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The marketing mix is a company's overall marketing strategy, and it's one of the oldest marketing frameworks and probably also one of the most researched and written about. Over time, the marketing mix elements have undergone various transformations in response to new technologies and other changes in marketing best practices, and the framework is still relevant today.
By following a framework, you ensure that you do not forget essential elements in your marketing. If your webshop ex. Sell women's clothes; a good idea could be to use influencer marketing to get relevant traffic to your website and combine it with Facebook remarketing to convert more traffic. It is important that every element of your marketing strategy must be well thought out and planned to be as effective as possible. In other words, you risk losing track and thus reducing the performance of your marketing.
It's, of course, essential to look at all the marketing strategies and channels you consider adopting against your overall mix. Identifying and arranging the elements of your marketing mix allows your business to make profitable marketing decisions at every level. These decisions help your business develop its strengths and limit its weaknesses. Become more competitive and adaptable in its market.
This article will present the marketing mix framework and how influencer marketing, among other marketing efforts, can benefit your overall marketing strategy.
The marketing mix comes in three different versions: the original, the extended, and the consumer-oriented.
They also go by the names:
- The 4 Ps
- The 7 Ps
- The 4 Cs
The 4 Ps
The 4 Ps of marketing are a place, price, product, and promotion in the original marketing mix. By carefully integrating these elements into a marketing mix, you can ensure you have a visible, in-demand product or service that is competitively priced and promoted to your customers.
Product
Product refers to the product or services your business provides to your target audience. The product a company offers can vary significantly depending on the type of company and what they do. For example, Burger King provides consistent fast food, including hamburgers, french fries, and chicken products, whereas Hubspot offers business customer relationship management (CRM) software and marketing automation tools.
In the marketing context, this means, among other things, that you must consider how your product can meet a specific need of the buyers. Your product can also be so innovative that it creates a new need among consumers. Find out your ideal customer with our free buyer persona template.
Price
This is simply the sum of money that consumers pay to buy your product. Of course, you need to carefully consider how much you need to charge for your product. It should be enough to be profitable, but at the same time not so expensive that potential customers are scared away.
Pricing is the only revenue-generating element in the marketing mix and is strongly linked to the business model. The business model is a conceptual representation of the company’s revenue streams. Any significant changes in the price will affect the viability of a particular business model.
A well-chosen price should accomplish three goals:
- achieve the company’s financial goals (profitability)
- fit within the realities of the marketplace (customers are willing and able to pay the set price)
- support a product’s positioning and be consistent with the other variables in the marketing mix (product quality, distribution issues, promotion challenges)
Place
Place refers to where and how people buy your product. With place, you need to ask yourself: Where should you sell your product? Should it be solely a webshop because this is where most people are? Or do you need to open a store on a busy pedestrian street? The location also includes considerations about where your warehouse should be located about the optimal distribution of the product.
Your choice of place to sell your product of course, also significantly impacts where you should promote your product or service. If you have a webshop, it will make good sense to promote your product online. This could, for example, be via Facebook ads, Google ads, influencer marketing, or a combination. You need to be present where your target audience is. If you haven't defined your target audience yet, you can get up to speed by downloading and filling out our free buyer persona template right here 👇🏼
Promotion
As already mentioned, every successful product has had a successful promotion. Promotion refers to specific and thoughtful advertising that reaches a company's target market. Promotion includes all forms of marketing — affiliate marketing, digital marketing, and content marketing are examples of the most important marketing tactics for a viable product to reach its audience at the right place and the right time. Content marketing comes in several forms for example posts, stories and the newest and one of the most popular formats; reels.
A company might use an Instagram campaign, a PR campaign that showcases a product, an email campaign, or maybe an influencer campaign. Think of where and how you can reach your target group the most powerful way. If you doubt how you should promote your product, you are always welcome to contact us for a non-binding meeting about your opportunities.
The 7 Ps
As we wrote in the intro, the marketing mix theory has developed a bit in the past few years, and the model with the 4 Ps described above has since been further developed with three elements by Booms & Bitner. Today, it's recommended that the full 7Ps of the marketing mix are considered when reviewing competitive strategies. The 7Ps helps companies to review and define key issues that affect the marketing of their products and services and is often referred to as the 7Ps framework for the digital marketing mix.
People
To create a successful business, you need to have competent employees. This applies all the way from the salesperson in the store to the CEO at the head office. Hardworking and skilled people are the backbone of successful companies.
Excellent customer service not only converts to sales but can increase your customer base by referrals. Acquiring these referrals by people who love your brand can also be a great example of how your marketing efforts can support your sales process.
Here, influencers can be a solid external asset to your internal people when advocating for your product and brands. When the company creates valuable content in collaboration with an influencer, they significantly impact their target group(s) than when the message comes directly from the company itself. Influencers are a kind of brand ambassadors, and they have a lot to say. They have some loyal followers who trust and identify with them. Therefore, the words of the influencer often have a substantial impact when it comes to promoting products.
If using influencers in your marketing mix, it's, of course, essential that the influencer has an intimate knowledge of your product and knows how it will improve the lives or solve your customers' problems, or else it will not be credible.
Furthermore, if you choose to implement influencer marketing in your strategy, you must be aware of the importance of dedicating human resources to manage relationships with these ambassadors. You should think of them as your co-workers and not marketing robots.
If you are unsure about witch influencers to work with, we've made the ultimate list of Danish influencers for your next collaboration.
Processes
Various processes are going on, from the potential customer seeing the product in, for example, a Facebook ad or an influencer's story to receiving the item. Therefore, part of your marketing strategy should also focus on the whole customer journey.
First of all, you need to make sure that your webshop setup is optimal. If customers form a wrong first impression of your online store, they will bounce. The average e-commerce bounce rate is 45.68%. You want to encourage conversions from the get-go; you don’t want users to bounce.
Recognize that your homepage is your storefront. It needs to be well-designed, easy-to-navigate, and it should display what the customer is looking for. If you use influencer marketing, the influencers are usually good at sending the customer to the right page on your webshop and help you make the customer journey a lot easier.
When a customer buys from you, there’s also the process of delivering your product to the consumer, designed for maximum efficiency and reliability. Still, it may also include features in line with your brand, such as being environmentally or sustainably focused.
Physical evidence
Your marketing mix must consider everything your customer sees, hears – sometimes even smells – about your product.
The 7th P is physical evidence, which means the physical good or services your customer receives. It will be the new hairstyle for a hair salon, while it will be a series of legal documents for an insurance company. However, it also includes the physical framework in which the customer receives the product or service. At the hair salon, beautiful and inviting interiors, for example, will help to lift the overall feeling for the customer. This makes it more likely that the customer will come back another time.
If you use influencer marketing, the influencers will often try your product themselves and show their followers how to use your product and its potential effect. This is not direct physical evidence, but if the followers trust the influencer and have a good experience with your product, it's compelling evidence.
The 4 Cs
The 4 Cs of marketing consist of Consumer wants and needs, Cost, Convenience, and Communication, and they are arguably much more valuable to the marketing mix than the 4 Ps. They focus on marketing and selling a product and on communication with the target audience from the beginning of the process to the very end.
The 4 Ps focus on a seller-oriented marketing strategy, which can be highly effective for sales. However, the 4 Cs offer a more consumer-based perspective on the marketing strategy.
To further explain the importance of the 4 Cs, we’ll break them down piece by piece for you.
Customer
The first C in this marketing mix is the customer’s wants and needs. Instead of focusing on the product itself, the first C focuses on filling a customer’s life void.
It would be best to spend time and energy understanding the customers' needs in your specific audience. After all, these are the ones you want to sell to. You can find out your buyer persona by using our free buyer persona template:
This marketing strategy is essential for businesses that are interested in seeking an understanding of their customers. Once you understand your customer, it becomes much easier to create a product that will benefit them. Therefore, the customer makes the purchase decision and is the most valuable resource in any marketing strategy.
Understanding your customer can also benefit you a lot if you want to use influencer marketing in your marketing mix. By matching up your audience with the influencer's audience, you can reach a more significant amount of potential customers and get a higher ROI.
Cost
This point is very similar to "price" during the 4/7 Ps. But therefore, it becomes no less important. In a consumer-oriented context, you have to ask yourself: How much must my product cost before customers choose other alternatives?
Please don’t confuse the cost of your product with its price. Price is only a tiny segment of the overall cost of buying a product to a customer. It is essential to determine your product's overall cost – not the price – to the customer. It does not only includes the price of the product but may also include things such as the time it takes for the customer to get to your locator to buy your product or the cost of gas that it takes to get them there. Price can also include the product’s benefit, or lack-there-of, to the customer.
If you are interested in using influencers to advocate for your product, the cost of your product has a lot to say. As mentioned earlier, fast-moving consumer goods are more accessible to sell via this channel. It's easier for a consumer to act right away and buy a product when the cost is 20 euros than when it's 200 euros. So if you, for example, sell and promote clothes, make-up, food, etc., then the consumer doesn't need to consider much before buying.
Convenience
The Third C within the marketing mix is convenience. Convenience is similar to “place” in the 4P’s marketing strategy. However, these two are very different. Place refers to where the product will be sold. Convenience is a much more customer-oriented approach to this marketing strategy.
In "Pretty Woman," Julia Roberts' character Vivian goes shopping at a department store that won't assist her because of how she's dressed.
The department store saleswomen assume that Vivian can't afford the clothes in the store and tell her to leave.
The next day, Vivian, who found somewhere else to shop, comes back to tell them they made a big mistake.
This store wasn't using a customer-oriented approach to business. That was a big mistake. Huge.
With a customer orientation approach, your business would focus directly on solving for the customer. It all boils down to helping people.
As a business, this tactic is helpful because it's more expensive to acquire new customers than to retain current customers.
Often consumers are more interested in getting a convenient service than saving a few euros. For example, if you sell t-shirts at the lowest price in the country but do not offer delivery, many customers will choose other alternatives where the products are delivered to your door.
Once you have analyzed your customer’s habits, you should know whether they shop online or in stores and what they are willing to do to buy your product. The overall cost of the product will determine in part its convenience to your target audience. The goal is to make the product cost-effective and simple enough for the customer to attain the product without having to jump through hoops. Haven't you mapped out your audience yet? Use our free buyer persona template.
Communication
The fourth and final C in this marketing mix is communication. Communication is always crucial to business marketing. Without it, the 4 C’s would not be effective. Communication is similar to the fourth P, promotion; however, it is very different.
The promotion can be considered as overbearing manipulation by the customer. On the other hand, honest communication between company and customer will to a greater extent, create a basis for sales and customer satisfaction.
Communication requires interaction between the buyer and seller. This marketing strategy can very easily be implemented through social media, and why not let somebody else do most of the job for you? Influencers are great at communicating and interacting with their (and your) target group. If you pick the right influencer collaborations, they will make sure to be the best promotors for your product, and it will all come back to you if you make sure to fulfill the other three Cs.
Do you want to learn more about implementing good communication through social media? Sign-up for our webinar today.
Why should influencer marketing be a part of your marketing mix?
We’re all consumers here, so let’s do a little thought experiment together. Think about the last few things you purchased or new spots in town you investigated. Do you remember how you heard about those products or places initially? Did any of the information you used in your decision originate from family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, or celebrities?
If so, consider yourself INFLUENCED.
Word of mouth isn’t anything new, and it’s certainly not a bad thing; as long as we’ve been conducting transactions of goods and services, we’ve expressed opinions and shared experiences. “Influencer marketing” is simply the modernized version of word of mouth, selectively enhanced by product placement originating from a trusted source (an influencer).
Today, many brands use influencer marketing as a robust amplification layer for their social and content initiatives.
The consumer world has become inundated, and we’ve adapted by turning off our attention—and tuning up our bullshit meter. With the barrage of ads we’re exposed to each day, it’s not surprising that we trust people more than brands.
Do you need influencer marketing in your marketing mix?
The simple answer is "yes"!
These individuals are talking about your brand at this very moment. They are creating content through texts and photos, and Snaps. They are introducing new people to your business. They are advocating on your behalf and defending you during those times you have to hug your haters.
Based on the content above, we've made an easy checklist of the different elements of the 7 Ps and the 4 Cs in relation to influencer marketing:
The 7 Ps:
- Product: Are you clear about your product and your target group? Then it's easier for you to pick the right influencers to collaborate with.
- Price: Is your costs in the tens to hundreds of euros? Then influencer marketing can be a good strategy. Companies with FMCG (Fast-moving consumers goods) sell a lot more with influencers because consumers don't need to overthink before buying.
- Place: Do you sell FMCG products online to private customers? Influencer marketing is good! Do you sell your products through a few specialized retailers or distributors and not online? Influencer marketing might not be for you.
- Promotion: How do you want to promote your product? There are many different ways to promote your product, but influencer campaigns have become one of the most powerful ways. With influencer marketing, you can much easier and cheaper reach your target group. In addition, you can use other marketing channels like Facebook, Google, etc., to target all the relevant traffic the influencers have generated.
- People: How do you get more people to advocate for your product? Influencers can be a strong external asset to your internal people to support your product and brands. When the company creates valuable content in collaboration with an influencer, they significantly impact their target group(s) than when the message comes directly from the company itself.
- Processes: Is your webshop and customer journey optimal? Your webshop needs to be well-designed, easy-to-navigate and it should display what the customer is looking for. If you use influencer marketing, the influencers are usually good at sending the customer to the right page on your webshop and help you make the customer journey a lot easier.
- Physical evidence: Do you give your customer any physical evidence? Use influencers to be the physical evidence and get them to show their followers how to use your product.
The 4 Cs:
- Customer: Do you know what your customer's needs are? Once you understand your customer, it becomes much easier to create a product that will benefit them. And it gets easier for an influencer to advocate your product to the right target group.
- Cost: How much must my product cost before customers choose other alternatives? It is important to determine the overall cost - also the effort of getting your product. That might include things such as the time it takes for the customer to navigate and buy the product on your platform, get to the package shop to pick up the product, or the gas that it takes to get them there.
- Convenience: How convenient are your service or/and product? The goal is to make the product cost-effective and simple enough for the customer to attain the product without having to jump through hoops.
- Communication: Do you have a good connection and communication with your customers? Influencers are great at communicating and interacting with their (and your) target group. If you pick the right influencer collaborations, they will make sure to be the best promotors for your product, and it will all come back to you if you make sure to fulfill the other three Cs.
Formalizing relationships with influencers makes good business sense beyond curating great user-generated content and strengthening your brand’s reputation and position. According to data from our platform, brands are seeing an average ROI of 4,4% with influencer marketing. That's pretty good, to be honest.
Better know your influencer!
Marketers commonly identify three types of influencers based on the number of followers they command and what value they may bring, but don’t fall into the trap of assuming that a more extensive audience equates to a more “valuable” influencer. Even individuals with smaller followings can contribute to a winning influencer strategy and should be considered in your marketing mix.
Before launching any campaigns, consider both the tangible stakes of cost and time as well as the intangibles such as trust and reputation. The most successful brand-influencer partnerships define goals, determine metrics, outline expectations, and communicate properly.
Not every individual will be a good fit for your brand, so be strategic about whom you work (and how). Influencers can be engaged under either upfront payment, affiliate, or unpaid (paid in products) arrangements—the choice may change depending on business budget, timeline, and philosophy. As expected, there are both benefits and challenges to all three arrangements. Still, no matter what, the best possible scenario is to find the right influencers and build the best relationships.
Need some inspiration for finding the right influencers for your brand? Download our ultimate list of danish influencers from different categories below.
We can learn new information, solve existing problems, and discover new joys through the trust we extend to those in our circles of influence. That makes word of mouth a very powerful thing when you think about it. Used selectively and managed correctly, influencer marketing can be a win-win-win for brands, influencers, and customers alike.
If you want to learn more about the advantages of influencer marketing and how influencer-based advertising can help scale your marketing efforts, then you can book a free non-binding meeting with us today.
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