How to Use the 7Ps Marketing Mix to Drive Success in Business?

What do you know about marketing? Do you know that foolproof marketing depends on the 7Ps? Description of these Ps involves product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. Earlier, there were only 4Ps: product, place, promotion, and process. It is one of the top marketing strategies.

It was originally generated by E. Jerome McCarthy and published in 1960 in his book, Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. Earlier, businesses were product-based and not service-based; hence, the focus was on product marketing only. Later, Booms and Pitner added the other three Ps. Today, we will get to know how a business can use the 7Ps marketing mix. 

Let's discuss them one by one: 

1. Product – What Are You Offering?

Marketing is backed by the quality product you offer to the customers. Your business depends on your products. If there is no product, then your trade does not exist. To make a quality product, you should have the answers to the following questions:

• How can your product impact someone’s life?
• How is it different from the competitor's product in the market?
• What are the benefits your product offers?
• What stage of the product life cycle are you in (launch, growth, maturity, or decline)?
• How and when will you upgrade your product?

2. Price – The Value Equation

People think a lot about pricing before buying anything, and pricing also decides the value of the product. So, pricing should not be so high or so low. You can get benefits only when you get it right. Pricing strategies to use:

• Skim Pricing: Initially launch your product at a high price and then, months later, reduce the price so that price-sensitive people also start buying it. 
• Penetration Pricing: launch it at a low price to get into the market fast in a heavy crowd, and then increase the price.
• Competitive Pricing: check your competitors' prices and then use almost the same price to attract some customers from there.
• Value-Based Pricing: Pricing based on value perceived by the customer, not the cost.
• Freemium or Subscription Models: Offering tiers for different user needs.

3. Place – Getting to Your Customer

Place means from which your customers are buying your product or service. People can buy things from physical shops and online e-commerce sites. What distribution channel do you use? Distribution considerations: 

• Do you sell your product online, offline, or use both methods?
• If you are selling it online, then which e-commerce site do you use?
• Please mention if you offer delivery or pickup services. Both services are impactful.
• How do you handle the inventory?
• How do you restock it?

4. Promotion – Communicating Your Value

How do you promote your product to reach your target audience? How does the product’s story connect with the audience? Make a story around your product and sell it to sell your product. Promotional Tactics:

• Content Marketing: Write blogs and articles, make videos, and conduct podcasts. People consume this kind of content every day, so use it in your marketing.
• Email Marketing: Send emails to people telling them about your products, and share updates with them. 
• Social Media: Use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote your product. Put the story, post, and reels of the product and motivate people to like, share, and comment.
• Paid Advertising: Run ads on Google, make banner ads, and social media ads.
• Influencer & Affiliate Marketing: Collaborate with influencers who have huge followers on Instagram and YouTube. Promote your product through them.
• Offline Promotion: Give ads in the newspaper, put banners and hoardings, organise events, and trade fairs. These are the traditional methods of marketing.

5. People – Your Human Advantage

Your staff is one of your core strengths. People make changes in a company.. People who are working with you are not only your staff but also partners in your business, indirectly. Workforce considerations:

• Do your employees care about your brand values?
• Do they have the skills?
• How do they deal with customers?
• Do you provide timely training to your staff?
• Is your staff capable of dealing with complex situations?

6. Process – Efficiency Meets Experience

Processes play the biggest role in providing a good customer experience. A smooth process supports continuous success and brand trust. Consioder the following examples while you design your process: 

Modular steps and checkouts: Divide the whole process into multiple steps.

• Customer onboarding journeys: Experience of your customer when they use your product very first time, including the features, benefits, and how to use the product.
• Fulfillment & service delivery workflows: Steps to deliver a product to the customer after they buy it. It should be smooth and fast.

7. Physical Evidence – What Customers See

Customers want to see the product before buying it. If you are service based then also they want proof of your good services. 

Forms of Evidence

• Branding (logos, packaging, signage): Your brand logo, your store, packaging of your products.
• Digital presence (website, apps, social media design): have a good digital appearance. It can be through your website, apps, and on social media. 
• Testimonials, case studies, and reviews: Customer feedback, reviews, and star ratings should be there on the internet.
• Physical environment: the place where people can see your products physically such as a brand store, shop, or a store.

Final Thoughts

The 7Ps marketing is a practical method to craft, execute, and maintain an impactful marketing strategy. Intersecting with product, price, place, promotion, people, production, and physical evidence will help you to create a long-lasting and trustworthy brand, and can attract loyal customers. Every business that is successful now uses these 7Ps of marketing.

Whether you are launching your startup, you have a business that is just being operated to survive only, or operating a seasonal retail brand, the 7Ps will provide you basic structure, discipline, and clarity. On any stage of your business, always recheck these 7Ps to have continuous growth and take your business to a new level.