Run time: 1 minute 12 seconds
Do you think marketing is just about promotion? It’s a common and damaging misconception that can hold your business back. If you only focus on promotion, you risk simply putting lipstick on a pig, spending money to shine up an offering that doesn’t truly stand out.
Effective marketing is about so much more. It’s woven into the very fabric of your business. Let’s explore why.
Beyond Promotion: Understanding the Marketing Mix
The traditional marketing mix, known as the 4 Ps, provides a foundational framework:
Product: What you sell. Is it something your customers actually want or need? A marketer’s insight here is crucial to ensure your offering is desirable and distinct from the competition. Without this, you’re left trying to sell something that looks just like everyone else’s.
Price: Your pricing approach communicates value. Is it a premium service or a budget-friendly option? A marketer helps align your price with your brand perception and target audience, ensuring it supports your overall business goals.
Place: This refers to where your product or service is sold. Whether it’s a physical shop, an e-commerce site, or through distributors, the location impacts customer experience and accessibility.
Promotion: This is the element most people associate with marketing, advertising, social media, and public relations. It’s how you communicate your value to your audience. But as you can see, it’s just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
The Extra 3 Ps for Service-Based Businesses
If you run a service-based business, the marketing mix expands to include three more critical elements:
People: Your team is the face of your brand. Do they embody your company’s values and deliver the promised experience? If your people don’t align with your brand, the service will fall flat, no matter how great your promotional efforts are.
Physical Evidence: This includes everything your customer sees, from your website and branding to your office space or the reports you provide. It all works together to create a tangible sense of your brand’s quality and professionalism.
Processes: How easy is it for customers to work with you? A smooth, efficient process from initial enquiry to final delivery is a powerful marketing tool in itself.
Why Marketers Should Have a Seat at the Table Early
When you involve a marketer in the early stages of developing your product or service, you build a strong foundation for growth. Their expertise helps you define a genuine, unique selling proposition (USP), making your offering inherently more attractive to your ideal customers.
By getting involved in decisions on product development, pricing, and even hiring, a marketer ensures every part of your business works together to create a cohesive, compelling brand. This integrated approach is far more effective and cost-efficient than simply throwing more money at advertising to make a generic offering look special.
It transforms marketing from a last-minute polish into a strategic driver of your business’s success.
What’s the biggest marketing misconception you’ve come across?
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