Marketing your products and business has four critical elements. These elements are the four P’s of marketing.
The first P of marketing is product. The goods and services you offer to your customers is your product. You need to have the right product to satisfy the needs of your customer that you wish to target. Apart from the physical product itself, there are elements that are associated with your product that customers may be attracted to. This could be the way it is packaged or the names of the products. Other product attributes include quality, features, options, services, warranties and the brand name. Your customer is actually buying the appearance, function and support of the product.
The second P of marketing is price. The price is how much you charge for your product or service. It can be very tricky to determine the price of your product. Small business owners often feel like they must have the lowest price around. So they sometimes begin their business by creating an impression of bargain pricing. But this could be a signal of low quality and not part of the image you want to portray. How you price your product should reflect the appropriate positioning of your product in the market but the result should neither be greedy nor timid. Remember, whatever your price may be, it should cover your costs, contribute to your image by communicating the perceived value of your product, counter competition’s offer, and avoid deadly price wars. Effective pricing is very important for the success of your business.
The third P of marketing is place. Place refers to the distribution channels used to get your product to your customers. Depending on what your product is will greatly influence your methods for distribution. For example, if you own a small retail store or offer a service to your local community, then you will be supplying directly to the customer. Characteristics of your product and your sales volume greatly dictates what inventories you should maintain and the best way to transport your products. There are many combinations of distribution methods to have but whatever you decide, you should choose the method that you believe will work best for you and your product.
The last P is promotion. Promotion refers to the selling and advertising aspect of your marketing. It is how you let people know about sales. Getting people to really understand what your product is, what it can be used for and why then want it is the purpose of promotion.
There are many ways to advertise your product. Your product can be advertised through the radio, television, print, web sites, word of mouth and generic. Generic promotion is when no specific brand of product is being promoted, but rather a whole industry is advertised.
Product, price, place and promotion should work together in your marketing mix. Decisions on one element can influence the choices available in others. Selecting an effective mix for your market will take alot of time and effort but will pay off as you satisfy your customers and create a profitable business. Marketing is a part of your venture that will not end.