7 Ps of Marketing

The ‘marketing mix’ was established in 1948 by Professor James Culliton and included Product, Price, Placement and Promotion. This was later extended by Jerome McCarthy to include People, Packaging and Process. It is still, to this day, a great framework for your marketing and represents a mixture of actions and strategies to promote your business.

Product, placement, promotion, people, packaging, process, price

Product - what does your product or service do for your customer? How can you make their life better with it? Consider all elements and selling points of your product; are there any special features and USPs? Let people try the product and decide how good it is for themselves. Create stories and connect.

Placement - where are you selling your product or service? Could it be in shops, or just online? Through your own shop or website or through a third party, or both? It is important to consider here whether the sales process is B2B or B2C.

Promotion - this is how you get your product seen by the public. Pay attention to current trends and the way the world is moving. For example, in the past TV ads and print might have been the most popular way of promoting something, but now digital strategies are coming to the forefront. Different methods of promotion tie together to help encourage the customer to make a purchase, so it’s important to utilise as many channels as possible.

People - everyone involved with your business who comes into contact with your customers. This could be from shop staff to social media managers. Make sure everyone is giving the same, consistent message. Ensuring you have the right people in the right roles in your business will help build its success.

Packaging - make your product stand out and recognisably yours. Make your packaging clear and use it to draw people in. High quality, branded packaging will help more people recognise your brand.

Process - think about this on every level of your business. What is the best way to utilise your time and resources? Keeping every aspect of your process running smoothly is a challenging task, but is necessary to set your business up for success.

Price - there are lots of things to consider here. Obviously you have to be able to make a profit, but how you price your product determines how it is perceived. Are you pricing it higher to make it seem higher quality? Or lower, so you can gain more business from competitors? Is there a charitable or sustainable element to your business which will impact how you price things? How are you perceived - value or high end?

Depending on the nature of your business, some of the “Ps” will be more relevant to you than others. For example, for JV Communications, packaging may not seem quite so relevant as we don’t have a physical product. However, we look at this particular “P” as our logo and branding and the way our business looks online.

The 7 Ps are a great framework to look back on when you feel as though you need to reevaluate part of your business. It will help you break down the aspects of it that you are pleased and satisfied with, and those that could do with a little tweak!

Sunny wishes,

Jo & Vic