It is always a good idea to make sure that you’ve mastered the basics before you get involved with any field. If you’re going to jump into the world of marketing, for example, you’ll need to establish some foundational knowledge.
Whether you’re marketing a single product or an entire business platform, it’s vital that you start by understanding the so-called “5 P’s of marketing”.
This marketing mix strategy is foundational to any campaign and must be accounted for if you wish to successfully market to your customer base.
Table of contents
What are the 5 P’s of Marketing?
Product
The first of the ‘Ps’ is the product, the ‘what’ of the entire equation. You are working to sell your audience something, be it a product or a service.
It’s important that you specify not only what your product or service is, but what makes your product or service different from what is already on the market.
The idea here is that you’re trying to sell something, but no one is going to buy from you until they know what that thing might be.
Your goal is to be able to explain that not only are you offering something that the audience wants, but that the product or service fills a need that has thus far been unsatisfactorily filled.
For those that want to expand their services or products or find gaps in the market, the Ansoff Matrix or Product Market Matrix model is also a very good strategy to help you grow which involves both Market Penetration and Market Development.
Price
Next up of the “5 P’s of marketing” is the price, or what your product or service will cost the audience. This is something that’s going to require a fair bit of research on your part, as you can’t just put a number of your service and call it a day.
Your price has to be high enough that it’s going to turn a profit, but not so high that it’s going to turn your potential customers off of making a purchase. You’re going to have a to walk a fine line, and that means learning what the market can bear.
A good way to figure this one out is by researching what your competitors cost. Can you do what they do for less, but still turn a profit?
If so, you might want to undercut them. If you can’t go lower, you’ll have to find a way to justify your why your product costs more – and that’s going to require thorough examination of your own product.
Place
Where are your customers going to get your product or service? This element is referred to as the place, and it encompasses everything from brick and mortar stores to e-commerce websites and is as important as every other element of “5 P’s of marketing”.
You’ve got to not only identify where your customers can give you money, but how you’re going to get them through the (real or metaphorical) front door.
For many, this means establishing a place of business and making it clear to your customers where you can be found.
If you’re looking at a physical location, this means signage and ads. If you’re looking at solely an online storefront, this means investing in SEO and ensuring that you’ve got enough of an online presence that you’ll always be able to found.
Promotion
How are you going to show people that they need to buy what you are selling? Promotion is the art of letting your customers know that they need to buy what you have, be it through word of mouth or through a targeted ad campaign.
As a business owner, it’s up to you to figure out how best to reach the people who are likely to be spend money on your product or your service.
A big part of this element is understanding how to reach your audience.
Are you selling mostly to people who are going to find you online, or are your customers more likely to listen to an ad on the radio? Where do they spend their time on social media? What do they watch on television?
All of these questions have to be answered before you can satisfy this element.
People
The last P of “5 P’s of marketing” is People, and it’s a fairly new addition to the group. This element concerns the way that you’re interacting with your customers, both in terms of capturing their business and in terms of the relationships that you build with them.
You’ve probably had dozens of experiences in this realm as a customer, as humans consistently look to their personal connections when they engage in commerce. A good personal connection will keep you coming back to a business for years, while a bad experience will drive you away.
You need to think about how both you and those who work for you make and maintain those connections.
Conclusion
The 5 P’s of marketing are a good starting point for any marketing campaign. If you know what you’re selling, how to price it, where it will be sold, and how you’ll promote it, you’ll be able to start building towards success. Understanding these aspects of marketing can be the key to your business growth.
If you can combine these elements of the marketing mix that with an excellent human element – you’ll be able to find significantly more success with your marketing efforts.
