least initially, would be represented by IBM salespeople. Because IBM was selling relatively sophisticated high-tech equipment, Watson knew customers would have to have a high level of confidence in the credibility of the salesperson. He therefore instituted a dress and grooming code that became an inflexible set of rules and regulations within IBM.

As a result, every salesperson was required to look like a professional in every respect. Every element of their clothing-including dark suits, dark ties, white shirts, conservative hairstyles, shined shoes, clean fingernails-and every other feature gave off the message of professionalism and competence. One of the highest compliments a person could receive was, "You look like someone from IBM."

6. Positioning

The next P is positioning. You should develop the habit of thinking continually about how you are positioned in the hearts and minds of your customers. How do people think and talk about you when you're not present? How do people think and talk about your company? What positioning do you have in your market, in terms of the specific words people use when they describe you and your offerings to others?

In the famous book by Al Reis and Jack Trout, Positioning , the authors point out that how you are seen and thought about by your customers is the critical determinant of your success in a competitive marketplace. Attribution theory says that most customers think of you in terms of a single attribute, either positive or negative. Sometimes it's "service." Sometimes it's "excellence." Sometimes it's "quality engineering," as with Mercedes Benz. Sometimes it's "the ultimate driving machine," as with BMW. In every case, how deeply entrenched that attribute is in the minds of your customers and prospective customers determines how readily they'll buy your product or service and how much they'll pay.

Develop the habit of thinking about how you could improve your positioning. Begin by determining the position you'd like to have. If you could create the ideal impression in the hearts and minds of your customers, what would it be? What would you have to do in every customer interaction to get your customers to think and talk about in that specific way? What changes do you need to make in the way you interact with customers today in order to be seen as the very best choice for the customer needs of tomorrow?

The final P of the marketing mix is people. Develop the habit of thinking in terms of the people inside and outside of your business who are responsible for every element of your sales, marketing strategies, and activities.

It's amazing how many entrepreneurs and businesspeople will work extremely hard to think through every element of the marketing strategy and the marketing mix, and then pay little attention to the fact that every single decision and policy has to be carried out by a specific person, in a specific way. Your ability to select, recruit, hire and retain the proper people, with the skills and abilities to do the job you need to have done, is more important than everything else put together.

In his best-selling book, Good to Great , Jim Collins discovered the most important factor applied by the best companies was that they first of all "got the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus." Once these companies had hired the right people, the second step was to "get the right people in the right seats on the bus."

To be successful in business, you must develop the habit of thinking in terms of exactly who is going to carry out each task and responsibility. In many cases, it's not possible to move forward until you can attract and put the right person into the right position. Many of the best business plans ever developed sit on shelves today because the [people who created them] could not find the key people who could execute those plans.

Excerpted from Million Dollar Habits

The Ps of marketing

Marketing is essential whether you run an eCommerce business, a physical store, a small business, or a large corporation. While trends may evolve, the 7Ps of marketing will likely remain true and evolve with any new trend.

Remember, as products, markets, customers and needs change rapidly, you must continually revisit the seven Ps marketing model to ensure you're on track and achieving the maximum results possible for you in today's marketplace.

Looking for more marketing resources? Explore Entrepreneur's Marketing Hub here to help grow your business .

Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, Speaker and Author

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  • Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix & The 7 P’s Of Marketing

The classic marketing mix, as established by Professor of Marketing at Harvard University, Prof. James Culliton in 1948 and expanded upon by Jerome McCarthy, incorporates Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion into a theory of marketing that has been important to the industry for more than 70 years. Since then, the theory has been expanded into the 7 P's of marketing. Which are: Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People, Packaging, and Process.

business plan 7p

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Today, we refer to these interchangeably as the 7 P's or as the Marketing Mix. Here, we will discuss this concept, its components, and answer some common questions about the marketing mix and its applications.

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What is a marketing mix?

Marketing mix is a selection of marketing tools that include several areas of focus that can be combined to create a comprehensive plan. The term refers to a classification that began as the 4 P’s: product, price, placement, and promotion, and has been expanded to Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People, Packaging, and Process.

What are the 7 Ps of Marketing?

The 4 P’s marketing mix concept (later known as the 7 P’s of marketing) was introduced by Jerome McCarthy in his book: "Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach". It refers to the thoughtfully designed blend of strategies and practices a company uses to drive business and successful product promotion. Initially 4, these elements were Product, Price, Place and Promotion, which were later expanded by including People, Packaging and Process. These are now considered to be the “7 P’s” mix elements.

It can be difficult for a small business owner or marketing manager to know how to establish a unique selling proposition or to reach the right customers, especially on new platforms like the internet, with digital marketing.

Fortunately, the 7 Ps of marketing give you a framework to use in your marketing planning and essential strategy to effectively promote to your target market.

You can also take into consideration elements of the mix in your day to day marketing decision making process with the goal to attract the right audience to successfully market to through your marketing campaigns.

The 7 elements of the marketing mix include the following:

1. Product (or Service)

Your customer only cares about one thing: what your product or service can do for them. Because of this, prioritize making your product the best it can be and optimize your product lines accordingly. This approach is called “product-led marketing.” In a marketing mix, product considerations involve every aspect of what you're trying to sell. This includes:

  • Market positioning

MailChimp Content Refresh -101 graphic -3-01

There are five components to successful product-led marketing that are important for product marketers to take into consideration:

  • Get out of the way. Let your product or service sell itself . Focus your marketing efforts on getting consumers to try what you have to offer so they can learn its value for themselves.
  • Be an expert (on your customers). Know your customer's needs and use that knowledge to help communicate your product's value.
  • Always be helping. Position yourself as an ally by creating informative content that meets your target customers’ needs, and they'll be more likely to buy from you. (This is also called content marketing .)
  • Share authentic stories. Encourage happy customers to share their experiences and tell others why they appreciate your brand.
  • Grow a product mindset. Focus on your product before you consider how to sell it. Invest in development, and the product quality will take care of the rest.

Many factors go into a pricing model. Brands may:

  • Price a product higher than competitors to create the impression of a higher-quality offering.
  • Price a product similar to competitors, then draw attention to features or benefits other brands lack.
  • Price a product lower than competitors to break into a crowded market or attract value-conscious consumers.
  • Plan to raise the price after the brand is established or lower it to highlight the value of an updated model.
  • Set the base price higher to make bundling or promotions more appealing.

Consider what you're trying to achieve with your pricing strategy and how price will work with the rest of your marketing strategy. Some questions to ask yourself when selling products:

  • Will you be offering higher-end versions at an additional cost?
  • Do you need to cover costs right away, or can you set a lower price and consider it an investment in growth?
  • Will you offer sales promotions?
  • How low can you go without people questioning your quality?
  • How high can you go before customers think you’re overpriced?
  • Are you perceived as a value brand or a premium brand?

3. Promotion

Promotion is the part of the marketing mix that the public notices most. It includes television and print advertising, content marketing, coupons or scheduled discounts, social media strategies , email marketing , display ads, digital strategies , marketing communication, search engine marketing, public relations and more.

All these promotional channels tie the whole marketing mix together into an omnichannel strategy that creates a unified experience for the customer base. For example:

  • A customer sees an in-store promotion and uses their phone to check prices and read reviews.
  • They view the brand's website , which focuses on a unique feature of the product.
  • The brand has solicited reviews addressing that feature. Those reviews appear on high-ranking review sites.
  • The customer buys the product and you’ve sent a thank you email using marketing automation .

Here are the ways you can use these channels together:

  • Make sure you know all the channels available and make the most of them to reach your target audience.
  • Embrace the move toward personalized marketing .
  • Segment your promotional efforts based on your customers' behavior.
  • Test responses to different promotions and adjust your marketing spend accordingly.
  • Remember that promotion isn't a one-way street. Customers expect you to pay attention to their interests and offer them solutions when they need them.

Where will you sell your product? The same market research that informed your product and price decisions will inform your placement as well, which goes beyond physical locations. Here are some considerations when it comes to place:

  • Where will people be looking for your product?
  • Will they need to hold it in their hands?
  • Will you get more sales by marketing directly to customers from your own e-commerce website, or will buyers be looking for you on third-party marketplaces?
  • Do you want to converse directly with your customers as they purchase, or do you want a third party to solve customer service issues?

Mailchimp Short Form -28 Graphic 181

People refers to anyone who comes in contact with your customer, even indirectly, so make sure you're recruiting the best talent at all levels—not just in customer service and sales force.

Here’s what you can do to ensure your people are making the right impact on your customers:

  • Develop your marketers’ skills so they can carry out your marketing mix strategy
  • Think about company culture and brand personality .
  • Hire professionals to design and develop your products or services.
  • Focus on customer relationship management, or CRM , which creates genuine connections and inspires loyalty on a personal level.

6. Packaging

A company's packaging catches the attention of new buyers in a crowded marketplace and reinforces value to returning customers . Here are some ways to make your packaging work harder for you:

  • Design for differentiation. A good design helps people recognize your brand at a glance, and can also highlight particular features of your product. For example, if you’re a shampoo company, you can use different colors on the packaging to label different hair types.
  • Provide valuable information. Your packaging is the perfect place for product education or brand reinforcement. Include clear instructions, or an unexpected element to surprise and delight your customers.
  • Add more value. Exceed expectations for your customers and give them well-designed, branded extras they can use, like a free toothbrush from their dentist, a free estimate from a roofer, or a free styling guide from their hairdresser.

Prioritize processes that overlap with the customer experience. The more specific and seamless your processes are, the more smoothly your staff can carry them out. If your staff isn't focused on navigating procedures, they have more attention available for customers—translating directly to personal and exceptional customer experiences.

Some processes to consider:

  • Are the logistics in your main distribution channel cost-efficient?
  • How are your scheduling and delivery logistics?
  • Will your third-party retailers run out of product at critical times?
  • Do you have enough staff to cover busy times?
  • Do items ship reliably from your website?

If you get more than one customer complaint about any process, pinpoint what's going wrong and figure out how to fix it.

Marketing mix FAQs

Understanding marketing mix and the 7 P’s can bring up a lot of questions. Below, we’ve answered some frequently asked questions to help you identify and establish your own marketing mix.

What is a marketing mix example?

A good example of the marketing mix might be a convenience store. In this instance, we might consider a chain of convenience outlets that provide a wide range of products including fresh and packaged food, tools, household, and kitchen items, novelties, magazines, etc.

  • Product : Chiefly, foods and various items located and packaged in a way that provides convenience and utility.
  • Price : Pricing will be considered competitive with supermarkets, with some exceptions where convenience, novelty, and fun add special appeal.
  • Place : Locations should be amenable to the value proposition of convenience. As such, locations should be strategically positioned near residential areas, shopping centers, educational centers, etc.
  • Promotion : Advertising will be largely constrained to posted promotional material, the outlet buildings themselves, local social media pages, and so on.

Here, we will consider the customer experience as the opportunity to access simple food items, snacks, and a range of useful products for home, recreation, and more.

Another example might be a streaming service. Here our 4 P's are as follows:

  • Product : Original quality entertainment and convenient viewing access.
  • Price : Free trial offer, premium packages, and a commercial free subscription level.
  • Place : The subscriber's digital device.
  • Promotion : Extended advertising across a range of channels and platforms, including high-value metropolitan billboards, magazines, and word of mouth.

Here, the customer experience is appealing, long-form video content primarily in the form of popular TV, films, comedy specials, and more with an emphasis on convenient home viewing.

What are the types of marketing mix?

In reality, there are as many types of marketing mixes as there are functioning businesses in the world. To make things simpler, we might try to make our model fit within one of 7 common, established marketing mix types as listed below.

  • Product Mix
  • Product Progression and Product Life Cycle
  • Market Coverage Mix (aka Positioning Mix)
  • Service Mix
  • Marketing Program Mix (or Promotional Mix)
  • Channel Mix/Vertical Integration
  • Global Marketing Mix (or International Marketing Mix)

As you can see, making a given company's value proposition and promotional needs fit into one of these categories might not work well. Our convenient store example might fit into the service mix since convenience is the primary value we would be offering. But our streaming service might also be called a "service mix,” or even a "product mix."

In most cases, it is best to generate an original marketing mix that describes the marketing needs of a real life organization.

What are the 4 P’s of marketing mix?

The 4 P's are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

  • Product : The product is an item or service for sale. For marketing purposes, we should consider who it is for and why they would want it. We should also consider and compare our offering to that of the competition.
  • Price : This is the amount customers will be willing or required to pay. Often, making prices competitive is a significant challenge. In cases where prices cannot be lowered below the market benchmark, additional value may need to be added to the offer.
  • Place : This is the location/s where the product or service can be accessed and where it is used. For a restaurant, location is everything. For a streaming service, it is the user's home or the location where they buy computer devices and services.
  • Promotion : This describes how, where, and how frequently advertising materials will be produced and where they appear. With our convenience store, the promotional material is largely on and in the store itself. With our streaming service, it would be in locations all over the web and any other appropriate location/media.

The takeaway

The marketing mix and the 7 P's of marketing are a guide to drafting and creating an outreach campaign for any given commercial enterprise. They are guidelines that help us cover all of our bases when it comes to brand outreach. It should be borne in mind that branding considerations are not covered in the concepts covered by these promotional frameworks.

The elements of these guidelines work together to create a functional framework for the creation of a complete marketing plan.

Develop your marketing mix and integrate it into your marketing essentials. As you develop your marketing mix, consider how each element affects the rest to create a unified brand experience for your consumers, from the user experience to the perceived value of your product. Think about how a product's price changes its promotion strategy, how specifications will contribute to pricing, and how your people carry out processes. Ensure that your people and the tools they use can communicate with each other, and use the right tools to reach the right people.

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  • 7P Marketing Mix

What is the 7P Marketing Mix?

The 7P Marketing Mix is a set of 7 factors you should focus on when developing your Marketing Strategy .

Why is this definition so similar to the 4P Marketing Mix one? Because is the same concept.

The 7P Marketing Mix is nothing but an extended 4P Marketing Mix .

While the classic 4P Marketing Mix analyzes the:

  • Promotion .

The 7P Marketing Mix , simply adds the next 3 factors to this:

Physical Evidence .

We explained in our “ 4P Marketing Mix ” page, the main factors to study within a 4P analysis.

  • If you have not visited that page yet, we encourage you to do so right now since here, we’ll just explain the additional 3 factors that a 7P Marketing Mix includes .

What do these 3 new factors mean?

Now, we’ll explain you what these new factors add with some examples and why should you worry about them:

1. Physical Evidence - 7P Marketing Mix

This factor tends to have more than one meaning.

Depending on who you ask you can receive a different answer.

It Usually means 2 things :

  • Literally, giving the customer Physical Evidence about what they are buying .
  • Show, with Physical Evidence, why your product is the best in the Market .

We know that both of them seem to be the same.

Now, we’ll explain the difference with helpful examples:

1.1 Give Physical Evidence about what they are buying

Sometimes, Companies offer intangible products or some intangible values that are associated to their physical products.

Customers are like “serial killers”: they like keeping evidences about what they purchased .

  • The higher the price of the product, the bigger the evidence should be.

This evidence can be in :

  • With the Logo of the Brand everywhere.
  • Usually in luxury brands.
  • With VIP Memberships, for example.

Rolex - Physical Evidence - 7P Marketing Mix example

business plan 7p

The Rolex example is the best one we could have chosen since it offers lots of Physical Evidences.

1. As soon as you enter in an authorized Rolex shop :

  • If you are intended to buy a Rolex, you’ll surely receive a glass of Champagne .

2. Together with your Watch, you’ll receive:

  • A serial number that guarantees that it is not a fake watch.
  • A high quality leather box containing the watch.
  • Access to the Rolex community ; events, notifications, etc.

3. The watch has a perfectly identifiable design .

  • You receive a watch that everybody identifies as synonym of high economical status.

business plan 7p

All these things are not assuring you that Rolex is the best technical option you could have made.

These Physical Evidences tell you that you are purchasing a luxury product, nothing else :

  • The box may seem very beautiful, but its price is nothing compared to the watch you are acquiring.
  • The glass of Champagne may feel very sophisticated, but it represents nothing to the shop: the whole bottle may cost $50.
  • If Rolex changed its famous designs, the people wouldn’t identify their watches so easily (and lets be honest; 80% of the people owning a Rolex want to brag about it).

1.2. Physical Evidence about why your product is the best in the Market

This is a different Physical Evidence approach.

While the previous one was more “whim-oriented”, this one is a more Technical approach .

When you are stating that your product is either the best one, or different, you have to give proof about it to your customers before they buy your product .

We will give you an example about what may happen if you don’t or can’t give Physical Evidence to your customers :

Nintendo 3DS - Physical Evidence - 7P Marketing Mix example

business plan 7p

As soon as Nintendo announced the Nintendo 3DS we were sure about its success.

  • A portable device that can generate 3D images without any glasses : Amazing!

However it didn’t succeeded as much as Nintendo expected … Why?

The problem they had was that Nintendo couldn’t give Physical Evidence about its technically-amazing product through conventional Marketing campaigns .

  • You could see a TV commercial where they explained to you how good the 3D images were, but unless you were in front of it, you would never experience the effect .

Nintendo 3DS case is very curious, because Nintendo couldn’t do much for giving Physical Evidence about its product .

This example shows how, sometimes, having the best product in not enough: you always have to give proof about what you offer .

  • That is why that many food brands offer you little pieces of cheese, chocolate, drinks… at the supermarkets.

2. Process - 7P Marketing Mix

The process represents all the actions that take place when developing, showing and delivering your product to the final customer .

This is a commonly forgotten factor but for some companies, it represents the real key to success.

Think about how many businesses success mainly, because they have a proper process:

  • Automotive companies that elaborate their cars efficiently .
  • Websites that have a nice and friendly user interface.
  • Fast food companies that have defined a elaboration process that saves time and money.

A proper process can :

  • Increase your margins by reducing the costs .
  • Allow you to engage more with your customers .
  • Ensure the best quality .

Nespresso - Process - 7P Marketing Mix example

business plan 7p

If there is a company that has understood how important the “purchasing process” is for engaging your customers, is Nespresso .

  • Nespresso is a good example for lots of things: Design, Physical Evidence, Branding…

However, we’ll focus on how good its selling process is :

  • They design elegant stores that customers identify with the company’s essence.
  • As soon as you enter in its stores, you find stylish people that are always very kind to you .
  • The product is placed in perfectly neat shelves .
  • They offer you a free coffee .
  • You can enter in the Nespresso club , with nice discounts and access to promotions.
  • Finally, there are always new flavors so you “feel the obligation” of coming back periodically .

business plan 7p

This “purchasing process” generates a desirable experience for the customers and allows Nespresso to project its coffee as a more exclusive product.

If you think about it, Nespresso just sells coffee, nothing else (ok, coffee machines) then… Why do you feel that they are offering you something else?

So, from now on, don’t focus just on the product itself.

Regard it as an entire Manufacturing and Delivery Process :

  • From the moment it was being developed to the moment the final client received it.

3. People - 7P Marketing Mix

The People factor refers to everyone involved in the Marketing and Manufacturing process .

Sometimes, this factor only considers people within a Company: Designers, Managers… but Clients should also be taken into account .

Hence, we’ll divide this factor into 2:

  • The People involved in the product’s development .
  • Clients ‘ profiles.

3.1 People involved in the product's development

This is an extension of the 7P Process factor, previously explained.

A company is as good as the people integrating it , so you should analyze all the professionals involved at key positions:

  • Commercials.

Apollo XI - People - 7P Marketing Mix example

business plan 7p

It’s been 50 years since the first man reached the moon with the Apollo XI.

Undoubtedly, it is one of the biggest achievements in history of mankind.

But, how on earth could they reach the moon with 1969’s technology?

  • They had the best scientists and engineers in the world . That is how.

If you wanted to replicate this big achievement, you would have to hire the best brains in the world.

This simple but effective example shows how sometimes, the key thing for guaranteeing a project’s success is the people involved .

  • You can also appreciate this fact at Movies, where the success normally relies on one single actor’s interpretation.

3.2 Clients' profiles

This factor highlights how important is to take into account your clients:

  • Who they are .
  • Where they come from .
  • What they like .

YouTube - People - 7P Marketing Mix example

business plan 7p

Some years ago, while I was having a beer at a friend’s house and, I remembered an interesting video I had watched on YouTube.

It was a video that had been suggested to me repeatedly, so I expected to find the same video at the first page of my friend’s computer .

However, I found completely different suggestions at his main page.

Now, we all know that YouTube suggests certain videos to certain profiles.

But at that moment that shocked me, since it was a similar person, with similar cultural background , from the same city, with the same age.

  • We went to the same school… so I was surprised YouTube had not suggested this video to my friend.

YouTube analyzes all the videos you have seen so far, the ones that you liked the most, the language of the videos, where you come from… So they can suggest the content that better fits you .

And that is why YouTube is of king of content nowadays.

Categorize customers is very difficult.

Even between brothers and sisters you would have it difficult: how different we are from our parents, cousins, brothers…

No matter how difficult it is: you have to adapt your Marketing strategies to your client’s tastes, cultural backgrounds and preferences .

Otherwise you’ll never engage with them.

Never forget: Your client must be the centre of all the decisions you take .

Summarizing

The 7P Marketing Mix is nothing but an amplified 4P analysis.

To the traditional:

The 7P Marketing Mix adds :

  • Give physical evidence about what the customer is buying .
  • Give proof about why your product is the best in the market.
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Home Marketing Strategy The Marketing Mix: Building a Strategy With the 7Ps

The Marketing Mix: Building a Strategy With the 7Ps

Aaron Brooks

“The marketing mix” aims to provide a complete framework for modern business models and marketing strategies across the entire customer journey.

While there are many variations of the marketing mix, the most common framework consists of seven elements, collectively known as the 7Ps. The idea is that a business can adopt the 7Ps principle and use it as a seven-step framework for building a successful marketing strategy that covers every stage of the buying process.

In this article, we look at how you can use the marketing mix to build a complete strategy, plus a few tips for improving the 7Ps model.

What is the 7Ps model?

The 7Ps marketing model is a framework designed to help businesses build a complete marketing strategy, from start to finish. In theory, a new business should be able to use the 7Ps model to devise an entire marketing strategy from scratch.

business plan 7p

The name derives from the seven elements outlined in the 7Ps model, which all begin with the letter “P”:

  • Physical evidence

The 7Ps model is an evolution upon the 4Ps model originally founded by E. Jerome McCarthy in 1960, in his book Marketing: A Managerial Approach . The original marketing mix concept was created during a time when the majority of businesses sold physical products and it was updated in the 1980s as more service-oriented businesses started to emerge.

The evolution from 4Ps to 7Ps

As mentioned in the previous section, Jerome McCarthy’s 4Ps model was created for businesses selling products to consumers.

As Smart Insights explains:

“The 4Ps were designed at a time where businesses were more likely to sell products, rather than services and the role of customer service in helping brand development wasn’t so well known.”

The original 4Ps included:

business plan 7p

These same four elements still exist as the primary components of the 7Ps models. As business and consumer markets have evolved, the application of the marketing mix has adapted, too. In 1981, Bernard H. Booms and Mary J. Bitner expanded McCarthy’s model into the 7Ps marketing mix we know today.

While the original 4Ps remain in place, Booms and Bitner added a further three Ps in the mix:

business plan 7p

The 7Ps model was created to reflect the emergence of service-oriented businesses where “Product” can mean either prospects or services. The expanded model also increases the emphasis upon customer service, as a result of increased consumer power and competition in every industry.

Like its predecessor, the 7Ps marketing mix has adapted to the evolution of consumer trends and new technologies.

In his book, Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice , digital strategist and co-founder of Smart Insights, Dave Chaffey, refreshed the 7Ps model for the modern digital age.

business plan 7p

Some marketers argue that the 7Ps model is outdated but, even in 2021, it’s the backbone for business models and marketing theories. In fact, even the older 4Ps model is as relevant today as it was in 1960, even if it doesn’t cover the entire marketing mix in the modern, digital age.

This will become more obvious throughout the rest of this article as we look at each of the 7Ps individually and, later, assess whether there are any gaps or weaknesses in the model.

Applying the 7Ps to digital marketing

Now that you understand the basic premise of the marketing mix, let’s take a closer look at the 7Ps model that’s most widely associated with it today. Let’s start by reminding ourselves of what the 7Ps stand for and explain a bit about what they actually mean.

  • Product: The product or service, including its features, unique selling points and the overall quality on offer.
  • Promotion: The methods used to promote the product across multiple channels.
  • Price: The long-term pricing strategy of the product in question, including sales, discounts & deals.
  • Place: Where people find your product, learn about it and, ultimately, buy it.
  • People: The people who come into contact with your target customers – both directly and indirectly.
  • Process: Your methods for delivering the product to customers and providing the best possible experience.
  • Physical evidence: Tangible items and experiences that tell customers your offer is real – for digital, this can include website visits, confirmation emails, testimonials, customer reviews and more.

Now, it’s worth reaffirming the point that the original 4Ps are solid figures in the updated 7Ps model but you will find some variation in the three additional Ps added into this model, depending on where you get your information from.

We’re sticking to the original 7Ps model for this part of the article but we’ll look at ways you can adapt and expand it even further to meet the needs of your business later on.

#1: Product

The first P in this marketing model is “Product” and this is almost unanimously featured as the first P in all versions of the marketing mix. This is because one of the core principles of this theory is that marketing begins with your product.

At the end of the day, if you’ve got a lousy product – especially in this day and age – you’re going to have a hard time marketing it.

The key elements of the product in your marketing mix can vary, depending on which market you’re and who your target audiences are. But, at the very least, you should invest good resources into the following:

  • Quality: Higher product quality makes everything else you do in marketing and sales so much easier.
  • Image: This refers to how people see your product and this is what separates products like the iPhone from Android devices or sports cars from cheaper, more practical vehicles.
  • Branding: Closely linked to “image”, this is the brand story you build around your product and how it incorporates with your wider brand image.
  • Features: The features of your product or service, which should place a heavy emphasis on USPs and benefits for your target customers.
  • Variants: The different versions of your product or service, who they target and how you differentiate them.

The list could go on-and-on for Product and if you go back to Dave Chaffey’s version of the 7Ps we looked at earlier, you’ll see this is the longest list in his visualisation.

His list isn’t definitive or complete either; it’s up to you to decide which items belong on this list for your business. The point is that your product (or service) is the focal point of your marketing strategies and you want to do everything you can to ensure the right level of quality is there.

Take TrueNorth for example. The first thing you see on the homepage is the Product; It’s branding (both the name and visual style), product imagery, and a video walking through the product features.

business plan 7p

#2: Promotion

Promotion refers to your marketing, advertising and sales activities across all channels. Once again, your channels of choice will vary depending on the nature of your business. For example, a B2B company may prioritise account-based marketing while a B2C company in the same industry might focus more on direct marketing methods.

Above all, you need to be present where your target audiences are active and interested in a brand like yours.

Given the rapid evolution of multi-channel marketing, this is one area where a version of the 7Ps model from as recent as five years ago can quickly look dated.

Here are some key elements to consider:

  • Multi-channel marketing: The consumer journey takes place across more devices, sessions and platforms than ever before, making it all the more important that you’re present on the channels that matter most to your target audiences.
  • Personalised experiences: The more relevant you can make experiences to individual users, the more engaging your messages become and the more “locked-in” customers are to your brand.
  • Integrated marketing & sales: Today’s brands need seamless integration between marketing and sales strategies to prevent leads getting lost along the funnel.
  • Lead nurturing: A lot of brands make the mistake of focusing all of their attention on lead generation without dedicated enough resources to lead nurturing – especially customer retention.
  • Branding: Today’s consumers want authentic experiences and brands are scrutinised for their ethical practices, making brand image more important – and fragile – than ever.
  • PR: Brands don’t always give PR the attention it deserves in the digital age but it’s an invaluable tool for building, maintaining and even changing your brand image.
  • Automation: As the digital marketing workload increases, brands need to automate as many repetitive tasks as they can to manage multi-channel campaigns successfully, maintain costs and achieve the fastest possible growth.

There’s no doubt that the Promotion aspect of the 7Ps model is getting more challenging with every year that passes, as technology and consumer trends become more complex.

The days of running a few TV ads and blasting out some unsolicited email campaigns are long behind us.

business plan 7p

Today’s brands need to use the right marketing and sales software to maximise productivity, automate repetitive tasks and manage campaigns across an ever-growing number of channels.

Take a look at some of our software recommendation articles for help with this:

  • 30+ Best Free Marketing Tools
  • 10 Best All-in-One Email Marketing, Automation & CRM Platforms
  • 53 Business Automation Tools That Skyrocketed Our Growth by 330%

Price is pretty self-explanatory but the mistake companies normally make is underestimating the amount of detail that goes into pricing a single product – let alone an entire range of products or services.

Here’s a list of just some of the things you need to strategise:

  • Positioning: Where do you see your product, service or brand positioning in the market?
  • Competition: The price of rival products, brand image of rival brands and competing quality of the products on offer.
  • Justification: As soon as someone spends money on goods or a service, they instinctively spend time trying to justify the expense – and you need to make sure the result is worth the asking price.
  • Discounts: Discounts should be strategic and planned out to maximise interest, demand and sales – not to clear unwanted items off the shelves.
  • Credit: Are you going to offer credit options to make large purchases and expenses more manageable for your customers?
  • Payment methods: Which payment methods are you going to provide your target customers?
  • Free or value-added elements: Which freebies, value-added elements and incentives are you going to use to sweeten the deal for your prospects.

Value is highly subjective and the happiness of your customers with their purchases is determined far more by emotion than logic. As we’ve explained before in our articles on cognitive biases , you can influence consumer perception with simple psychological techniques.

business plan 7p

A common example of this is software pricing pages where companies start with the most expensive price on the left side of the page. This exploits a cognitive weakness known as anchoring bias where people instinctively set the first piece of information they see as default, meaning any lower prices that follow naturally feel like good value.

Place is the final P in the original 4Ps model and this traditionally refers to the place where customers physically buy products and services. Of course, in the digital age, things are a little more complex and we have to expand the concept of place across multiple channels throughout the customer journey:

  • Discovery: The “places” both online and offline where potential customers discover your brand and its products/services.
  • Browsing: The locations where prospects can browse through your offers alongside competitors (e.g.: an online store) or within your own domain (e.g.: a product category on your website).
  • Learn: Places where target audiences can learn more about your products or services, such as third-party reviews.
  • Comparison: Where potential customers go to compare your offers against rival brands.
  • Physical interaction: Any place where prospects are able to physically touch the product or service (if relevant) although this could apply to free trials and demos for digital products, too.
  • Purchases: Online and offline locations where your customers can purchase from you.
  • Customer services: The channels where customers can reach out for care after making the initial purchase.
  • Retention: The channels you use to target customers after the initial purchase to entice further sales.

Place in the digital age refers to every strategic location where potential customers engage with your brand and its product or services – both before and after the sale.

business plan 7p

The point is, you need to control these locations, which starts with choosing the right channels of discovery to capture new leads and then nurturing prospects along the sales funnel with targeted interactions.

In today’s customer-centric approach to marketing, you might assume “People” refers to your target audiences, buyer personas and customers. However, the People in the 7Ps model actually refers to the people within your organisation that interact with your customers – both directly and indirectly:

  • Marketers: The 7Ps model highlights the importance of hiring the best talent for every position on your marketing team.
  • Sales team members: These are the people who typically handle the first person-to-person interactions with your customers – and often seal the deal.
  • Customer service team: The individuals tasked with keeping your customers happy, even when things aren’t quite going to plan.
  • Recruitment: Hiring the best talent starts with having quality recruitment personnel.
  • Training & skills: The people responsible for ensuring all of your team members encompass the brand ethos and meet your requirements.
  • Managers: The people with people skills to manage teams, get the best out of everyone and ensure you hit targets.

Chances are, you’ll have several other groups or teams included in your People. Here at Venture Harbour, we’ve got the developers who build and test our products, designers who create the best possible experience for our customers and a pool of freelancers we turn to for a range of different tasks.

business plan 7p

Everyone in our team contributes to building and delivering the best product and experiences we can to our customers – and it’s important we recognise the value in that.

For more information on how to build and manage a marketing team effectively, you can read our guide:

  • Marketing Teams: How to Structure & Manage Them Effectively

#6: Process

Process in the 7Ps model refers to your processes for delivering the product or service to your customers, as well as any additional customer service and post-purchase systems you have in place.

At the very least, you should have processes in place for the following:

  • Customer-end delivery: The customer’s process for attaining your product or service, whether it’s ordered online and delivered via a courier, bought in-store, downloaded from your website or accessed through an online sign-up process.
  • Business-end delivery: Your processes for facilitating customer-end delivery and safeguards for resolving any potential issues (e.g.: technical issues preventing online purchases).
  • Customer service: Your processes, systems and channels for providing customer service beyond the initial sale.
  • Resolutions: Your processes for dealing with problems that prevent usual delivery systems from completing successfully and instances where customers are unhappy with the process/service received.
  • Incentives: Measures designed to keep unhappy customers engaged with your brand so you can keep them on board and win them over.
  • Returns & refunds: Your systems for dealing with returns, cancellations, refunds and any other processes for customers who refuse to stay on board.
  • Feedback: Your processes for collecting customer feedback and applying these insights to product/service improvements.
  • T&Cs: The terms and conditions that your customers agree to, specifying your processes and protecting your business in any instance where things don’t go to plan.

You have to carefully and strategically build processes for every customer interaction, down to the finest detail. When your primary method of delivering products or services to your customers fails, you need a solid backup plan – and another one for when your Plan B fails, too.

Today’s customers have more options than ever and modern businesses need to satisfy these expectations – from delivery methods and payment options to customer service channels and financial guarantees.

If you’re doing this properly, you’ll be forced to make some difficult decisions and it’s not always a question of doing what’s best for the customer. For example, you don’t want to make it too easy for customers to seek a refund, return items or close accounts. You want to carefully add some friction here and there to provide crucial time for resolving issues and encourage continued use.

business plan 7p

Likewise, your customer service processes need to be effective in terms of keeping customers on your side but they also need to be affordable and it’s not always realistic to have an in-house team of customer care staff sitting by the phones every day.

Once again, technology can help you strike the right balance between customer care and profitability – for example, using chatbots to handle the first interactions with customers. Likewise, personalised automated email responses can cut the perceived time it takes for human team members to contact customers directly.

#7: Physical evidence

The final P in the 7Ps stands for Physical evidence and this used to refer to actual physical items and forms of interaction: products, stores, receipts, packaging, bags and other branded items that could be seen and touched.

Of course, these are all forms for physical evidence today but, in the digital age, we have to reconsider our definition of “physical”.

So what does physical evidence really achieve?

Well, on one hand, it helps customers feel more confident that they’re dealing with a legitimate business before they make a purchase. A company with stores across the country, great products and nice packaging must be doing pretty well for itself and, surely, this wouldn’t be possible if they weren’t taking good care of their customers – right?

business plan 7p

The second key role physical evidence plays is after the initial sale by providing customers with evidence that the transaction took place, their payment was received and their products or services will be delivered.

  • Places: This was the fourth P on our list of 7Ps and these locations act as physical evidence – whether it’s your website, physical stores or trusted third-party platforms.
  • Third-party evidence: Customer reviews, press coverage in major publications and positive press are especially important in the digital age where simply having a website doesn’t provide the level of physical evidence real-world stores.
  • Online experience: That said, the quality of your website and the user experience it provides are crucial forms of physical evidence in the modern consumer journey.
  • Feedback: Sales staff provide all kinds of feedback through conversation, facial expressions and body language, which is lost in the online experience. So it’s important to design intuitive feedback into the experience – everything from click confirmations and animations to on-page feedback when forms are completed and payments are submitted.
  • Order confirmation: Whether it’s physical receipts or confirmation emails, customers need to know their transactions are successful.
  • Product packaging: Both the physical and digital packaging/branding of your products or services.

Physical evidence is primarily about easing consumer concerns and purchase anxieties by reassuring potential customers that your business is legitimate, their money is in good hands and the purchase is going to go smoothly.

By providing feedback across the entire customer journey, you can confirm that every little interaction is successful and build reassurance as they get closer to putting their money on the line.

What are the limitations of the 7Ps model?

There’s no such thing as a perfect marketing model and, no matter how comprehensive a list we make for each of the 7Ps, there’s no way it can cover every aspect of a digital marketing strategy.

In fact, there are various different versions of an 8th P added to the model of seven, depending on which marker you speak to. As Smart Insights explains in this article , “An eighth P, ‘Partners’ is often recommended for businesses to gain reach online… although some would argue it’s part of Place.”

Other incarnations of a proposed 8Ps model may include Performance, Productivity, Packaging or a range of other alliterated alternatives for the enigmatic title of the eighth P.

If this debate tells us anything, it’s that the 7Ps model clearly has its limitations and there have been plenty of expansions or alternatives proposed in the past.

For me, the glaring omission in the 4Ps and 7Ps models is the lack of reference to the end customer in both of them. In fact, on a broader scale, neither model even makes a reference to market research and ensuring there’s a large enough target audience for the product or a demand for it.

I guess you could solve this problem without changing the 7Ps model by simply including customers in People and market research in Product. However, stronger alternatives have been offered in “the age of the customer” while others can be used to expand upon the 7Ps model.

In 1990, Robert F. Lauterborn proposed his customer-centric alternative to the 4Ps model, which we can crudely call the 4Cs:

  • Customer needs
  • Convenience
  • Communication

This offers a more customer-centric alternative to the traditional 4Ps model that feels a lot more suitable for the modern age. However, there are problems with simply replacing the Ps for Cs.

As we mentioned in the Process section earlier, if you only consider the customer in your delivery methods, you can easily overlook the business management side of things. Likewise, if you think of the customer with your customer service processes, then you can end up creating a system that hurts your bottom line – either by being too generous or overspending on your customer care systems.

While it sounds great to talk about the customer experience as the priority (perhaps it should be), it’s not the only factor in a successful business, by any means – or a complete marketing strategy for that matter.

As Hannah Tow suggests in her article for G2 , we might be better off extending the 7Ps even further to include the 4Cs, allowing us to look at Price from the business’ perspective and also the Cost from the customer’s point of view.

Create the model that works for you (and your customers)

The 7Ps model isn’t a fixed framework that you have to follow religiously. It’s more of a template that helps you consider every aspect of marketing across the entire journey – so you don’t overlook key factors like how physical evidence increases confidence and enhances the customer experience.

It’s a model that you should scrutinise, adapt and reshape to suit your business, your target audiences and your customers. Whether this means staying relatively true to the original 7Ps, expanding it with the 4Cs or coming up with your own version is entirely up to you.

Just make sure you cover all of the essential bases to avoid leaving gaps in your marketing strategy and the customer experience.

Getting your marketing mix structured & organised

We’ve broken down a lot of theory, but how do you actually apply this and ensure you have marketing activity across all stages of the marketing mix?

Well, initially you may consider running an audit across all seven areas to identify which areas need attention. From there, you will want to come up with ideas and begin tracking these as campaigns/tasks in whichever tool you use to manage your marketing.

business plan 7p

In TrueNorth , for example, you could allocate budget across the 7Ps and even track your marketing activity and results according to the various 7Ps to ensure you are doing enough in each area and to separate the campaigns that are designed to improve each of the seven areas.

While there’s no right or wrong way to do it, the key is to ensure you take stock of where you are and have a clear system in place to constantly improve in all areas of the marketing mix over time.

Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks is a copywriter & digital strategist specialising in helping agencies & software companies find their voice in a crowded space.

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The 7Ps of The Marketing Mix: Streamline your Strategy

Ashleigh McCabe

As marketers, we should never underestimate the power of planning. For most of us, that means creating a water-tight marketing strategy, informed by analysis and data - one that has objectives, a target market, and proven tactics. 

We all use different blueprints depending on our industry, our target audience and our products and services. But there’s one, timeless model that any marketer can utilise regardless of their field of work and that is the marketing mix.

What is the marketing mix?

Traditionally, the marketing mix is a framework for your marketing strategy containing four key elements: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. Then we have the extended marketing mix - or the 7Ps - which contains the first four elements, plus Physical Evidence, People and Processes. 

It’s important to note that while the marketing mix can influence your strategy and provide a greater understanding of the wider market, as well as your business internally, it doesn’t work in isolation. The marketing mix is a tactic that works best when it’s implemented regularly or semi-regularly as a structure for planning, executing, evaluating and re-evaluating your marketing activities. 

Who created the marketing mix?

The marketing mix is a concept developed by professor and academic, Neil H. Borden , who elaborated on James Culliton’s concept of business executives being mixers of ingredients - ingredients being different marketing features and practices.  The marketing mix was later refined by professor and author, Jerome McCarthy, to specifically include four key components: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. McCarthy wrote about the 4Ps in the 1960s in his book Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach .

The 4Ps vs the 7Ps

These original 4Ps of the marketing mix covered the fundamental factors of business and marketing at the time.  But as we know, marketing and business as a whole have evolved exponentially since then, so it was only a matter of time before the marketing mix needed to be expanded.  In 1981, the 4Ps were built upon by two modern academics, B.H. Booms and M.J. Bitner, who identified three additional elements they saw as key to the marketing mix: Physical Evidence, People, and Process, thus providing us with what we now know as the 7Ps of the marketing mix.  And it makes sense that these three were the elements Booms and Bitner added to the marketing mix framework. People are at the heart of every business. Without people, you have no one to market to; no one is there to buy your product or make use of your services. It’s a no-brainer.

What are the 7Ps of the marketing mix?

Now that you know what the 7 Ps of the marketing mix are and their origins, let’s dive a little deeper into the definition of each aspect.

Product refers to what is being sold - a physical product, service, or experience.  No matter how you position yourself as a brand, your product or service is always going to be at the centre of your strategy and will influence every aspect of the marketing mix. When you think of your product, consider factors such as:

  • Specific features
  • Packaging/presentation
  • The problem that it will solve for your customers

Product in this case, then, is about crafting something that meets the needs and desires of your target audience. This means understanding their preferences, pain points, and aspirations. By meticulously aligning your product with customer expectations, you create a solid starting point for your marketing endeavours. Over 30,000 consumer products are launched yearly. Out of these 30,000 new products, 95% of them fail woefully without having any significant impact on the market. 

Choosing the right distribution channels significantly impacts your product's accessibility and visibility. Effective placement ensures your product is available when and where your target audience needs it. Place in the marketing mix doesn't just mean physical locations—it encompasses websites, catalogues, social media, trade shows, and brick-and-mortar stores.

7 ps of the marketing mix statisticsBlog-02

Source: Zippia

Place covers all distribution channels. Factors like your target audience influence your choices. Selling via a single high-street store won't work if your audience is mostly online or global. Test options—could an eCommerce site or a pop-up store work? A mix might suit your business. Understanding your target audience is vital for the right distribution. To profit consistently, distribute where your brand fits and your audience can access. Make your presence felt where it matters most.

The right pricing strategy is critical for a product's success. A misstep in pricing can jeopardize your ROI. Bain & Company research found that 18% of companies lack internal processes for pricing decisions. Your price should mirror customer perception, align with your budget, and ensure profitability. Pricing significantly impacts your business's success, affecting marketing, sales, and demand. Various pricing strategies exist , each with unique benefits and considerations, depending on your product and brand image.

6 Common pricing strategies:  

  • Price Skimming : Begin with a high price, gradually lowering it over time.
  • Competition-Based Pricing : Set prices above or below competitors' rates.
  • Economy Pricing : Target budget-conscious buyers with lower prices.
  • Premium Pricing : Attach a high price, emphasizing product quality.
  • Value-Based Pricing : Determine price based on perceived customer value.
  • Cost-Plus Pricing : Set price based on production cost plus markup.

Whatever your pricing strategy is, ensure it aligns with your brand, appeals to customers, and maintains profitability. Monitor the market, economy, and competitors to adjust as needed.

7ps free template download

4. Promotion

Promotion is at the core of our marketing expertise. Whether through direct marketing, PR, advertising, content strategies, or in-store presentations, as marketers, we excel in raising awareness and engagement. Promotion involves telling a compelling brand story that resonates with consumers, guiding them to consider your offerings. Effective promotional strategies achieve various goals, from elevating brand recognition to driving sales and revenue. Addressing key questions sets the stage:

Where is your audience able to find you? Online or in a physical store? 

Does seasonal impact influence your business?

What is your brand personality and how does it shape your messaging and design? 

  • How do competitors promote themselves? A SWOT analysis helps here.

Promotional tactics fall into two categories: traditional and digital . Traditional methods encompass print media, broadcasting, mail, billboards, and word of mouth. Digital avenues include email, social media, content marketing, SEO , mobile outreach, and paid ads. Digital marketing generates 50% more customer interactions than traditional methods.

Source: MarTech Alliance

The way you communicate and promote directly affects your brand's success. Misplaced messages or poor timing can negatively impact sales. Understanding your audience through segmentation and targeting, along with integrating marketing data, helps cater to their needs and ensures seamless omnichannel campaigns.

5. Physical Evidence

Physical evidence means more than just proof of purchase - it encompasses the overall existence of your brand. Think website, branding, social media, the logo on your building, your store’s decor, the packaging of your product, the post-purchase thank you email, even the ambience of your store. All of these elements offer your customer the physical evidence they need to be certain that your business is viable, reliable and legitimate.  For consumers to truly be comfortable with you, to complete a purchase, remain loyal and advocate for your brand, they need to be confident that you’re legitimate and worth their time.

To create a well-crafted strategy that ensures you offer great customer support, be sure to deliver products and receipts efficiently and reliably, and provide a customer experience that is seamless across each and every touchpoint. 

6. People People, in the marketing mix, refers to anyone directly or indirectly involved in the business side of the enterprise. That means anyone involved in selling a product or service, designing it, marketing, managing teams, representing customers, recruiting and training.  It’s critical to the success of your brand, and the satisfaction of your customers, that everyone who represents the company (including the chatbots) is polite, professional, knowledgeable and fully trained. Employees need to be able to solve the problems that customers have, so as a business, you need to offer training, good working environments and anything that will safeguard the contentment of your employees. 

7 ps of the marketing mix 50% of consumers will switch to a competitor after a single bad experience

50% of consumers will switch to a competitor after a single bad experience, while 80% will switch after multiple bad experiences. Excellent customer service is a must for any brand operating in today’s customer-centric market.  Digital strategist, Dave Chaffey, says that people buy from people because of the human connection that we all typically crave. When marketers create a strategy that’s highly tailored and personalised, they can be as influential as the best, most persuasive salesperson. Having the right people is key for both long and short-term success. Each part of the marketing mix can help your customers see you as reliable and dependable, which is crucial to any branding strategy.

Process encompasses what goes into every step of the customer journey - from making an enquiry to requesting information and making a purchase. The efficiency and consistency of your processes can significantly impact your overall effectiveness. From lead generation to customer support, having well-defined and streamlined processes ensures a seamless customer journey.  The more intentional and personalised your processes are, the happier your customers will be. Even with the best product in the world, your business can be let down by processes.

You want your customer interactions to be seamless from beginning to end, so think about things like:

  • Your customer response time
  • The time between booking with sales and actually having a meeting
  • What happens once they make a purchase
  • How to generate positive reviews after purchase
  • What tools can make your processes more efficient i.e. AI, CRMs, email clients, KPI tracking , etc.

Source: Oracle

Marketers who plan their projects and campaigns against their strategy are 365% more likely to report success. Regularly assessing, adjusting and adapting your processes will help to structure your business efforts so that you can function at optimal efficiency. 

The 7ps of the marketing mix infographic marketing mix hurree the marketing mix marketing strategy market segmentation

Why are the 7Ps of the marketing mix important?

In the dynamic realm of marketing, where strategies evolve and consumer behaviours shift, having a reliable and comprehensive framework is essential. The 7Ps of the marketing mix provide precisely that – a versatile toolkit that empowers intermediate marketers to construct impactful strategies and achieve sustainable success. At the core of the 7Ps framework lies a profound focus on understanding and catering to the needs of your target audience. This customer-centric approach is a cornerstone of successful marketing. By delving deep into your customers' preferences, pain points, and aspirations, you gain insights that guide your decisions across the 7Ps. This empathetic understanding ensures that your product is tailored to meet specific demands, your pricing resonates with perceived value, your distribution channels are optimized for accessibility, and your promotional efforts strike a chord. The 7Ps framework also equips marketers with the agility to respond to shifting market dynamics. Whether it's adjusting pricing strategies to remain competitive, leveraging new promotional platforms to reach wider audiences, or refining product offerings based on customer feedback, the flexibility inherent in the 7Ps allows marketers to stay relevant and effective. Additionally, the 7Ps facilitate measurement and optimisation, a key element of any successful marketing strategy. Each "P" provides distinct metrics that can be tracked and analysed which allows marketers to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. This data-driven approach enables informed decision-making, leading to continuous refinement and enhanced results.

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How can I use the 7Ps?

The 7Ps marketing mix is more than just a theoretical concept; it's a versatile toolkit that can be wielded by intermediate marketers to create impactful and effective strategies. Here's a concise guide on how you can leverage this model to your advantage: 1. Start with Solid Research Understanding your target audience is paramount. Conduct thorough market research to unearth insights into their preferences, behaviours, and needs. This foundational knowledge will inform every decision you make across the 7Ps. 2. Tailor Your Product Offering Craft your product or service with your audience in mind. Strive to meet their unique needs and desires, differentiating yourself from competitors by adding value and addressing pain points. 3. Pricing Precision Develop a pricing strategy that aligns with customer expectations and provides a clear reflection of the value you offer. Consider factors such as production costs, competitor pricing, and perceived value when setting your prices. 4. Strategic Placement Determine the optimal distribution channels to ensure your product or service reaches your target audience conveniently. Whether it's through physical stores, online platforms, or a combination of both, choose avenues that enhance accessibility and visibility. 5. Powerful Promotions Craft compelling promotional campaigns that resonate with your audience. Utilize a mix of advertising, public relations, social media, and other marketing channels to amplify your message and create a buzz around your offering. 6. Prioritize People Invest in your employees and ensure they are well-trained and aligned with your brand's values. Their interactions with customers can significantly impact their experience and perception of your brand. 7. Streamline Processes Efficiency is key. Optimize your marketing processes to ensure a seamless customer journey from awareness to purchase and beyond. This includes lead generation, customer support, and post-purchase interactions. In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, a robust framework is essential, and the 7Ps of the marketing mix offer just that. As marketers, this versatile toolkit empowers us to craft impactful strategies for enduring success. By delving into customer preferences, pain points, and dreams, we tailor our decisions across the 7Ps. Harnessing the power of the 7Ps, allows us to shape strategies that resonate, adapting to the ever-shifting marketing landscape, and ensuring lasting success.

Track and visualise your KPIs in real-time with Hurree. Try Hurree today and discover how to truly harness the power of analytics and transform your company reporting using cross-platform dashboards. If you have any questions then feel free to get in touch ! 

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7Ps of Marketing Mix: Explained well with examples

Learn everything about the 7Ps of Marketing mix, Understand why this concept is still relevant today and will be relevant for the foreseeable future. The 7Ps of Marketing is the Price, Place, Promotion, Product, People, Process and finally, Physical Evidence.

It originally started as 4 Ps, but as the world, and the complexities of marketing grew; 3 more were added to formulate an effective marketing strategy. The ‘P’s stand for each of the pillars of a marketing strategy, and together are a part of the concept called the ‘marketing mix’. The term ‘marketing mix’ sounds a little confusing, but in essence, it is a foundation model for businesses. More easily explained, it is the operational part of a marketing plan- the nuts and bolts of it.

Funfact, there are actually 9Ps of Marketing: The above 7+2 viz. Packaging and Payments. But the 7Ps are popular given their wide and timeless application in the World of Marketing. Anyway, let’s just straight in the post.

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The 7Ps of Marketing: With Examples

We can understand this with the example of a rainbow. The 7 colours of a rainbow and the 7Ps in a marketing mix bear a resemblance. Just as not all rainbows have the same the composition of the VIBGYOR colours, the same way every marketing plan is unique and contains varying amounts of the 7Ps of the marketing mix. The components are explained in the following points

One very important aspect of any product/success being a success in the market is the price at which it is marketed. The first colour of the marketing mix rainbow is one of the determining factors of what the people will see. Marketers tread very carefully while setting a price that is a win-win situation for both the company as well as the consumers.

There are several pricing models. One of the most famous ones is Competitive Pricing Strategy as is used by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola’s main aim is to penetrate the markets and achieve the highest market share without compromising on its customer base and product positioning. Thus, the company charges its consumers what its competitor Pepsi is charging. It’s a simple, yet highly competitive strategy as the name suggests.

It is the channel through which your company’s goods/services get moved from the manufacturer to the consumer. Your good/service will need to be brought into the market through a mechanism, and ‘place’ is exactly that- a way for your offering to be seen by the correct audience. An example of this element of the marketing mix can be the numerous branches of McDonald’s all over the world. Almost every country in the world either has a McDonald’s franchisee, or knows of it. And each country has its unique menu, with the standard guarantee of tasty food, served fast, at low prices.

The Product

This is the P that starts it all. The need for this P to be known, positioned, and showcased gets the marketers working hard at strategies. ‘Product’ is the offering that your company has for the market whether it is a tangible good or intangible good (services). The product development has various stages, and it is instrumental in being the deciding factor in many strategies. Various aspects of a product like the product life cycle, the type of need it services, and its positioning come into play with this P.

We can consider the example of Starbucks here, which was solely established to make good quality coffee and coffee beverages accessible to people. Starbucks’ approach to marketing is very focused on its product and the quality of the product provided to its customers.

The Promotion

Directly speaking, the mainstream meaning of the word ‘Promotion’ also applies here. The essence of promotion lies in the activities that a marketer does in order to showcase the product in the market in the right sense. Promotional activities involve multi-channel, multi-level marketing communications in the technical sense. In a more simplistic sense, these activities are the communications that the companies indulge in like advertising, direct calling, using social media channels, as well as print media. There are many instances of how promotional activities have set a product apart from its competitors in the industry. One such is the launch of Sony Xperia Z3 Dual in 2014 as an underwater pop-up store.

The Physical Evidence

Physical evidence is a part of the product. If your product is a tangible offering, then all of its material cues (packaging, business cards, brochures, company branding) will be taken notice of, by the consumers. However, these tangible cues are also attached to a product that is intangible. The example can be, every time you encounter a FedEx delivery vehicle, you’ll immediately recognize it because of its purple and orange color scheme. That’s how they’re set apart from all the other delivery companies.

All the people involved in the making, distributing, and selling of your company’s product are also essential. Mostly, services (intangible offerings) have marketing mixes which are focused on the people presenting the product. The employees you have in the store, the delivery personnels, the sales executives, all of it and more leave a lasting impression on the people. Hotels like Taj, Hyatt, JW Marriott are known for the people that work there to serve the consumers. These brands have established themselves and built loyal customer bases due to the kind of people they employ.

The Process

Process involves all the ways the company and its customers can engage in order to facilitate the product to reach the consumer. It’s a map of how the company and its offerings are accessible to the market. It isn’t just a means to an end, but a roadmap of the company’s operations.

Here again, we can consider Starbucks as it has so many different ways in which the company operates- joint ventures, retail store licensing operations, food service accounts, depending on which country they’re operating in. They have an interactive website in order to collect customer feedback and suggestions, which also tells people how accessible the company is for the consumers.

Now, rounding up these 7 colors of the rainbow. We see that all these aspects ring in something essential for the business to gain competitive advantage. Though every product, every industry will have a unique marketing mix, the underlying structure will always be based on these 7 elements.

The 9Ps of Marketing you say?

Well yes, in the recent times, there appears to have introduced 2 more Ps vs earlier mix, now making the concept 9Ps of Marketing mix. We’ll keep this one short given you’ve gotten the gist. The 8th P is Packaging. Why? Given how connected the packaging has become to a customers journey, we cannot really let this one go, can we? Take the example of Paper Boat, the reason it connects so well is because of the simple packaging.

The 9th P of Marketing is Payments, it talks about the initiatives that companies can undertake in order to make your payment procedure a little more simple. That is introduce one click payment, EMI options, etc.

Anyway, that is all.

And well, the Author

No, this isn’t the 10th P of marketing. However, we believe, given the world has evolved today, there must exist a new P, a new dimension of Marketing. Something around Data Analytics, maybe, Programming? eh?

Anyway, the piece was written by Mahek Mirchandani , a co-author at Casereads. We’ve uploaded 10+ MBA starter concepts to kick start your MBA journey, directly click here .

Before you go, if you liked this piece, and if you have a friend starting their MBA; Why not be a good friend and share this with them on WhatsApp ?

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The 7P Marketing mix – A quick guide with examples

You don’t need to know much about marketing, strategy or even business to have heard about the 7P marketing mix. And if you still weren’t aware. Then you can easily apply logic to understand there are always factors affecting how products and services are marketed. The marketing mix is a favorite for marketers when designing tactics that shape the overall marketing strategy. As with nearly everything, your goals and objectives set the direction. Setting SMARTER goals can help you establish what you want to achieve. This makes it easier to plan strategy and as a result, tactics.

History of the Marketing Mix

The origins of the marketing mix date back to the late 1940s by some accounts. However, it took a while, until 1960, for Jerome E. McCarthy to be credited with the creation of the 4P marketing mix in his book Basic Marketing – A Managerial Approach. . This is now referred to as the traditional 4P Marketing mix.

What were the 4 Ps?

We will get to these shortly.

What you need to know here, is simple. This model worked great. But only for the marketing of products. So over 2 decades later, in 1982, Booms & Bitner extended the 4P marketing mix to the 7P marketing mix. Why? To incorporate new elements that supported the marketing of services. 

What did they add?

Physical Evidence 

And it doesn’t just stop there. The 7P marketing mix has seen a few variations since the 1980s. The 8P extension included Positioning into the mix. Then, the 9P marketing mix brought in Partners. But despite the countless variations of the marketing mix, the 7P version is still sufficient to cover enough ground as you prepare marketing tactics.

So what’s with all the Ps? Well, that’s what we are going to discuss in the next section.

The 7P marketing mix

Let’s individually assess each tenet of the marketing mix and understand how it can be used with an example.

7P Marketing mix

Firstly, the marketability of your offering is going to center around the product or service you are offering. So this is always your first consideration. After all, what you offer has been created to meet your customer’s needs, or fill a gap that exists. Capitalizing on that should lead to any tactics that you create as part of your marketing strategy.

It is no longer sufficient for you to just list out features and specifications. You can’t assume that’s what your customers and audiences will be drawn to. People are driven by emotions. So you need to make them FEEL. How? By turning your functional attributes into emotional benefits and then communicating that clearly.

It doesn’t just end there, under the product P you can consider: Design & features, Product line & range, Support & Customer service, Guarantees & warranty, Packaging & branding, and more. 

An example:

You are selling an XYZ smartphone that has a 50 MP camera and a 5,000 mAh battery capacity. That’s a great phone with high specifications!

But if and only if, you know what MP and mAh mean. You also need to know that a 50 MP camera will give you ultra high-quality and clear photos. You should also be aware that 5,000 mAH is 20% greater than most flagship smartphones out there, so that means longer battery life! But if you don’t know that, then those listed attributes in-store or online won’t help you.

So go after the emotional triggers behind those functional benefits. You don’t need to be technically sound to feel. It’s natural for all humans! Longer battery life means you’ll be connected to your world without disruption. It reduces the hassles of running out of battery. With a 50 MP camera, you can capture special moments clearly and have them available at your fingertips!

Obviously, you are marketing your product or service to SELL it. The price you sell determines your profitability. This directly affects your success and growth. The distinction with price in the marketing mix is simple. This is the only P that generates revenue directly. The others usually require an investment or a cost. So, pick your price carefully. Furthermore, you have to consider discounts and value-adds here. These directly affect your bottom line. Look at payment methods, lines of credit, and allowances or commissions for your partners and distributors as well.

If your product is aimed at the luxury market and audience. Then you have to adopt a premium pricing strategy. Steer clear of discounts. Possibly further supplement sales with add-ons. Even for a non-luxury brand, high brand equity or trust can validate a premium pricing model, which maximizes your profitability.

Quickly following your product and price is PLACE. After all, customers can’t buy what they cant find. So think beyond where your customers will buy, but also where they can experience your product. You can include physical or online storefronts. It’s important to strategically place locations for the convenience of the customer and appropriate market coverage.

All your channel marketing through distributors, affiliates, and franchisees is also included here. You might be limited on resources or have restrictions that require partnerships to maximize where you are available. But structuring and nurturing relationships with these partners can mean great market coverage, and that availability coupled with the logistics and transportation operations can make your entire process smooth and effective.

With eCommerce growing exponentially over the last decade, you have to consider a delivery network and areas of delivery coverage. Your after-sales service touchpoints also need to be outlined! Further, boosting your local SEO with Google My Business provides another place for customers to get accurate information about your business.

If you are operating a woman’s jewelry and accessory business that has 2 storefronts. You can easily consider taking your business online via an Instagram shop and/or Amazon seller’s account. But this would mean coordinating delivery and logistics. You are going from limited area coverage to city-wide operations. That has its own benefits and risks. Furthermore, you can also implement a click-and-collect option, where they can pay and buy online, and pick it up from one of your stores. So you have cross-channel traffic to your stores.

Regardless of which stage your customer is in the consumer journey, you have to be able to communicate the value your product or services brings to them. You have to consider choosing the right channels and what you are going to say, given the parameters. You can look at the content distribution model of P.E.S.O here and get an idea of all the platforms you have to choose from. Then use either a marketing funnel model or a great framework like the STDC . That will help you focus your efforts on different segments. 

A lot of your content marketing efforts are concentrated here. You need to know how often to communicate and what to say. And find the right balance between sales, PR, digital, and advertising. Lastly, you also have to consider your internal marketing and the different tools at your disposal to help you promote your brand and business!

If you have an eCommerce business selling adventure gear in your city. You probably want to diversify your content and communications. It’s a close-knit community of adventure seekers. So you want to hold events and outings. You could run product-specific ads based on your understanding of them. Or can even manage an active email newsletter and a Facebook group for the community to interact with. You will want to be active and serve as a powerful voice for those seeking adventure. They should not only get the gear they need. But also get accurate information about the local adventure activities when they interact with you!

Everyone associated with your brand represents your brand to a varying degree. You have to consider staff and associates related to service delivery. How are they recruited and trained? Even service staff at a contracted 3rd party provider have to be aligned with the values and promises of the brand. Increased employee engagement can work wonders for productivity. The simpler it is for frontline staff who face customers to share the right information and truly help customers, the higher your retention and this recurring revenue!

You want to be able to understand your customers so you can meet their needs, but you also need to know your people’s limitations and strengths so you can ensure they reach their potential and boost your success as a result. Now companies even leverage their employees’ personal brand to their advantage!

When launching a new event to promote a product launch at a physical store, say a fashion boutique you own. You have to manage temporary and permanent staff to successfully execute it. But you also need to train them to provide the right information to customers, provide uniforms, set a behavior code, handle complaints, organize inventory or displays and lastly, manage queues and wait times.

Processes are everywhere, in manufacturing, packaging, delivery, wholesale, retail, sales, and even beyond. Every part of your supply chain will have its own process, and a lot of it will be on the terms you set or agree to. Creating workflows for automation of your marketing based on insights and data from research and analytics is one common process establishment most companies have undergone in the last few years. Even in your sales and service manuals, SOPs are essential to meeting service delivery standards. 

A customer-centric ecosystem relies on the strength of your processes because it creates the opportunity to delight customers with quality care throughout the consumer journey , regardless of the touchpoint they prefer. Choosing the right metrics and KPIs and actively measuring and reporting them brings accountability to your marketing efforts and needs to be done regularly.

You manage the marketing of a pet store in your city. A large chunk of your awareness and promotion strategy is digital via social media and blogs on pet care. You will need a content development process and a calendar to organize yourself. You also have partners in a clinic who handle pet care and you need to create a good affiliate process with them to work together. Further, you have a network of freelancers who write your blog content and you need a standardized template and process on how they work and deliver content to you.

Your store will have SOPs on operations, petcare, hygiene, cleanliness, animal checkups, regulatory guidelines, and handover paperwork. These processes need to be clear and approved for a smooth customer and employee experience.

Physical Evidence

You can’t price a product as a luxury item and then deliver it in shoddy packaging. In the same way, upscale restaurants represent their superiority in many ways, like their menu design, the furniture, silverware, glassware, lighting, and ambiance. And that’s where the description of physical evidence usually ends in other forums. But let’s take it a step further, if you walk into an Apple store now, it is a different experience altogether. It “feels like Apple”. This collection of cues and environment all add up to your physical evidence.

So don’t just limit it to tangible elements as was previously done, but if there’s something that can be done to evoke a feeling of belonging in alignment with the brand identity, then that’s what you consider.

You own a custom furniture store, targeting a colorful and playful aesthetic (aimed at 25-34-year-olds). Your store should be colorful, down to the detail, and set up a playful atmosphere with a games corner. Align your theme into every stage of the customer journey so it is identifiably YOU. Your visual brand elements on the website, your emails, how your ads look, even the way people in your ads are dressed should reflect the playful nature of your brand!

Using the 7P Marketing Mix

Now you can use the findings of your 7P marketing mix and benefit from them in multiple ways:

  • Plug them into a SWOT analysis to prioritize what actions you will undertake to reach your goals.
  • Use it as a template for a marketing audit or even a content audit
  • Create a multi-faceted marketing plan full of effective tactics
  • Position your brand and offerings in a unique way to your customers and stand out!

Any marketing mix activates multiple avenues for success. Whether you limit yourself to just the traditional 4Ps or expand into the popular 7P marketing mix. Your considerations will serve to provide relevant and effective tactics to support your marketing strategy. After setting your objective, and choosing a marketing planning framework like SOSTAC , you develop tactics, and the marketing mix helps do that better than most models. 

Remember to have the right product fit for your target audience. Solve a problem or add value to their lives. Set a pricing strategy that works within your industry and is reasonable for your customers. Pick the places you can interact with your customers across channels, media, and touchpoints. And promote your product and services with effective marketing communication to maximize reach, hold attention, and boost conversions.

Then, get your processes in place to deliver customer-centric experiences that impress. Ensure you have the right people with adequate skills and training, equipped with the right tools to put your best foot forward as a brand. And lastly, let your physical environment represent what your brand stands for. Let your customers feel what your company is about. 

And there you have it. The 7P Marketing mix. Simplified.

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7 Ps of Marketing – A Tool for Your Small Business

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business plan 7p

The 7 Ps marketing mix is a marketing tool that will help your business to develop it’s marketing strategy by focusing on specific areas. Historically, the marketing mix was just 4Ps, but 3 more were added and it is now suggested that all 7 are considered as part of your marketing and promotional strategy, particularly if you are a service provider.

What is the 7 p’s marketing mix used for?

These 7 Ps are predominantly used by businesses as a focal point and as part of an overall marketing strategy.

They can assist with:

  • Defining areas of success in the business that can be replicated and built on
  • Defining issues in the business that are holding you back from being more profitable, productive or successful
  • Setting objectives and targets – so you can move strategically towards your goals
  • Competitive analysis – your business position in the market against your competitors
  • SWOT analysis – analysis of your business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

The original 4Ps of the marketing mix tool are:

The additional 3Ps added, are:

  • Physical Evidence

Using the 7Ps

You can use the 7 Ps as headings for discussion, of which the findings and conclusions can then be added to your marketing strategy, which should feature as part of your overall business plan.

Some of the things you can focus on under each of the 7P headings, include:

PRODUCT – this could be your SERVICE if you are a service provider

  • Is your product branded effectively?
  • How do your customers rate the quality of your product?
  • Is there recurrent negative feedback about the same thing?
  • Are there improvements that could be made?
  • Is your product brand strong?
  • Do you offer a guarantee?
  • Do you have availability or stock?
  • Could you take on more customers or orders?
  • How does your product compare when it comes to the market price?
  • When was the last time you reviewed your pricing?
  • When was the last time you altered your price in-line with inflation, or market supply and demand?
  • Is your pricing model clear and easy to communicate?
  • Do you know your profit margin on each product you offer?
  • Do you provide any added-value to your offering?
  • Do you offer the most appropriate payment methods for the customer?
  • Do you offer credit facilities?
  • Do they need updating?
  • Do they give the right messages?
  • How could you refine your sales process?
  • What PR activity are you doing?
  • Do you have a marketing budget? Should it stay the same, or change this year?
  • Do you network to promote your business?
  • Is your product available in the place where your customers shop?
  • Is your product visible to your target market?
  • Are you visible on social media?
  • Do you have the right people to sell your product / service?
  • Do you have the right amount of marketing support?
  • Are the right people in your team, in the right roles?
  • Do you need more, or less resources?
  • Could you outsource some of your work to reduce commitment on costs?
  • Do you have the right culture within the team?
  • Do you have a good recruitment, training and appraisal system for staff?
  • Is your sales process efficient?
  • Are your processes customer focused?
  • Do you have a good process for dealing with technology issues?
  • Have you established systems for as many things as possible within your marketing and sales process?

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

  • This could apply to the way a service is delivered, including any physical documentation
  • What is the online experience if the product is delivered digitally?

These are just ideas and you will for sure come across other questions and thoughts that are relevant to your business.

Why not get your team together (or you partner / best friend if you are a sole trader) and have some fun by trying to really cover all the individual elements of your business. Be constructively critical and also realistic with what you can achieve within certain timeframes.

Why the marketing mix is still used from the 80s until now.

The marketing mix concept may seem dated as it was developed in the 1980s and we now live and work in a rapidly changing commercial environment.

However, it remains effective as the logic behind each of the 7 Ps remains constant yet they are flexible enough to be able to be adapted to suit the new style of communications, for example social media.

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The 7 Ps of Marketing Mix

The Seven Ps of Marketing is a relatively simple framework that can be used by any organisation or manager to plan marketing activities and a marketing strategy .

It is useful because it ensures that you look across each area together, and consider how they might be related.

The Seven Ps started as just four: product, price, place and promotion. Over time, as marketers became more aware, and practices and businesses changed, three more have been added: people, processes, and physical evidence.

This page explores each of these areas in turn, looking at the important aspects to consider when planning marketing activity.

The 7p's of Marketing Mix. Product, Price, Place, People, Promotion, Processes, Physical Evidence.

Product first, or customer?

Apple is said to have developed the iPod without checking for customer demand first. Steve Jobs was apparently convinced — correctly, as it turned out — that people would want to buy his product.

History, however, is littered with less successful examples of companies who have developed a product first, and worried about finding customers later. It is true that customers do not always know what they want . They do, however, often have an idea of what they lack, or the problem they are trying to solve.

Doing some good customer research in advance of any development costs will ensure that you do not waste any time or money on products that nobody wants to buy.

It is also helpful to check back with your customers during the development to ensure that you are still developing the right product. In particular, check that you are not over-engineering the quality: sometimes good enough is all that is necessary or required.

The price that you charge is important, because it will determine the profit that you make on the product or service.

It must, therefore, be greater than the cost of producing the goods or services.

However, a product is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, so it needs to be priced competitively: consistent with what others are charging for similar goods or services.

Pricing also sends a signal to your customers:

  • Cheap often indicates a ‘no-frills’ product, without any added extras.
  • Expensive may indicate a ‘luxury’ product, or one that has some added value such as improved customer service.

What you charge will therefore influence your customers’ expectations of your product or service, and you need to ensure that you meet those expectations .

‘Place’ describes where and how your customers will buy your product or service, and how it will reach them.

This might be, for example, through your website, or in a particular shop or shops.

In considering ‘place’, you need to decide two things:

  • How you will get the goods to that place; and
  • How you will get the goods to the customer.

Research shows that delivery of goods bought online is very important to overall customer satisfaction, so should be a part of your overall strategy.

Promotion is how you communicate what you do and/or sell to your customers.

'Promotion' includes a whole range of activities, from branding through social media activity and advertising to sales management and special offers. It is designed to show customers why they should buy your product or service , and should therefore focus on benefits, and not just features.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that promotion is NOT one-way . Instead, you should see it as the way to start a conversation with your customers, and with your employees, who also need to understand the product.

It is important to look at a variety of channels, including print, online and mobile. Your promotion activity should focus on where your customers are, whether that is particular social media sites, or newspapers.

Your customers are unlikely to separate the product or service from those who provide it.

Your staff—and that means anyone who comes into contact with customers, even remotely, through something that they have written for the company website—are therefore vital. They will have an important effect on customer satisfaction . This is even more important now, because so many people are active on social media, and staff therefore can (and will) communicate with customers directly.

Staff will need to be adequately trained to understand their importance, and how to deal with customers.

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Based on our popular management and analysis content the Skills You Need Guide to Business Strategy and Analysis is a straightforward and practical guide to business analysis.

This eBook is designed to give you the skills to help you understand your business, your market and your competitors.

It will help you understand why business analysis is important for strategy—and then enable you to use analytical tools effectively to position your business.

Processes was originally added for service industries, but there is increasing recognition that processes also affect customer experience in product companies.

What’s more, it is very clear that customer experience shapes customer satisfaction.

The experience starts from the first point of contact, and goes on until after the sale, including after-sales service. The process of handling customers at first contact, during sales and beyond, is therefore crucial to overall customer satisfaction. This might include:

  • The website, and how the pages load;
  • The ordering process: one-click or not, how the customer can pay and so on;
  • The information provided to customers after purchase, including about any delays in delivery;
  • The delivery time and method, and the way that the person delivering the product behaves; and
  • The helpfulness of staff if the customer has to telephone or message for any reason.

Considering the process from end-to-end and from the customer’s perspective can help to avoid problems later on.

Physical evidence

Physical evidence refers to what the customer ‘sees’ of your product. It shows them what it would be like to own or use it.

It therefore includes your website, or your business premises or shop, models wearing your clothes, or photos of them doing so. It also includes customer testimonials, especially if they are on an independent reviewing site, and not under your control.

Like price, the physical evidence sends an important signal to your customer about your product , so it is important that, for example, your website sends the right impression of your product or service.

A collective endeavour

Marketing as a whole relies on all seven Ps.

It is essential to consider them as a whole, and not in isolation. Customers must experience a coherent view of your company and your product, and that can only come from viewing the customer experience from end-to-end across all seven Ps.

Continue to: Customer Segmentation Strategic Marketing

See also: 5 Marketing-Based Skills to Learn During Lockdown Workplace Confidentiality

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The 7Ps Marketing Mix and Its Importance For Your Business

Updated: Jan 23, 2023

When a company needs to market its products/services, it needs to create a marketing strategy. A strategy helps combine multiple elements to serve its customers better and achieve specific business goals like capturing the market, improving business goals, etc. A marketing mix is a popular way to create a marketing strategy for your brand. We’ve discussed how you can use the 7Ps marketing mix to create a marketing strategy in this blog.

What is the 7Ps marketing mix?

A marketing mix refers to the business's activities to satisfy customer needs and position their product/service in the market. The 7Ps in the marketing mix stand for product, price, promotion, place, people, process, and physical evidence.

7Ps marketing mix

What are the elements of the 7Ps marketing mix?

The first step to creating the 7Ps marketing mix is to know its elements. In this blog post, we’ve answered the question businesses have, ‘’What are the elements of the 7Ps marketing mix?”

Taking the case of a mobile phone company, we have discussed the 7Ps marketing mix with examples.

Product refers to the key features and benefits the product brings for its user. The quality of the product, what problem it is solving, and how the product adds value to the customer are important factors that a brand needs to keep in mind while formulating the Product part of its marketing mix.

Application: A mobile phone company may provide customers with benefits like an enhanced camera to click better photographs, a high level of storage to download and use multiple applications, etc.

Product

Price refers to the pricing strategy that the company will adopt to promote its product/service. This pricing strategy is based on multiple factors like the competition in that product segment, product features and benefits, level of demand and supply, etc.

Application: The mobile phone company may determine the price of the product/service based on factors like product positioning in the market, level of competition for that segment of product, product features, benefits and models/variants, etc.

mobile phone price

Promotion refers to specific strategies that help marketers familiarize their audience with the brand and promote the product. For example, advertising campaigns through digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, or through offline media, etc.

Application: A mobile phone company may launch online advertisements related to the new models of phones that it launches in the market or leverage offline advertising techniques like billboards at multiple outdoor locations.

Promotion

The place refers to the location where a product will be distributed/sold or where the target audience can avail of a specific service.

Application: The mobile phone company can first determine the geographies at the country level where it will sell the mobile phones. Next, it can plan out the specific locations in multiple cities like districts at the state level or neighbourhoods where it anticipates that selling its mobile phones will help it earn revenue.

price

People refers to the individuals directly or indirectly involved with a product/service. For instance, people can refer to employees from the production stage to the operations, to marketing, to sales, to after- sales service; whoever has been instrumental in the product’s journey to the shelf and beyond. In addition, people who have in-depth knowledge about the product and can represent the brand in communicating its value and offerings are also included in people.

Application: Everyone from the people in the sales, marketing departments, to the after-sales support departments in the mobile phone company who have been a part of the phone’s journey, from manufacturing to reaching the store to customer service are included in people. Moreover, people who can vouch for the product and its offerings are also included.

Sales

Process refers to the series of steps that a business takes while delivering the final product/service to its customers. These processes are constantly changed as per business requirements/needs.

Application: The process in the case of a mobile phone company can be from when a mobile phone is manufactured to when it is transported to a physical store to be sold to the customers. To make the buying process and purchase decision easier, mobile phone companies have experience centers where consumers can experience the product even before making a purchase.

product process

Physical Evidence

Physical evidence refers to everything that a customer views while looking at a product/service, which proves that the brand exists. For example, the physical store, the website, or experience center. This physical evidence should be in sync with your brand/product to the extent that people associate your brand with what they see, hear, taste, listen and smell. For example, the interiors of a particular mobile store are as per the brand guidelines and the product packaging.

Application: In the case of a mobile store, the front interior of the mobile store, the outer box of the mobile phone, and the mobile phone design are examples of physical evidence.

Physical Evidence

Importance of the 7Ps Marketing Mix

Here are the reasons why it is important to create a 7Ps Marketing Mix:

Ensures the implementation of a holistic strategy

A marketing mix model enables the implementation of a holistic marketing strategy combining the 7Ps of marketing. The holistic marketing strategy creates a positive image of a business by demonstrating how different business functions can come together to help attain organizational objectives.

Helps in aligning and allocating organizational resources efficiently

The marketing mix model helps appropriately align & allocate resources to marketing activities. For example, the business may allocate costs to product manufacturing (product) or advertising activities (promotional activities) and align the other resources to fetch the common objective of marketing.

Helps in new product development and marketing planning

The marketing mix helps in the process of new product development and marketing planning. The 7 Ps of marketing combine to enable a product launch to take place, from conceptualization to delivery to the customer.

The 7Ps marketing mix is an integral part of a company’s marketing plan. If you wish to benefit from marketing strategy services that can help you grow your brand, contact Let’s Build Brands. You can visit our services page to learn more about our offerings.

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What Is Marketing Mix - 4 P and and 7 P of Marketing

Definition of marketing mix.

The marketing mix is defined by the use of a marketing tool that combines a number of components in order to become harden and solidify a product’s brand and to help in selling the product or service. Product based companies have to come up with strategies to sell their products, and coming up with a marketing mix is one of them.

Table of Content

  • Marketing Mix 4P
  • 7Ps of Marketing
  • Marketing Mix Example

Marketing Mix Product

Importance of marketing mix, questions on marketing mix, what is marketing mix.

Marketing Mix is a set of marketing tool or tactics, used to promote a product or services in the market and sell it. It is about positioning a product and deciding it to sell in the right place, at the right price and right time. The product will then be sold, according to marketing and promotional strategy. The components of the marketing mix consist of 4Ps Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. In the business sector, the marketing managers plan a marketing strategy taking into consideration all the 4Ps. However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes several other Ps for vital development.

What is 4 P of Marketing

4Ps of Marketing Mix

A product is a commodity, produced or built to satisfy the need of an individual or a group. The product can be intangible or tangible as it can be in the form of services or goods. It is important to do extensive research before developing a product as it has a fluctuating life cycle, from the growth phase to the maturity phase to the sales decline phase.

A product has a certain life cycle that includes the growth phase, the maturity phase, and the sales decline phase. It is important for marketers to reinvent their products to stimulate more demand once it reaches the sales decline phase. It should create an impact in the mind of the customers, which is exclusive and different from the competitor’s product. There is an old saying stating for marketers, “what can I do to offer a better product to this group of people than my competitors”. This strategy also helps the company to build brand value.

Price in Marketing Mix:

Price is a very important component of the marketing mix definition. The price of the product is basically the amount that a customer pays for to enjoy it. Price is the most critical element of a marketing plan because it dictates a company’s survival and profit. Adjusting the price of the product, even a little bit has a big impact on the entire marketing strategy as well as greatly affecting the sales and demand of the product in the market. Things to keep on mind while determining the cost of the product are, the competitor’s price, list price, customer location, discount, terms of sale, etc.,

Place in Marketing Mix:

Placement or distribution is a very important part of the marketing mix strategy. We should position and distribute our product in a place that is easily accessible to potential buyers/customers.

Promotion in Marketing Mix:

It is a marketing communication process that helps the company to publicize the product and its features to the public. It is the most expensive and essential components of the marketing mix, that helps to grab the attention of the customers and influence them to buy the product. Most of the marketers use promotion tactics to promote their product and reach out to the public or the target audience. The promotion might include direct marketing, advertising, personal branding, sales promotion, etc.

What is 7 P of Marketing:

The 7Ps model is a marketing model that modifies the 4Ps model. As Marketing mix 4P is becoming an old trend, and nowadays, marketing business needs deep understanding of the rise in new technology and concept. So, 3 more new P’s were added in the old 4Ps model to give a deep understanding of the concept of the marketing mix.

People in Marketing Mix:

The company’s employees are important in marketing because they are the ones who deliver the service to clients. It is important to hire and train the right people to deliver superior service to the clients, whether they run a support desk, customer service, copywriters, programmers…etc. It is very important to find people who genuinely believe in the products or services that the particular business creates, as there is a huge chance of giving their best performance. Adding to it, the organisation should accept the honest feedback from the employees about the business and should input their own thoughts and passions which can scale and grow the business.

Process in Marketing Mix:

We should always make sure that the business process is well structured and verified regularly to avoid mistakes and minimize costs. To maximise the profit, Its important to tighten up the enhancement process.

Physical Evidence in Marketing Mix:

In the service industries, there should be physical evidence that the service was delivered. A concept of this is branding. For example, when you think of “fast food”, you think of KFC. When you think of sports, the names Nike and Adidas come to mind.

Marketing Mix Example:

This article will go through a marketing mix example of a popular cereals company. At first, the company targeted older individuals who need to keep their diet under control, this product was introduced. However, after intense research, they later discovered that even young people need to have a healthy diet. So, this led to the development of a cereals product catered to young people. In accordance with all the elements of the marketing mix strategy, the company identified the product, priced it correctly, did tremendous promotions and availed it to the customers. This marketing mix example belongs to Honeycomb, one of the most renowned companies in the cereal niche. Following these rules clearly has managed to make the company untouchable by all the other competitors in the market. This makes Honeycomb, the giant we know and love today to eat as morning breakfast!

Related read:

  • Why planning in marketing is important?
  • What are the principles of Management?

All products can be broadly classified into 3 main categories. These are :

  • Tangible products: These are items with an actual physical presence such as a car, an electronic device, and an item of clothing or a consumer good.
  • Intangible products: These are items that have no physical presence but can be felt indirectly. An insurance policy is an example of this. Online items such as software, applications or even music and video files are also intangible products.
  • Services: Services are also intangible products but they are the result of an economic activity that does not result in ownership. It is a process that creates benefits for customers. Services depend highly on who is performing them and remain difficult to reproduce exactly.

The marketing mix is a remarkable tool for creating the right marketing strategy and its implementation through effective tactics. The assessment of the roles of your product, promotion, price, and place plays a vital part in your overall marketing approach. Whereas the marketing mix strategy goes hand in hand with positioning, targeting, and segmentation. And at last, all the elements, included in the marketing mix and the extended marketing mix, have an interaction with one another.

Q.1 State Any One Advantage of Personal Branding

  • It is because of branding that customers are able to identify the products.
  • Example, a customer who is satisfied with ‘Dove’ beauty bar need not inspect it every time she buys the product.

Q.2 State the Components of Product Mix.

Q.3 A Company Has to Decide About Its Price Policy, Credit Policy; Terms of Payment Etc. Name the Concept Which the Company is Trying to Decide.

The above mentioned is the concept, that is elucidated in detail about ‘Marketing Mix’ for the Commerce students. To know more, stay tuned to BYJU’S.

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Planning for Business Development

Planning for AEC Business Development: Know the 7P’s

[Video Transcript for Planning for AEC Business Development: Know the 7P’s by Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM. Minor edits for clarity.]

Greetings everyone, I’m Scott Butcher and today I want to talk about preparing for business development, specifically the 7 P’s; that is, Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance!

Are you familiar with the 7 P’s? If you Google the 7 P’s, you’ll see various interpretations, but all have a similar meaning, and that is Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance . Say that five times fast! I was first introduced to the concept by my friend Barry Kain , who is a sales coach serving the AEC industry.

The 7P’s originated in the British Army and they emphasize the importance of being prepared.

So really, the Boy Scout Motto: “Be Prepared,” essentially says the same thing, but with six fewer P’s!

It doesn’t, however, have quite the same impact, now does it?

The lesson of the 7P’s is that you should always be prepared before undertaking an initiative. Within the world of business development, this means being prepared for a conversation, a meeting, or a presentation.

This means doing your homework.

In the context of a phone call, it means planning out the purpose of your call – why are you calling? What will you ask? What do you want the other person to do? What is the end goal of the conversation?

In the context of a networking event, it means knowing who you want to meet, messaging you want to share, actions that you want others to take.

It is not just the AEC industry that suffers from Premature Selling, but the reality is that far too often our business developers – specifically seller-doers – jump in to business development conversations without an end-goal in mind.

In my video 9 Ways to Add Value to Business Development Conversations , I lamented that project managers often pick up the phone to contact former clients and pretty much begin and end with “Do you have any projects coming up?”

This is a recipe for failure and, in fact, embarrassment. How would you feel if you were on the receiving end of that phone call?

The 7P’s are all about preparation, which is the state of being prepared, of being ready.

For the British Army – or any army really – it is about the importance of having a sound battle plan before moving forward.

The Seven P’s

So let’s look at our P’s:

  • Prior , which means preceding in time; before
  • Proper is appropriate for the circumstances
  • Planning means to make arrangements before; literally, to develop plans
  • Prevents , to keep from occurring
  • Piss-Poor means of a very low standard
  • Performance , the execution or accomplishment of a feat or a goal

The 7P’s is a reminder of the negatives that can happen if we don’t think through our purpose and develop our plan.

Four Questions to Ask Before Making A Contact

Let us use a former client as an example. We want to reach out to them and reconnect. Ideally we’re doing this by phone, but perhaps by email as well. Here’s some questions to ask before we make that contact:

First , what do we know about them? This could be past projects that we’ve done with them. Other projects we were not involved with. Other AEC firms that are currently working with them or have recently. Who we know there. Who we used to know there. What their roles are or were. What problems did they have, and how did we help solve them?

Second , what do we know about the trends and challenges that may be facing them right now? This can be knowledge gained from environmental scanning, from primary research, or lessons learned from other organizations or corporations that we’ve worked with in the same industry.

Third , what value can we bring to them? What solutions do we offer that can directly address and solve their specific issues and challenges?

Fourth , what do we want them to do next? Is our goal to set up a meeting with them? To invite them to something? To become prequalified in their system? To have our contact introduce us to somebody else within the organization? What is the call to action, or the CTA?

Gaining intelligence and being prepared for the sales call greatly impacts the success or failure of an interaction.

This is why the 7P’s are so critical: If your performance is piss-poor, what are the odds that you’ll get a second chance?

While a former client may cut you a little bit of slack – and may is the operative term here – what about a new prospect? Remember, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression!

However, there’s a flipside to the 7P’s. We also can’t suffer from analysis paralysis. With business development, we will probably never know enough information. It is far too easy to put off making a call or attending an event because we “don’t yet have enough information.” This becomes an excuse for not moving forward and doing what we really need to do.

In fact, while the British Army’s 7P’s are a great example of the importance of preparation, we can look to the United States Army and General George S. Patton for another famous quote:

“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.”

On the battlefield, this quote is about making informed-but-quick decisions to avoid being outmaneuvered.

In the business world, it’s not that much different. We need to be prepared and know our purpose and intended outcomes, but we can’t wait too long or the competition may outmaneuver us.

Because that’s happening right now. We are being outmaneuvered. Our prospects, as well as our current and former clients, are being targeted by our competitors.

So let’s commit to being prepared. Let’s see the value in Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance . Let us plan.

And then let us act. Let us violently execute our good plan today, lest that next opportunity slip through our fingertips while we await the perfect plan next week.

I’m Scott Butcher, and I help design and construction firms improve their marketing and business development acumen through consulting, training, and facilitation.

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to seeing you soon.

[End of Transcript]

Need help planning your business development calls? Looking to better train your business developers and seller-doers to be prepared for business development? Contact Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM at [email protected] or 717.891.1393.

You Might Also Like

9 Ways to Bring Value to AEC Business Development Conversations

Don’t Discount Business Development Just Because You Don’t Understand It

Business Development is Not What You Think it Is

Do Your Project Managers Know How to Sell?

Connect with Scott

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdbutcher

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7 Ps of Marketing Mix with Example

The marketing mix is a very common and famous term in the marketing sector. Marketing mix is all about putting the right combination of product in the right place, at the right time and at the right price to attract the target customers. The marketing mix is called 4 Ps & 7 Ps. The 4 Ps have been associated with the marketing mix concept since their creation by E. Jerome McCarthy in 1960. But later on in 1981 Booms & Bitner added 3 new Ps to the 4 Ps Principle. These 3Ps were directly related to the service provider industry. From then it is called 7 Ps of marketing mix. The product marketing mix consists of the 4 P’s which are Product, Pricing, Promotions, and Placement. Later other 3 Ps are being added which are People, Process, and Physical evidence .

Product can be tangible & intangible. In both cases, if the product quality is good then it can promote itself in the market. On the other hand, if the product is poor then it cannot stay or give service any longer in the extremely competitive market. Market research is a must before producing or serving products. Producers have to make sure whether there is sufficient target market. Successful companies always look for the demands & want of the customers and then they develop their products. At present’s world, the first ‘P’ includes services too, but when the Marketing Mix was first devised, it was targeted at products only.

For example, if a company wants to produce Rolls Royce cars in a specific country, they first have to think whether Rolls Royce could meet up the demands of the customers or they would go down in that market.

Pricing has a lot to do with how a product will be perceived and branding. Pricing not only determines amount of the profit of the business but also affects the value of the products. There are many customers who will use product’s pricing to judge the quality. Again there are customers will compare price before deciding to purchase.

For example, if any company wants to sell cars at a high price then that company will go for expensive and high quality. Customers will be happy to pay more but in exchange for higher prices they want and expect a better quality product & service.

e are familiar with a term, “being in the right place at the right time”. It means place is very important in terms of marketing. A company should be where it’s customers want it to be. for both biological & service products, place is very vital in marketing mix. Business should review the locations where the customers meet their demand conveniently. Sometimes a change in places can lead to a rapid increase in sales. Entrepreneurs have to make the right choice about the best location for the convenience of the customers to get their essential service or product.

For example, the best place to open a petrol pump is on the highway or in the city. A place where there is less traffic is a wrong location to start a petrol pump.

Promotion is another vital P to pay attention to. It is an art. Promotion consists of a wide range of activity like advertising, PR, special offers, and discounts. Good promotion is to communicate the benefits of the products and services. In some cases, websites are the signs of promotion too. The first-time experience of customers normally values a company by visiting its website. Websites need to be more friendly and also clearly laid out.

For example, sales, advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, online communications and personal selling.

People is the most important element in a service marketing mix. Every company is dependent on the people who run them from front-line sales staff to the Managing Director. Know-how Employees, Staff members, Operations along with other Customers add benefits and values in the service or product.

For example, for an IT company, the software engineers define as people; for a restaurant , the chefs and service staffs define as people.

Process is like system & tactics through which a service or product is delivered to the final customer. Again how the service is delivered is a part of what the consumer is paying for. It is more about the customer interface between the business and consumer and how they deal with each other in different stages, i.e. throughout the process. One of the keys to a good buying process is speed. This speed concept comes in terms of delivering of products ordered on the internet. Business process should be designed with the customer in mind, and not at your convenience.

For example, more sales staff are now involved in conversion.

Physical Evidence

Physical evidence is the material part of business or service. It is also about the customer experience. Customers are not familiar when they first engage with a company. In this case, company needs to provide the customers with physical evidence which will inspire their confidence.

There are many examples of physical evidence, including buildings, equipment, signs and logos, business reports, brochures, website, and even business cards etc.

From the discussion on the marketing mix examples above, it is clear that in order to become successful in business, one must follow these 7 Ps of marketing mix properly. Many business plans could not able to become successful because of not executing these 7Ps in a proper way. Business or service companies need to get each of these elements correct. It is evident that by following these 7Ps products or services will reach their highest level of success, companies will get maximum profits , they will get customer satisfaction, products will be sustained for long period and companies can improve their corporate images.

Here are the Marketing Mix Analysis of Several Companies Conducted by The Strategy Watch.

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Reference(s)

1) http://www.marketingteacher.com/marketing-mix/ 2) https://in-business.org.uk/marketing-mix-7ps-example-marketing-mix-7ps-pdf/ 3) https://www.professionalacademy.com/blogs-and-advice/marketing-theories—the-marketing-mix—from-4-p-s-to-7-p-s 4) https://www.cleverism.com/7ps-additional-aspects-marketing-mix/ 5) https://www.marketing91.com/service-marketing-mix/ 6) https://www.slideshare.net/HarshitChadha/marketing-mix-7-ps-34642513 7) https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824 8) http://mrdashboard.com/index.php/7ps-of-marketing-mix-with-examples/

Sadnan Nahid Sattar

Sadnan is one of the top contributors of The Strategy Watch, he has been actively contributing since 2017 as a Content Analyst; He has finished his graduation from North South University with a dual major in Accounting & Finance. As a contributor, he has written for different topics including Leadership Styles and Qualities, Finance, and Economics. He also has a strong interest in SWOT & PESTLE Analysis and Marketing Strategy.

Home Free PowerPoint Templates Free 7 P’s Marketing Mix PowerPoint Templates

Download Free 7 P’s Marketing Mix PowerPoint Templates

Free Slide Marketing Diagram

The Free 7 P’s Marketing Mix PowerPoint Templates are business concept presentation layouts. 7 P’s is a continuous reevaluation model for business marketing strategies. These seven P’s are product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning, and people. The products, market, and customer’s needs change rapidly. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously check 7 P’s to make sure you are up-to-date with current marketplace.

This market positioning diagram template provides a circular process cycle with market mix core unit. It displays all seven components of marketing concept with the help of clipart icons. For instance, a retail store for market place, shopping bag for packaging, megaphone for promotions, etc. These graphics will assist in creating a mental image of marketing mix elements. In this way, presenter can describe company’s approach toward each component by simply looking at clipart PowerPoint shape.

Free 7 P’s Marketing Mix PowerPoint Templates offers 9 slides with two content layout designs. The circular diagram template shows merge of both 4 P’s and 7 P’s marketing mix. This diagram highlights 4 P’s factors with arrow shapes i.e. Place, Promotion, Price, and Product. There are 7 additional slides of a circular diagram with text placeholders. These slides will help describe strategies and requirements of all seven components individually. The subsequent 7 slides are suitable for staff meetings or training material.

The second template layout of 7 P’s marketing plan PowerPoint template demonstrates a table format. It gives an overview of all seven segments with a brief description of business approach. The plain white PowerPoint background will allow users to easily copy slides into any presentation theme. Simply copy and paste PowerPoint slides by choosing Match Destination Theme option. The Google Slides Theme of 7 P’s marketing mix is also available that users can copy for online presentations.

  • 100% Editable PowerPoint Templates.
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How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?

  • Gary P. Pisano

business plan 7p

Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which the competitive fitness and health of organizations is measured. Consistent profitable growth is thus a near universal goal for leaders—and an elusive one.

To achieve that goal, companies need a growth strategy that encompasses three related sets of decisions: how fast to grow, where to seek new sources of demand, and how to develop the financial, human, and organizational capabilities needed to grow. This article offers a framework for examining the critical interdependencies of those decisions in the context of a company’s overall business strategy, its capabilities and culture, and external market dynamics.

Why leaders should take a strategic perspective

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Sustained profitable growth is a nearly universal corporate goal, but it is an elusive one. Empirical research suggests that when inflation is taken into account, most companies barely grow at all.

While external factors play a role, most companies’ growth problems are self-inflicted: Too many firms approach growth in a highly reactive, opportunistic manner.

The Solution

To grow profitably over the long term, companies need a strategy that addresses three key decisions: how fast to grow (rate of growth); where to seek new sources of demand (direction of growth); and how to amass the resources needed to grow (method of growth).

Perhaps no issue attracts more senior leadership attention than growth does. And for good reason. Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which we tend to measure the competitive fitness and health of companies and determine the quality and compensation of its management. Analysts, investors, and boards pepper CEOs about growth prospects to get insight into stock prices. Employees are attracted to faster-growing companies because they offer better opportunities for advancement, higher pay, and greater job security. Suppliers prefer faster-growing customers because working with them improves their own growth prospects. Given the choice, most companies and their stakeholders would choose faster growth over slower growth.

Five elements can move you beyond episodic success.

  • Gary P. Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie Jr. Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the author of Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation (PublicAffairs, 2019).

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Thousands of student-loan borrowers are set to get emails from Biden that their balances are wiped out. Here's what happens next.

  • Biden announced $1.2 billion in student-debt cancellation for 153,000 borrowers.
  • It's a result of early implementation of a SAVE plan provision to shorten the timeline for debt relief.
  • Biden is notifying impacted borrowers on Wednesday, and it could take a few weeks for servicers to apply the relief.

Insider Today

Student-loan borrowers, check your emails — you might find a message from President Joe Biden in your inbox telling you that your debt is canceled.

On Wednesday morning, the White House and Education Department announced it would be canceling $1.2 billion in student debt for 153,000 borrowers — the result of early implementation of a provision in the SAVE income-driven repayment plan that shortens the timeline for borrowers to see relief.

Specifically, borrowers who originally took out $12,000 in loans or less and have made as few as 10 years of qualifying payments are becoming eligible to have their remaining balances wiped out .

Beginning on Wednesday, borrowers in the first batch of relief will receive emails from Biden stating: "Congratulations—all or a portion of your federal student loans will be forgiven because you qualify for early loan forgiveness under my Administration's SAVE Plan."

"I hope this relief gives you a little more breathing room," the email, a draft of which was reviewed by Business Insider, said. "I've heard from countless people who have told me that relieving the burden of their student loan debt will allow them to support themselves and their families, buy their first home, start a small business, and move forward with life plans they've put on hold."

A White House fact sheet stated that the shortened timeline to forgiveness will especially help "borrowers with smaller loans and put many on track to being free of student debt faster than ever before." Additionally, per the fact sheet, 7.5 million borrowers are enrolled in the SAVE plan, and 4.3 million of them have a $0 monthly payment.

Here's what will happen next for borrowers who are, or hope to be, eligible for SAVE plan relief.

Next steps for SAVE plan debt relief

Biden's email noted that the Education Department has already informed impacted borrowers' loan servicers that they are eligible for relief. The relief will happen automatically, and borrowers who are notified will not need to take any action.

Servicers will notify borrowers that their forgiveness has been applied, but "it may take some time for your account with your servicer to reflect this change," per the email. It recommends borrowers wait at least 21 days after being notified of the relief to contact their servicers if they still do not see the relief applied to their accounts.

The Education Department also said that beginning next week, it will start emailing borrowers not currently on the SAVE plan that they could become eligible for relief if they enroll. Borrowers already enrolled in SAVE but not included in the first batch of debt relief will have their loans automatically discharged once they meet the criteria, and the department will continue evaluating borrowers' accounts "on a regular basis," per its press release .

Biden's email also cautioned borrowers to watch out for scams and said that any notification regarding debt relief would come from [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

More upcoming student-debt relief

While the relief announced on Wednesday was a result of early implementation, other provisions of the SAVE plan will be going into effect in July. Those include cutting payments for undergraduate loans in half and allowing periods in deferment of forbearance to count toward forgiveness progress.

Beyond the SAVE plan, the Education Department is also planning to complete its one-time account adjustments for borrowers on income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness by July 1. The adjustments have so far given thousands of borrowers relief, but the department recommends borrowers who are not in the federal direct loan program or have federally-held loans in the Federal Family Education Loan program consolidate their loans by the end of April to benefit from the adjustment.

More broadly, on February 22 and 23, the department is holding its final negotiation session with stakeholders to help craft its second attempt at student-debt relief after the Supreme Court struck down the first plan. Once negotiations conclude, the department will prepare proposed text on the borrowers it's seeking to include in this new relief plan.

business plan 7p

Watch: Why student loans aren't canceled, and what Biden's going to do about it

business plan 7p

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