It goes without saying that this is probably the most important one as it’s the actual thing you're trying to sell. Whether it’s a physical good or a service it needs to be something people want to part with their money over, otherwise there’s no point.
Market research is an excellent way of figuring out where in the market your “thing” sits or if a market for it even exists! It could be anything from conducting surveys to looking at whether anyone else is selling a similar thing; otherwise you need to be confident that your product will create an entirely new demand.
Understanding product life cycle is really important and you should be taking into account the entire lifecycle, not just the immediate before and after. Product has a heavy influence over the other three P’s - it dictates how much you can charge, the most suitable place for marketing to be concentrated, and what that marketing actually looks like - so it’s crucial for you to have real confidence in it. If you don’t believe in what you are selling, how can you expect your customers to?
Once you’re confident in your product, the next P is Price. Again, life cycle plays a huge role here as some physical products may have an associated business cost before they’ve even reached your business. The same goes for services as any investment you’ve made in training, systems, or increasing your expertise has an associated cost.
As well as the actual value there is the perceived value to the customer to consider; while there is something to be said for exclusivity there can also be high demand at the lower-end. Seasonality can also play a huge part, there’s no point marketing luxury Christmas decorations in February! The most important thing is that it’s right for your business and that customers are willing to pay. Obviously, it’s no good if it costs more for you to produce than you can sell it for.
This P is heavily influenced by Price and Product. There is absolutely no point putting the effort into creating beautiful marketing if your ideal customer is never going to see it. Place can be as general as marketing on certain platforms or as nuanced as where on a page or what time it appears. Believe it or not, such subtleties can make a huge difference to customer demand so choose wisely. Place is all about making sure as many of the right people as possible are exposed to and therefore ultimately go on to buy your product.
You know what you’re selling, how much you’re selling it for, and where you’re going to market it. Promotion is the final piece in the puzzle. It’s all the little cogs that work together to ensure your ideal customer sees and wants to buy your thing. Promotion is all about showing customers why they need your product and that the price you’re selling it for is justified.
This is where email marketing comes in. By nurturing an email marketing list you have a captive audience who are already engaged with your business as they took the active step of signing up. It should be as easy as possible for them to make a purchase, for example, through smart links and creative content.
Taking these key factors into account next time you’re developing a marketing strategy is a sure-fire way to ensure your marketing hits the spot. People have lots of information at their fingertips these days to help them make quicker decisions, and you need to be in that mix delivering the messages they need to make a decision about your product or service. So get your marketing up to scratch to help them decide buying from you is the right choice.
If you’d like to discuss how email marketing could benefit your business, give our team a call on 01603 858 250 or email us on communicate@smartmessenger.co.uk, we can even offer a free demo.
Content can be a big challenge for companies who want to get their email marketing game on. It’s all well and good to have a decent email list and the motivation to speak to customers, but what should you say to them?
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