Defining the Marketing Mix: The Seven Ps

Author: Nattapong Chainwongteerachote

Many marketing experts or talented marketers disclose the various 'Ps' of new marketing concepts. And the traditional 4Ps that have been well-known for a long time are: product, price, place and promotion.  Regarding the three additional Ps are: people, process and physical (evidence).  When you want to create a great marketing campaign instead of normal level marketing campaigns, then you need to smartly mix these all Ps into all of your marketing campaigns.  I decided to summarize them up here for quick and easy reference for all marketers.

1. Product
This is the first P of all the 7Ps mixed in your marketing campaign, identifying and developing a product or service to sell. And normally, product is the most important P, since there will be no any other Ps if there is not any product. If your product offers good benefits to your customers, it will bring the good feedback from the market initially.  Research and development (R&D) is very important for you to innovate or re-furbish your products to beat the market\'s demand effectively.

2. Price
Price seems to be a bit more complicated, since setting up a product\'s price is depended on various inner and outer factors in the market more than the product. There are many products that charge less than the price they deserve. Price is not just a number on a tag hanging on a product, but pricing is an important marketing strategy in all manners. In order to properly price your product, the entire business and marketing strategies are required. Your customer can afford your products, suitable sales channels, product cost, competitors and expected profit. You must bear in mind to always calculate all costs (interest owed and the cost of waiting for payments), and how much you require to be floating through your product\'s R&D. According to some marketing experts\' advices, the suitable price you should charge as the manufacturer of a product is about five times of the cost as the minimum selling price.

3. Place
Product distribution channels are your places for selling your products. Placement is an easy task like making an e-catalog for an online store. Product placement planning, you must think of the many paths to everywhere you can sell your product. You must know that whether your product has more sales when its placement near to cashier location, retail store or department store performs better and doesn\'t forget about the cost of placements too.

4. Promotion
Normally, promotion always applied last, since promotion will be required once after all other Ps are on their position in the market already.  This is how you can make more sales by encouraging your customers to buy more from you.

5. People
Power of people is very powerful in all markets, don\'t overlook it. People can affect and influence your products in any situations and channels. If you apply all other Ps without considering about people, then your sales could not be really maximized.

6. Process
If every other Ps are applied to your product but your process was weak, the failures are waiting ahead. Process is a key to fully succeeded in promoting your products in all markets. You must have a good or at least suitable process carefully planned along together without Ps.

7. Physical Evidence
This is very another great P which extended from the traditional 4Ps in the past. If you can effectively roar as many as satisfactions to all potential customers and clients in the market, the more long-term sales revenue you can make in the same market.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/defining-the-marketing-mix-the-seven-ps-4942674.html

About the Author

Nattapong Chaiwongteerachote has been in business management and marketing since 2001. He wants to share some management online by writing articles.You can visit his sites here: Ebooks With Resell Rights, another site at Making Money Online Facts.