Marketing is made up of many elements. By understanding the purpose of marketing you can build something incredible.
Topics covered:
What is Marketing
Let’s start with the basics
Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and business goals. The process of marketing involves researching, promoting, selling, and distributing products or services to customers, and in many cases using a Go To Market strategy.
Marketing is a critical function for any business, as its goal is to identify and meet the needs and wants of customers, and ultimately, drive sales and revenue. Marketing activities can include advertising, public relations, pricing strategies, product development, sales techniques, and customer service.
Ultimately, the goal of marketing is to communicate the value of a product or service to potential customers in order to sell it to the right person at the right time.
SWOT
One of the first steps when considering a new product/service is to complete a SWOT.
SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps organizations identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is a useful technique for understanding a company’s internal and external environment and for identifying potential strategic options. These four areas help with decision making and prioritization of activities.
Note: SWOT is a moment in time. It should be redone when required to ensure the conditions are the same to make decisions on.
- Strengths refer to the characteristics of the organization that give it an advantage over its competitors. These could include things like a strong brand, innovative products or services, a skilled and motivated workforce, or a favorable location.
- Weaknesses are the opposite of strengths and refer to aspects of the organization that may be holding it back or that could be improved upon. These could include things like outdated technology, high operating costs, or a limited product range.
- Opportunities are external factors that present the organization with the chance to grow or improve. These could include things like new market openings, technological advances, or changes in consumer behavior.
- Threats are external factors that could potentially harm the organization or hinder its progress. These could include things like increased competition, regulatory changes, or economic downturns.
SWOT analysis is often used as the first step in the strategic planning process, helping organizations to identify their current situation and to develop strategies that take advantage of their strengths and opportunities, while minimizing their weaknesses and threats.
What are Marketing Strategies
A marketing strategy is a plan that outlines the specific actions a business will take to reach its marketing goals. It outlines the target market the business wants to reach, the goals it wants to achieve, and the tactics it will use to achieve those goals.
Marketing strategies can vary depending on the size and type of business, as well as the products or services it offers. Some common tactics that businesses use as part of their marketing strategies include advertising, public relations, content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization, and influencer marketing.
The key to a successful marketing strategy is to identify the unique selling proposition (USP) of a product or service, and communicate that value proposition to the target audience in a way that resonates with them. A marketing strategy should also be flexible and adaptable, as market conditions and customer needs can change over time.
Marketing Mix – Up Close
The marketing mix, also known as the 7 Ps, is a framework that businesses use to plan and execute their marketing strategies. The 7 Ps are:
- Product: The product or service being offered to customers.
- Price: The amount of money customers are expected to pay for the product or service.
- Place: The location where the product or service is sold, such as a physical store or online marketplace.
- Promotion: The marketing efforts used to communicate the value of the product or service to potential customers, such as advertising, public relations, and social media marketing.
- People: The employees and customers who interact with the product or service.
- Process: The steps involved in producing, distributing, and delivering the product or service.
- Physical evidence: The tangible elements of the product or service, such as packaging or the appearance of a store or website.
The marketing mix is a useful tool for businesses to consider all of the elements that go into marketing a product or service. By considering each of the 7 Ps, businesses can create a comprehensive and effective marketing plan.
Marketing Mix – in detail
The marketing mix is the backbone to how to bring products/services to market as it allows organisations to review and define key aspects. The 7Ps of the marketing mix are a framework for analysing the marketing mix of a product or service with a competitive lens and ensuring more areas other organisation are incorporated. To hear more about the marketing mix, listen to this podcast. The 7Ps are: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence
Product
The physical product or service being offered to customers to meet their needs. There are many elements that need to be considered under product:
- Quality. How has the product/service been made? How long will it last? Will it be seen as value for money and fit for purpose?
- Image. What the product/service represents and what will be known for feature or benefit
- Branding. What level of recognition,
- Features of the product that differentiate/similar to competitors, included and add-ons (eg. DLCs). What is the value add compared to others
- Customer service provided for product/service
- Warranties that cover usage and life. Are they being upheld? How do people claim
Price
The amount of money that customers need to pay in order to purchase the product or service. Also – how are you going to make a profit? Price is a strong indicator in market of the brand itself and where it fits in.
- What is the pricing strategy for RRP and if doing promotions in the future
- What types of discounting will happen – random, align with key market campaigns (Mother’s Day, Black Friday)
- Payment methods being offered and potential partnerships eg Latitude, VISA, PayPal. Due to customers sentiments for online security customers are wary
- What prices will be add-ons or more premium versions
Place
The location where the product or service is sold, such as a retail store or online platform.
- What channel will it be available in: retail, online, omni, app
- What support for sale will be available
- Will there be segmentation for channels
- What is the distribution change going to evolve to include? Intermediates, direct?
Promotion
The marketing and communication efforts used to promote the product or service to potential customers.
- What are the marketing comms planned out to be e.g. mass market, niche, personalised
- Public Relations (PR) support to different media
- Branding and how it connects
- Is Direct Marketing an option
- How do sales promotions differ to BAU material
People
The people involved in creating, producing, and selling the product or service. The actual people that are the face of the organisation
- Individuals involved in the activities to bring to market including customer care
- Culture and image of the organisation including training
- Remuneration for sales team
Process
The processes involved in creating, producing, and delivering the product or service.
- What is the customer process to buy etc What is the customer journey?
- What processes are involved by the organisation
- How are the designs inter-connected
- What is involved in research and development for improvements
Make analytics your best friend e.g. click throughs, conversion rates etc
Physical Evidence
The tangible elements of the product or service, such as packaging or the appearance of the place where it is sold.
- The actual experience the customer walks through (Customer journey mapping is perfect for this)
- Product packaging and what it contains e.g. warranties, brand, image etc
- Online experience – sale and use
- Reviews and testimonials
The marketing mix is used by organisations to make informed decisions about how to effectively market and sell their products or services. It is important to check back when any new innovations are being brought to market in case anything has changed.
To here more about the marketing mix, listen to this podcast.
The Marketing Plan
What is the difference between the marketing strategy and marketing plan? Marketing strategy is the why behind what you are doing. The Marketing plan is the how – how are you going to do this. I consider the marketing plan as a campaign. There are different phases in the marketing plan to consider:
- Actual product/service. What is being brought to market? What will the focus on the campaign of the marketing plan be on? How is it different to the market? Does it fit in a niche? Or have a value add? What makes it special and stand out? The campaign should make this simple for prospective customers to understand. It should incorporate what your brand stands for and feel authentic.
- Customer base. Personas are important to create and understand. If you have an existing customer base it is a great starting point to understand an actual target market. You can also save on marketing funds if you look for look a-likes (if this makes sense). These prospective customers can be put into segmentations to see how they perform.
- Competitor analysis, industry analysis and research. SWOT is a good tool as a moment in time to understand your brand/product compared to a competitor or the market. It is also extremely important to look at direct and indirect competitors to ensure you have a good understanding of the market.
- Resources. Who is going to do what and how? What is the budget? What is the team you need internally and externally to make the campaign successful eg SEO, social media, call centre training etc.
- Goals and KPIs. What does success look like? Benchmarking is important to understand what levers are doing to improve sales etc. There are many different types of KPIs and goals to consider such as sales, customer engagement, likes, etc but you need to ensure it is meaningful and measurable.
- Timing and media. What is the marketing mix – above the line, below the line. What focus will there be on existing base? When is the best time to launch or should you pivot?
Marketing plans can take between 6-12 months to recap. This will depend on what your campaign is etc. It is extremely important to have a clear calendar to follow for you plan so you will be most successful!
Listen to the podcast on the Marketing Plan to here more in detail – transcript also available.
