Marketing Mix: The 4 P's, 7 P's and 7 C's Framework

Marketing Mix Definition

• A marketing mix serves as a business tool used in marketing
• It is crucial for establishing a product or brand's offer
• It is traditionally associated with the four P's: price, product, promotion, and place

The 4 P's

• The components of the marketing mix can be adjusted to alter the customer offer
• For prominent brands, promotion should be prioritized, and price sensitivity should be reduced

Additional P's

• Three extra "Ps" were introduced by Booms and Bitner, to accommodate the shift towards a service or knowledge-based economy
• These include people, process and physical evidence

7 P's and 7 C's Framework

• The 7 P's represent factors that an organization faces, focusing on internal elements
• Product corresponds to customer/consumer
• Price corresponds to cost
• Place corresponds to convenience
• Promotion corresponds to communication
• People corresponds to caring
• Processes corresponds to coordination
• Physical Evidence corresponds to confirmation
• The 7 C's focus on external considerations

Product Considerations

• Developing a product or service that nobody wants to purchase is pointless
• Businesses should determine what customers want and need, and then create the appropriate product with the required quality standards

Product Value

• The ideal product needs to deliver value to the customer
• This value is subjective, therefore businesses should provide consumers the things they desire rather than what the business believes they need
• An insurance policy represents an example of a non-tangible product
• A system needs to be in place to continuously assess client feedback on the product and related services

Price Determination

• The value that customers are willing to pay determines a product's worth
• Pricing needs to stay competitive but must not always mean the lowest price
• Providing additional services or features that enhance customer value enables a small business to compete with bigger competitors
• Pricing needs to also guarantee profitability, as it is the only aspect of the marketing mix that generates revenue and all other aspects represent expenses

Pricing Strategies

• Underscoring the value of pricing for customers can be achieved by regarding it as their "cost"
• The value or quality that customers anticipate from a company increases with its prices
• Existing customers are often more tolerant of pricing than new clients
• When opting for a higher-priced added-value strategy, it is important to remember how price positions a product

Skimming Pricing

• It involves setting a high price for a new high-end product like luxury perfume or a uniquely differentiated technical one
• Its objective is to maximize income before rivals can provide substitutes
• The company reduces the price dramatically to entice low-end consumers and discourage imitators after accomplishing this

Penetration Pricing

• It represents a marketing tactic that companies employ to draw customers to new products or services
• It involves providing the new product or service at a low price when it is initially launched to lure customers from competitors
• It aims to increase customer awareness of a new product on the market relative to its competition because of its lower cost

Place

• Products or services have to be accessible at practical and easy to reach destinations
• Products must be readily accessible at the appropriate location, moment and amount while reducing storage, inventory and distribution expenses
• Providing good delivery is a crucial factor for choosing a supplier

Place Considerations

• The means by which products and services are transferred from the manufacturer or service provider to the consumer and the location where they may be obtained
• Having more places to buy products and making them more accessible improves business for both firms and consumers
• McDonald store and Sherza venture stores in Bhutan serve as examples

Retail

• Sells items to consumers, rather than through a wholesaler or supplier

Wholesaler

• Acquires a big quantity of items from producers or vendors, keeps them in warehouses, and sells them to retailers

Direct Selling

• Products or services are presented, shown, and sold in person, either at a potential client's house or place of business, by independent direct sales agents

Promotion Definition

• Promotion represents the way a business relays what it does and what goods or services it can deliver to consumers
• Branding, advertising, PR, sales management, special offers, as well as exhibitions, represent some activities involved

Promotion Objectives

• Promotion should get people’s focus, be enticing, deliver a clear and consistent message, and, most importantly, encourage consumers to pick a brand’s products over those of rivals
• Effective promotion paves the way for client discussion and prevents one-way communication
• Features remain distinct from benefits, therefore promotion must convey the benefits a consumer will receive by utilizing a product
• Brochures, folders, catalogs and other marketing materials must grab a potential customer's attention, be simple and enable them to see why they ought to purchase products

Advertising

• Represents the act of generating information to market goods or services to customers

Branding Considerations

• Branding is crucial for many goods and businesses
• It is a representation of a product or company, which might be a symbol, set of words, or logo from rivals
• Trademarks remain registered to regulatory bodies, granting the owner exclusive rights to use them

Endorsement Definition

• Can be written or public and consist of a celebrity or group vouching for products
• Business advertisements that highlight this remain a key element in their campaigns.

Intracompany Awareness

• Making ensuring internal parties and stakeholders realize the attributes and worth of products constitutes a key objective of promotional initiatives to staff and fellow employees

Importance of People

• "People" represents anybody directly or indirectly involved in the sale of a product or service
• These are primarily staff members that are in contact with clients

Employee Impact

• The attitude and actions of staff members can have a big impact on a customer’s thoughts and feelings regarding service
• They are crucial for impacting customer happiness and, consequently, intentions for future purchases

Process Definition

• Process refers to steps and more in how the quality of available service is guaranteed
• Managing processes is especially critical because services cannot remain inventoried and put away or returned
• Customer feedback tightens processes to accommodate their needs

Physical Evidence

• Relates to the setting in which a service transaction takes place between a customer and an employee in addition to the material product
• Brochures, business cards, and other items are some examples
• Service intangibility leads to more emphasis on making it seem tangible

Product Strategy Role

• Product roadmap and subsequent product releases get constructed by product strategy
• It also enables businesses to concentrate on a particular market and collection of traits

Product Strategy Considerations

• When creating items, consider who will remain targeted, what you are offering, the level of value offered to customers, pricing, and finally distributional models
• The target audience has to also be kept in mind

Product Strategy Development

• Begins through pinpointing the problems the product fixes, market analysis, reviewing the competitive landscape, and differentiating itself from competing companies
• The product approach evolves over time from market discovery and also the possibility to expand into varying markets

Product Innovation Definition

• Product innovation can consist of the creation and advertising of a version of services or goods that has already been existing
• It might consist of technical improvements, component integrations and specifications

Product Development Definition

• It is a series of steps that includes the conceptualization, design, development and marketing of newly created or newly rebranded goods or services

Idea Generation Stage

• Serves as the first key element in the product development cycle with brainstorming the types to generate options
• Internal sources include R&D, while the External involves competitors research and customer concerns

Idea Screening Stage

• Selected based on utilization levels, resource access and ethical factors or concerns

Product Concept Development

• Is the stage where the idea is established depending on requirements of the market

Marketing Strategy

• Contains 3 components for setting target pricing along with distribution channels plus profit goals for introducing the products into the market

Business Analysis and Product Development

• The analysis occurs from the company viewpoint in sales terms
• Test marketing measures financial decisions for either debuting the product or keeping it from the market

Commercialization Stages

• This element focuses on implementing marketing for new products for either entering in or testing out the market

Diffusion Defined

• With respect to the market, diffusion becomes the rate at which either a new product or service gets distributed between consumers

Innovators

• Represent the first 2.5%
• Innovators are those who accept risks by sampling a new product even when unconfirmed

Early Adopters Definition

• Unlike innovators, comprise groups who take chances based on reasoned thinking with 13.5% market representation

Early Majority Definition

• The majority contains traditional thinking consumers with risk aversion who are more careful, adopt proved out products, which represents 34% of all users

Late Majority Definition

• Tend to be cynical consumers who acquire or purchase items as they have been proven over time, accounting for another 34%

Laggards Definition

• Represent 16% comprised of averse individuals reluctant for change unless there are no traditional markets

Product Lifecycle

• The course of profits and sales of a particular commodity that encompasses measures of the life to commercial costs
• Each Lifecycle stage involves development, growth, introduction, and decline

Elements that determine lifecycle

• Differing from product, markets adapt over time with lifecycle components including sales periods throughout differing stages
• Requires financial measures and sales management strategies

Three special categories of PLC

• Style: expresses a basic theme
• Fashion: popular trends with distinctiveness
• Fads: quick, adopted fast

Growth Stage Marketing

• Improves the quality of product and styling by adding new models and improves market segments for distribution purposes
• Advertisements switch to improve consumer preference for sensitivity in pricing structures

Maturity Stage Marketing

• Change brand awareness through promotional aspects that also increase consumer engagement

Product Modification

• Attempting to boost marketing with the goal of good performance that expands aesthetic appeal

Decline Stage Marketing

• Consists of products with declining sales volumes/ investment by finding selective niches, divesting and establishing strategies