The 7Ps of Marketing Mix, A Shortcut to Define The Right Strategy

The 7Ps marketing mix helps marketers to define the right marketing strategies. It was limited to the core 4Ps of product, place, price, and promotion. 

It was not until Booms & Bitner added 3 new elements and published the 7Ps marketing mix in 1981. This aims to broaden the marketing focus to services as well.     

The 7Ps Marketing Mix 

The 4Ps marketing mix was formed back in time when companies were more likely to sell products (goods) rather than services. Over time, companies started to sell services as well and it developed 4Ps into a 7Ps marketing mix as per below.     

1. Product 

The first P which is product refers to the products (goods) or services that a company offers its customers. A successful company finds customers’ needs before developing a product to meet their expectations.  

The right product provides value for the customers. Define your targeted customers to be focused on.   

2. Price 

The next element is price, which is the amount that the customers pay for the goods or services. It should cover the production cost, operational cost, and desired margin. 

It is crucial to set a competitive and profitable price to be the leader in this competitive era. Based on an IBM research report, 50% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainability. However, discounts and bundling strategies are still considered essential factors in driving their behaviors.   

3. Place 

Traditionally place refers to offline stores. It ideally had to be neat, eye-catching, and in the center of the city. As time goes by, this element now refers to how the company distributes its products, whether it is through offline or online stores.  

While offline stores require neatness and an eye-catching layout, online stores require an attractive digital appearance. This appearance includes attractive photos, up-to-date information, and a good user interface.  

It is recommended to be available online and offline. However, you tend to be more focused on one of them. So identify your audience to define if you should be more focused on your online or offline store. 

4. Promotion 

Promotion refers to how the company communicates its products’ value to the customers. This includes branding, PR, exhibitions, social media outreach, and sales management. 

All promotion activities aim to give the customers reasons to choose your product rather than other companies. To do so, you need to send clear messages that gain the customers' attention. 

A good promotion communicates the benefits that customers get from a product and engages them through their feedback. Do deep research about your targeted customers’ behaviors to build the right promotion strategy. You may need to explore new promotion channels based on your research results.      

5. People 

Everyone who interacts with your business is counted as ‘people’. So this includes your employees, customers, and shareholders. You have to satisfy all of them as they are connected.     

Happy shareholders tend to invest more, which is great for business. You can use the investment to develop products and satisfy both the employees and customers. Yes, you need to satisfy your employees as it will reflect on their performance, including when they serve the customers. 

The employees’ satisfaction does not always come from the salary, but also from the training, the office's facilities (such as snacks, fitness center, etc.), and any form of appreciation. 

Also provide comprehensive product knowledge to your employees, so they can pass it properly to the customers. This will prevent the customers from any misunderstanding. 

6. Process 

The process refers to every step and procedure involved in delivering the products to the customers. It is recommended to streamline the process to satisfy the customers. 

In a Salesforce survey, 80% of customers think that the buying experiences are as important as the products and services. This is why you need to streamline and make the most efficient process.  

7. Physical Evidence 

The last element, physical evidence, is about reassuring the customers with well-trained staff, cool buildings, nice decorations, and a great website. A company can ask for customers’ feedback to develop its physical evidence and meet their expectations. 

After the development, ask them to post online testimonials about the new physical evidence. The potential customers will read the testimonials and be willing to use your products.  

Every element in the 7Ps marketing mix above is an important element that can not be ignored. Prepare your 7p properly for your business success.