The aim of any brand is pretty clear, to make consumers choose their products and keep doing so. It’s to gain their trust and loyalty by solving a problem they have and delivering on the promises you make. Often consumers have been disappointed by brands that haven’t done these things and so they may be reluctant to try a new brand, your brand. In this blog post, we will discuss one of the most crucial building blocks to successfully attracting and maintaining a customer base. Not the secret sauce, not the secret salad, the secret mix, the marketing mix that is. Want to know more? We’ll just keep reading.
What is the marketing mix?
The marketing mix consists of four interconnected variables that will either make or break your service offer. These are as follows: 1. Product strategy: the design, features, quality, branding, target market, and positioning of the product or service 2. Pricing strategy: the way the products or services will be priced (e.g. premium, penetration, economy, and skimming) 3. Promotion strategy: the way in which consumers are made aware of the brand and encouraged to purchase and repurchase 4. Distribution strategy: the way in which the product will be made available to the consumer (e.g. exclusive, intensive, or selective)
What about online?
In an online environment, it’s hard for a consumer to perceive product features so product strategies for products online must focus on providing thorough product descriptions and high-resolution images from multiple angles, for example, instead (Talpau, 2014, p. 54).
When it comes to the type of pricing techniques that may be used, the following might be chosen: - Peak: high prices for new and innovative products - Penetration: low prices to create a client base - Psychological: prices based on emotional and subjective consumer responses - Prestige: high prices meant to imply high quality - Magic: prices that seem less than they actually are - Differentiated: same product, different prices for different locations (Talpau, 2014, p. 54)
Alongside traditional promotional strategies online marketing has led to the following updates:
- Paid advertising: advertising that is search engine optimised - Website optimisation: using search optimisation on the website and by referrals from others - Social marketing: marketing on social media websites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc) - Online partners: directories media outlets, or on websites in the same sector of activity as the product or service - Affiliate marketing: getting individuals to promote the product and paying them a commission if this leads to a sale - Newsletters: a way to get news out there about the brand, the products, and services it provides and deliver information pertinent to the customer. (Talpau, 2014, p.58).
It can shape the type of products and services that are being offered to them. There is a far greater level of communication between brand and buyer, so the quality of communication needs to of the highest quality and clarity. Shiny words and promises just won’t cut it. The new consumer is a savvy consumer who can Google just about anything.
Having a solid marketing mix with a robust product, pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies is not a nice to have it’s a must-have. It will ensure that you will be able to tailor your product and service offer to your target market with no faux pas. No more approximations, no more “We’ve always done it this way”. There is only room for thorough planning and research which will lead to your brands' success.
Reference:
Talpau, A. 2014, ‘The Marketing Mix in the Online Environment’, Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, vol. 7, iss. 2, viewed 24 March 2019, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/docview/1658463146?accountid=14205
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