Marketing. How, what, when, who? Sometimes the very thought of Marketing can be somewhat daunting and where to even begin can seem almost overwhelming!
In an industry saturated with clever gimmicks and punchy lines, how does a business ensure they keep ahead of the competition and hook their target audience?
You may or may not be familiar with 'The 7 Ps of Marketing', but we are going to give you a brief guide on what they are and how we believe using Promotion staff can be a really strategic way to ensure your marketing strategies are maximised!
"In an industry saturated with clever gimmicks and punchy lines, how does a business ensure they keep ahead of the competition and hook their target audience?"
So what are the 7 Ps?
Product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and people! These 7 need to be continually revisited when considering Marketing strategies because your products, clients and even the market itself is constantly evolving. In reflecting upon these 7 Ps formula, you are ensuring you are on track and achieving the maximum results possible for your business in today's marketplace.
So let's begin with Product. When reflecting upon your product, it's useful to view it from the perspective of the buyer. That sounds obvious enough but it's easy to get excited about your 'baby' and view it with 'rose tinted specs', we don't blame you, it's fab! But it is essential to consistently assess your business honestly and ask whether these are the right products or services for your customers today. We have found that creating surveys and using data capture is a really useful tool to help gain an understanding of interest in your product.
At Varii, we have a wealth of Ambassadors available that are more than equipped to handle data capture events. In using data capture, you can taper questions to suit your requirements, find out what worked and didn't in real time and with real customers!
Data capture is also a great starting point when embarking upon marketing your product. It gives you the skeletal framework in which to fine tune future strategies and gives you a head start on whether your product will cultivate interest before it lands on the market!
It can also highlight any issues or tweaks your product may need from your consumers, saving you time and money in the long run!
'Even small changes in the way you promote can lead to dramatic changes in your sales results.'
The second P in the formula is Price. This is another area that Promotion staff can be really useful with. In developing the habit of continually examining the prices of products and services, you are ensuring they are still appropriate for your market. Sometimes you need to lower your prices and on other occasions it's more suitable to raise them.
In constantly assessing price, you're considering your customers needs which in turn makes them feel valued and creates more sales for you! Useful strategies with engaging audiences are sampling events, promotion days, offers and even discounts.
In using Promotional staff, you can fully brief Ambassadors to ensure they act as your product's voice. Promotional staff have the time to be able to fully engage with consumers because that is what they are paid to do. We've all been guilty of buying more of something simply because of how excellent and engaging the member of staff who served us was, why not utilize this for your product?
Running events where products are discounted is a great way of generating interest in your product without consumers being skeptical of high prices for a product they are unfamiliar with. In marketing your product, whenever you experience reluctance or resistance to sales, reevaluating price and being creative with it will keep you ahead of competition and ensure you create sales.
The third component of the P Formula is Promotion. Whilst we've touched upon Promotion in discussing price, it is useful to examine in a little more detail how creative promotion can really aid sales. Promotion is not only an offer on your product, it includes all the ways you tell your customers about your products or services and then how you market and sell to them.
Even small changes in the way you promote can lead to dramatic changes in your sales results. Large and small companies in every industry often cultivate new ways of promoting their products; even products that are well known sometimes need a re-vamp or fresh advertising strategy to remind consumers of how great they really are!
Using Promotional staff to run these events can be a really effective way of ensuring these types of campaigns are executed perfectly. Not only are promotion staff professionals in these types of events, they also offer a fresh perspective on your products.
They haven't been part of the whole process, they are looking at your product with the same excitement as a child with their toys on Christmas day; sometimes you need a fresh perspective to bring back the 'magic' that makes your product unlike any other. Promotion companies are also well versed with what will work for your campaign and create individual and innovative ideas that will transcend your product to your consumers.
Whether you choose to enlist professionals or not when it comes to promoting your product, constantly revisiting your marketing campaigns will ensure your product and services are at the forefront of your consumers minds when it comes to them making a purchase!
The fourth P is the Place in which your product and service is actually sold. You might not consider this, but place is actually a really important consideration to marketing a product or service. It's no good trying to sell chocolate to Mr Wonka outside his factory! Whilst you can sell your product in most places, the difference in tangible sales can be astounding purely based on the location in which you do it.
Many companies use sampling days, data capture and events regionally to work out which areas hold more interest in their product or services before their final launch. Another way to understand which area is more suited to your product is trade shows; you can experience similar products and meet the people like you behind them.
It's often useful to discuss with similar businesses what’s worked for them and how they've launched their product. Of course this isn't exhaustive, but they are useful ways of helping decide where your product is best placed within today's market.
"Whilst you can sell your product in most places, the difference in tangible sales can be astounding purely based on the location in which you do it."
The fifth element (not to be confused with the movie) is Packaging. Personally, we believe this is one of the most important considerations because packaging is the first thing your consumer notices and what draws them in to wanting to learn more about your product and services.
People make their first impression about you within 30 seconds of seeing you or some element of your company. Even small adjustments to packaging or the external appearance of your product or service, or even your social media can often lead to completely new reactions from your customers. Packaging is the way in which people see your business from the outside and it doesn't just stop with the 'wrapping'. Packaging also refers to your people and how they dress and groom.
In considering what your consumers see first with your business, you are grasping their attention from the very beginning. Promotion staff are really useful with promoting your product and in using Profile ambassadors, you are able to choose your ambassadors style, ensuring your brands 'packaging' is intrinsic within all elements of your campaign.
The next P is Positioning. As a business it's really important to consider how you are positioned in your consumer's hearts and minds. How do people view your brand and business? What do they say when you aren't present? What positioning do you have in your market when people describe who and what you are?
In order to get to grips with this, consider how you want to be seen and thought of. If you could create the ideal impression of your business what would it be? How deeply entrenched your business is in the minds of your prospective customers determines how readily they will buy your product or service and how much they will be willing to pay for it!
'Who you have working for you and on your behalf is just as important as what you are selling is. You can't possibly sell to children if you have 'The Boogey Man' representing your product.'
The final P is People. Who are the individuals representing your brand? Who works in front of and behind the scenes to ensure your product and services are performing well? Who are responsible for your sales, marketing strategies and events?
It's astounding how many business people work really hard to consider every component of marketing strategies but then pay little or no attention to the people executing them. Who you have working for you and on your behalf is just as important as what you are selling is. You can't possibly sell to children if you have 'The Boogey Man' representing your product. Okay, so that's an extreme example but you get the idea.
The people behind your product need to love your product as much as you do. They need to be excited about it and work in tandem with you to ensure your customers love and get excited about it too! Promo staff again are really useful here. They are paid to be excited about your product and they are professionals in making other people excited about your product.
We aren't suggesting you hire staff every single day of the year to make sure your product is seen and heard but on really important dates and events, hiring a professional is a really intelligent way of creating a hype and love for it from the beginning!
The great benefit of using the 7 Ps when you are marketing your products and services is that encourages you to do a thorough job. If any one of the 7 Ps is not thoroughly considered, the project will invariably suffer. Reflecting upon them continuously and methodically is a great way of safeguarding your business. The 7 Ps are also really useful for working out what went wrong in a project to ensure you don't make the same mistakes next time.
Above all, the 7 Ps can be the difference between instinct led marketing and process-led marketing. In nearly all cases, that will mean a better chance of success for your marketing projects.
