The Go-Getter’s Guide to the P’s of Marketing Mix

Marketing waste is a profit killer. It seems self evident, but it is more prolific than you may think. In fact, digital marketing waste is sitting at 60%. 

This is crazy! 6 out of 10 marketers aren’t getting it right. But why not?

No strategy. Bad strategy. Unmeasured marketing.

If only there was a scientific way to plan, make and measure marketing. Funny you should ask.  This article is a guide to the elements that make up good strategy: the P’s of Marketing. 

Pro tip: Random marketing actions are no guarantee of sustained sales.

Searching for that Winning Formula

Guesswork is no way to run a business. 

The function of a business is to make money now … and in the future. Clearly this comes down to Sales performance. (No pressure.) However, the sales team is not alone. It takes a whole collection of marketing actions to set the stage for the sales. 

A robust marketing strategy that achieves the results you’re aiming for is a Winning Formula. The point isn’t just that you get the results, it's how you get them. Because, if you know how, you can do it again.

Savvy marketers are out to build this kind of success-template. We’re all looking for the optimal mix of marketing variables.

Marketing Mix is a combination of factors that can be measured and controlled to influence consumers to purchase products.

Go Big. Go Easy.

Yes, the formula will have to be tweaked the next time, and the time after that. This is nothing new. After all, the mantra of data-driven marketing is test, test, test. But, you’ll know what you’re doing.

So the good news is: strategy is repeatable.

It is also scalable. For teams within the company, it becomes a success-duplication tool. It'll be your guide to new, bigger and better campaigns.

Better marketing sets the scene for easier, better, bigger sales.

This brings us to the question:

How do you create a high-performance marketing strategy?

With the P's of Marketing Mix.

So, what’s in it for you? 

Let’s break down what this article will tell you about:

1. Building blocks: the P’s of Marketing Mix. 
2. The missing P
3. The missing, missing P
4. Checklist: essential discovery questions for each P 
5. And a handy infographic.

Back to basics: What is Marketing Mix?

Product. Price. Place. Promotion. Each of the 4P’s has its part to play. How they work together is the Marketing Mix. (Of course, the up-to-date marketer will tell you there are an additional 3: People. Process. Proof. But more about that later.)

Here’s the kicker: when this combo is right, it’s brilliant. But when it’s bad, it’s expensive.

Random fact: Marketing is scientific. Who knew?

So, where do you start?

The 7 (plus 1) P’s of Marketing Mix: Building Blocks

A Marketing Mix strategy informed by research is a dependable way to play to your strengths.  In this article, I’ll be talking about all the P’s. 

Top takeaway: Before designing your marketing strategy, evaluate what each P can bring to the party.

Like this:

1. PRODUCT: What have you got there? 

The product can either be a physical thing or an intangible service. A marketer’s job is to make it desirable.  So you’re marketing features and benefits, right? No … and yes. 

As we all know, a list of features isn’t much good for marketing purposes. By translating features into benefits, we’re letting the customer know what’s in it for them. Now they may be  interested. 

However, in my experience, this isn’t effective marketing. The way I see it, successful marketing is not dependent on the features-and-benefits of the product.

I’ll tell you why:

If we focus only on features-and-benefits, we aren’t addressing what the customer really needs.

And if we don’t recognise and acknowledge the customer’s pain point, we can’t present a solution they desperately need.

2. The Missing P: Customer PERSONA 

It seems incredible to me that the Marketing Mix process doesn’t count the customer as a significant factor. Especially as the best results come from a customer-centric approach.

So, I’m sliding Persona in here.

Defining your ideal customer is essential: it informs every other P in the matrix. 

Let’s start with the most basic question: Who is your ideal customer? You don’t want to know how many times a client will respond with, “Everyone.” If I’m lucky, they may say, “Everyone who does X.”

I just love this answer … not.

Full disclosure: Even if you are selling water, not everyone is your customer.

Unless you know your customer (and this includes their values and what drives them) you will not have an accurate idea of what your product should be. So: create those customer personas.

3. PRICE: What’s it worth to you?

 You'd think that marketers would have a say in the pricing strategy, but not many do. No matter what strategy is used to determine pricing, the marketer must ensure that the customer perceives value at that price point.

But this doesn't mean that the cheapest wins. Value takes many forms. 

Pro tip:  The value proposition answers the question: what do I get from you that I won’t from other brands?

 4. PLACE: where exactly?

A large part of Marketing’s job is to tell people where they can get the product, and persuade them to rush there. 

Click here. Be there.

And yet …

It is far easier to go to where they are than to get them to come to where you are. Once again, the customer-centric approach.

The crux of the matter is convenience: saving time and effort is a significant driver. What’s more convenient than a product that’s within easy reach?

The ultimate convenience is having the product brought to you: personalized delivery.

The Covid-19 has had a significant impact on ecommerce and the processes that support the changing focus from Place to convenience. For example, 24/7 online customer service, tracing apps, and discount vouchers for repeat purchases.

5. PROMOTION: Look at me! 

Attract attention. Build interest. Influence purchase. It’s not a lot to ask.

No matter what promotional activity and channels you choose, the 3 pearls of wisdom here are: 

Engagement. Inclusion. Ownership. 

Promotion should create the opportunity for customers to experience your brand in all its glory. Build a loyal tribe. Encourage user-generated content.

Successful Promotion is about creating conversation around the product and the brand. But engagement is a 2-way street. You create the opportunity for interaction. This means leveraging comments, forums and user-generated content. 

6. PEOPLE: who’s behind all this?

Interesting fact: Marketing Mix factors employees into the equation. And not just those who interface with the customer. Everyone involved with the product, either directly or indirectly. 

The goal is to build trust.

Thing is: Building customer trust takes a whole team.

And the other thing is: Consistency builds trust.

Think of the customer’s relationship with your brand. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to tell your brand story, and every team member is an ambassador.

However, it's not just people inside the organisation that add value to Marketing; it's also your outsource partners.

In terms of trust 85% of users prefer to click on organic results rather than sponsored posts or ads. The trick is to create and distribute quality content. It must be relevant, informative, educational, or entertaining. 

This is where we address a common misconception: 

Content marketing is easy. Anyone can write a blog, right? No so much. 

How do wee know it requires special skill. Well, 84% of B2B marketers outsource their content creation to an agency.

Pro tip: Outsource to a content creation agency that approaches article writing from a marketing perspective.

7. PROCESS: that’s how we roll

Most businesses design their processes to be efficient and easy. For the business. However, in a customer-centric model, it is the other way round.

See, it’s about convenience. When the customer’s experience is easy they’ll stick around. And they’ll be back.

Then there are the 2 magic words: Brand Consistency.

Are you delivering the same brand story each time? Because this is how brand trust is built. 

What does this have to do with marketing? Way back at the beginning of this article I mentioned that it takes an accumulation of marketing actions to set the stage for the sales.  

Here’s the insight:

A business purposefully designs opportunities for the customer to experience the brand. However, mechanisms must be in place to make these possible.

8. PROOF: Tell me it’s true.

Back to building trust: are you for real? 

This is where online reviews come into their own. Surprisingly, they are as powerful as good old-fashioned word of mouth - even if the reader doesn’t know the reviewer.  Let's look at the numbers:

• 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal endorsement. As I said: that's even if they don't know the reviewer!
• 5 good reviews? The likelihood of purchase increases by a whopping 270% .
• Excellent reviews increase spend by 31%.
• 72% of consumers will only take action after reading a positive review.

Physical evidence gives the customer confidence in your product and brand. So, what proof will you include in your Marketing Mix strategy?

NEWSFLASH: Marketing Mix doesn’t work.

That’s a bit of a shocker, isn’t it. 

Your carefully designed Marketing Mix strategy is doomed to failure. Doomed.

Here’s why:

Marketing Mix doesn’t help you define your goals. And it doesn’t measure your progress.

Welcome to the P nobody is talking about: Performance.

9. PERFORMANCE: are we there yet?

How will you know when you’ve reached your Marketing objectives? Don’t you dare say, brand awareness, thought leadership and lead generation! In this case, you’ve relegated your Marketing to hit-or-miss.  

No goals, no glory. 

No clear objective? This is as bad as saying that everyone is your ideal customer … and you know how I feel about that!

Then there’s the other thing:

Marketing’s job is to create the ideal circumstances for conversion, right?  Do it in 3 steps: 

1. Get their attention.
2. Help them perceive value.
3. Lower the risk of taking the next step.

Say you’re running a campaign and something’s not working. Where are the problems? Your goal gives you the end destination, but doesn’t help with the journey. However, if you’re measuring against a benchmark or a KPI, you’ll know what to fix.

All Together Now

As you can see, the P’s of Marketing Mix are interdependent. In my experience, it takes a few visits to each one before you have a cohesive strategy. 

Take another look at the infographic. If you’ve any questions, insights, or objections please send me a message. I’d love to hear about Marketing Mix from your perspective. 

So, let’s look at this system one last time. If there’s just one thing to remember about each P, this is it:

1. Product: The last thing customers want are features and benefits. They want solutions, not products.
2. Persona: Not everyone is your customer.
3. Price:  What is it worth to your customer? Perceived value means more than product cost.
4. Place:  Convenience. Put your product where it's easy to get. No, even easier than that.
5. Promotion: Engage.
6. People: Keep your brand story straight. Every touchpoint. Every team member.
7. Process: What’s keeping this customer experience afloat?
8. Proof: WOM is invaluable. Ask for reviews and user-generated content.
9. Performance: Don’t just rinse and repeat. Measure the magic. Adjust to improve.  

And finally, in the words of every Marketing coach ever:

Plan it.  Live it.  Achieve it.

Thank you for reading.

Chirene