Evaluating Your Marketing Mix Strategy
The term “marketing mix”, is a broad basic model for most businesses, historically focused on the price, product, location, and promotion. Today the marketing mix is becoming much more complex, taking into consideration several elements including brand identity, performance, knowledge management, and channel relationships.
The marketing mix is the “set of marketing resources the firm uses to achieve its marketing goals in the target audience”. As the definition implies, the marketing mix includes a large number of elements that influence the overall performance of the company. This article presents some basic definitions of the marketing mix and explores some applications.
The marketing mix describes a set of marketing resources that a firm uses in order to compete with its leading competitors. In a competitive environment, a firm must develop different tools for managing its resources in light of its competitors’ competitive responses.
A firm that wants to survive should take note that its competitors’ performance also differs from its own. Some firms may focus on identifying and addressing some competitive threats while ignoring others. In addition, other competitors may use similar techniques to gain an advantage.
As we have seen above, the marketing mix is an essential part of the marketing strategy. Some firms even use the marketing mix when deciding to buy Instagram views and increase their social media presence.
They can use it in their content creation strategy as well as in deciding which platform to focus on (Instagram vs. Facebook). In a highly competitive environment, a firm can’t assume that it will emerge as a clear leader without some sort of preparation. One way of preparing for possible competition is to identify your key competitors and set a price point that is lower than theirs.
This allows you to reduce costs while maintaining a competitive advantage. In this article, we’ll discuss how establishing a price point and marketing mix can lead to long-term success.
Developing the right people and the right strategy will be critical to achieving a firm’s marketing mix objectives. For example, if you are an Internet marketing company, you want to ensure that you have the right people in place – the right talent and the right connections. You want to be able to identify the right people in any marketplace – whether it is retail entertainment or finance.
Let’s talk about how you might use Boston Consulting Group’s 7 Ps to set the stage for success. The seven Ps are an excellent starting point for any marketing mix. By identifying your target market, you can determine what you’re doing to reach them and how you plan to do it. This in turn leads to more clearly defined marketing strategies, tactics, and activities. Another aspect of the 7 Ps is to define and create an organizational culture.
Identifying your target market will put you in a better position to create a marketing mix that benefits your customer. For example, if you have a small, niche market in auto transport, you need to create a marketing strategy that targets that audience. Your marketing tactics should be geared toward creating a low market share for your product line, rather than trying to appeal to everyone with an over-the-top marketing approach.
You don’t want to alienate your customers with an ineffective marketing strategy. Instead, you’ll have a much higher conversion rate and fewer returns if you select your marketing tactics wisely.
When you have your business and your goals in place, you can fine-tune your mix by adding or deleting elements from your overall plan. For example, many firms include a website within their overall marketing mix. While this strategy has worked for some, it may not be enough to attract new or additional customers.
To attract new traffic you need to include a blog within your overall promotion strategy. Include an element that offers valuable information on the products or services that you’re offering, along with a link to your website, which is your “household name” within the industry.
Evaluating your marketing mix strategy and creating the perfect mix for your specific situation is more complex than simply using the four P’s – effectiveness, price, location, and frequency of promotions.
A quality Boston Consulting Group matrix will help you identify which elements are most important to your success. Once you’ve determined which elements are vital, you can fine-tune your marketing mix strategy accordingly.
