Marketing may not seem the same as it was before the evaluation of the digital world, but the basic principles of marketing are still the same. These principles are used as a basic formula to evaluate and reevaluate the business, and ensure your business is reaching its full potential and growth.
What Are the Marketing Principles?
Marketing principles are the most commonly used principles that are around since the 1960s, these principles stood the test of time and have remained the same - with a little variation here and there - for decades. Businesses follow these principles for a successful marketing strategy.
There are four original principles of marketing referred to as 4Ps or 4P marketing Matrix that companies use for their marketing strategy. These four basic marketing principles Product, Price, Place, and Promotion are interconnected and work together; hence, they are also known as Marketing Mix. There are also 5 P's of the marketing mix, which includes People.
You might see some variation of these four principles; additionally, in the 1980s, two more principles were added to these original four principles that are used by some companies and referred to as 7Ps.
1. Product
Dmytro Tsybuliak search marketing expert, co-founder of itRate, states that product is one of the most crucial principles of marketing. The product can be either a good or a service you provide to customers. One important thing that often marketers ignore is to see the appeal of your product and market for it before deciding what you want to offer.
If you want to sell a profitable product, then you need to do thorough planning and look at your product from customers’ eyes and consider all the essential factors in your plan. These factors may include questions such as costumers’ needs, the quality of your product, how is it different from others and what is its selling point, as well as how safe it is for your customers.
You not only need a quality product but also be able to successfully define the quality of your product to your prospective consumers and turn them into consumers.
2. Price
The price is the money the customer has to pay for the product or services they receive. There are two types of pricing, such as cost-oriented prices and market-oriented prices.
In market-oriented prices, there is more to price than the contribution price, and it needs thorough market research. Some things to look into are:
- What your customers are willing to pay.
- The price of the same type of products offered by your competitors.
- And the goals your company has set to reach.
Moreover, the price is selected after determining the market value. Or on the value, you offer through your product or service. If you ask for a higher price than market value, customers will have more expectations from your product, and you should live up their expectations if you want a successful business. The price can also be adjusted with time to make sure it is right for your current market. If you sell products, you A/B test the product price with relevant tools.
3. Place
Place refers to the process of bringing your products and services to the customers. The place is wherever your product or services are available for purchase and customers can buy them. It could be a brick-and-mortar store, an online website, or you can use multiple channels to reach a broader audience.
It is essential for a business to choose the right place that is convenient for customers, and reach out to the potential customers to increase the sale of the product. Therefore, careful planning of the placement or distribution of your product is important for a successful business. For instance, knowing where your prospective customers are, where your location should be, and how to connect your potential customers to your location is an essential part of your business growth and growth marketing.
Additionally, in today's digital age, no matter where your store or services are located, a digital presence can make a huge difference in reaching out to your potential customers. As more and more people tend to search online for their needs.
4. Promotion
Promotion is creating awareness for your products, services, company, and brand. All the ways a company use to build awareness for their product and services are known as promotion. Promotion should give customers a reason to choose your product or service, as well as show the prospective customers the benefits of using your product.
Promotion is the backbone of marketing and as crucial for businesses as the quality of the products they produce. It refers to communicating with the target audience through different channels and creating awareness for your product and services.
There are different methods used to let the market know about your product or services. The following are some of the most popular ways marketers use to reach out to their prospective customers.
- Email marketing: Email marketing refers to reaching out to your target audience through emails.
- Advertisem*nt: Advertisem*nt is a paid promotional tool marketers use to promote their products or services. It includes social media ads, tv, magazine advertisem*nts, and local marketing tricks like supporting events with branded clothing for staff and/or attendees.
- Search Marketing: Search marketing is generating leads from search engines like Google & Bing through SEO & SEM. It includes techniques like rank blog content or landing page on product/service relevant queries to drive website traffic.
- Sales promotions: Sales promotion is temporary incentives, such as deals or trail offered for a short period of time. These promotions are used to encourage prospective customers to try out the product and services before buying.
- Direct marketing: Direct marketing is when you directly reach out to your target audience and build relationships through two-way communication.
- Public Relations: Public relations are presenting a favorable image of your products and services.
- Event Marketing: Event marketing refers to reaching your potential customers through trade shows, webinars, virtual events, conferences, and so on.
- Product-led growth: PLG is a user-focused growth model in which user acquisition, expansion, conversion, and retention are all product-driven.
7 Principles of Marketing
Marketing principles were extended to 7Ps in 1981; therefore, some companies use 7Ps of marketing instead of basic 4Ps. The following are three additional principles some businesses use on top of the 4Ps mentioned above since the 1980s.
People
People are also an important part of any business organization. From team members to branch manager to customer service representatives, all play a vital role in the progress of a business organization.
Hiring the right people who are trained and able to do the right job is essential for a business organization. Additionally, excellent customer service that listens to customers' concerns and needs and satisfies them is necessary for business growth.
The people who have the ability as well as are driven and trained to do their work can make a massive difference in creating and implementing the marketing plan in the right way.
Packaging
Packaging is another principle of marketing. The right packaging design makes a big difference in making a good initial impression. Packaging refers to the way your product or services are represented to the people. Good packaging is the best way for your product to get noticed and stand out so that people choose your product instead of your rivals.
The packaging is the opportunity for you to make your product more attractive and different from others. It creates a powerful first impression that makes people choose your product among other competitors.
Physical Evidence
It includes the things customers see when interacting with a business. Make sure the environment where product or services are provided are user-friendly and attractive; the packaging you use is appealing to the customers and represent your brand.
Physical Evidence also includes the customers' experience with the product or service. It gives some solid knowledge of your product or service for the first time costumers. Wherein, a customer can read or see the result of your product and develops some level of trust that encourages them to choose it.
Physical Evidence is any physical interaction the business has with the costumers in stores or digital; it also includes the case studies and testimonies from satisfied customers. Companies build brand awareness with all these interactions and increase their sales.
Process
Some businesses often use one more marketing principle that is called process. The process refers to the whole experience of product or services; from start to finish. It also applies to help provided after the product is delivered. It includes how long it takes to deliver the product or service and how you handle the customers. After the whole process, if your customers are happy and satisfied, that makes a huge difference in how fast your business grows.
All of these marketing mixes play an essential part in a business's success, and the whole process is called marketing planning.
