Marketing 101 – How to Build your Marketing Mix product, price, place, promotion
Whether you’re at the starting line of your entrepreneurial journey, or looking to level up your business years in, your Marketing Mix is one of the best places to start.
To cut the industry jargon, your Marketing Mix is the essential toolkit of strategies every business uses to sell its offering. This means that regardless of if you’re a solopreneur or a multi-million dollar company, you’ll be using today’s tactics to promote your brand and offering to the market. The key factors to remember are product, price, promotion, and place (also called the 4 P’s).
Through harmonizing these tactics you help ensure you’re offering customers what they want, at a desirable price, and distributing + promoting your products/services in the most strategic way possible.
Think of it as a lean way to keep prototyping your business and brand strategy without rewriting a hefty business plan
Product
How does your product serve the customer?
Maybe it solves a problem, or maybe it makes them look good. Your product and company are there to create solutions to the target audience’s needs. A common mistake businesses make during development is creating their product before finding their customer for it. You can’t provide a successful offering to a customer without knowing anything about them! This is where research becomes your best friend. Find out where the holes are in the market and do your best to fill them with a product that customers have been waiting for.
ASK YOURSELF:
- What need does my offering meet in my customer’s life?
- How is my offering better than my competitors?
- What are 3-5 more ways that my offering makes my customer’s life better?
Price
How much will it cost for the customer?
To build your pricing, it’s important to start with knowing the customers you want to buy your product (also known as your target audience) Next, find out what your competition is charging those customers for your same offering. Pricing all comes down to perception. If you want to charge a price that’s higher than many of your competitors, that means you will have to make sure your brand and offering experience feels more luxurious and “high end.” While pricing low makes your offering an easier sell, pricing too low can make your customers question the product’s value. In the end, pricing is both an art and science. So, once you create your strategy behind your pricing, it’s all a matter of testing and refining. Here are some questions to get you started on thinking through price.
ASK YOURSELF:
- What are my buyers willing to pay for my offering?
- Where on the price scale, from luxury to very affordable, do you want to fall?
- Am I willing to roll out discounts and sales to appeal to those who want my product, but may not be willing to pay full price?
Promotion
How does the customer find out about the product?
Getting the word out about your amazing product is the only way you’re going to sell! In the customer’s eyes, marketing and advertising is their branch of communication to you. Find out where customers are actively seeking that communication and products and promote there. This could be through social media, newsletters, tv/radio ads, or even billboards!
ASK YOURSELF:
- What platforms are my customers using to find their products?
- How can I effectively use my promotion budget to reach my customers?
Place
Where can the customer purchase your product and how does it get to them?
Here is another place where it is important to keep an eye on what your customer is thinking and wants. If the majority of your buyers are happy purchasing online, it might not make sense to open a storefront. If your buyer is in and out of stores a lot, find out what those stores are and look at your competition. See who they are distributing to as well as where and how their products are being sold in those stores. Finally, no matter where you sell, keep in mind logistics, shipping, and distribution.
ASK YOURSELF:
- Where does your customer shop?
- How will you get your product from your office to your customer?
Here’s a final tip: think about your favorite brands and the products they sell. As a customer, what do you like and dislike about how they are using the 4 P’s? Remember those likes and dislikes and try to implement (or avoid) them in your own business where applicable!
When combined, these tips are sure to give you a winning recipe for your Marketing Mix! If you have any questions or want to chat branding and marketing, email us at hello@theordinarygood.com or schedule your complimentary 25 minute consultation call with us here.