The marketing mix is a term which relates to a series of marketing activities that can be used by a company or organisation to achieve their desired results. So for example, one company may have a marketing mix that consists of
direct mail, PR, newsletters and exhibitions while another may concentrate on social media and email marketing.
The question to ask yourself is what is the best marketing mix for my business? What activities should I engage in and which ones can I safely ignore?
The starting point for this is to look at what your options 
are. You can then analyse whether you have had good results with these different activities in the past. If so, it may be worth building on this success or starting them again with an updated marketing plan.
The most important thing to remember is, when it comes to marketing, one size most definitely does not fit all. It is important to recognise that just because you see lots of companies with Facebook pages, following suit by setting up your own page may not be the best choice for you. Always remember your marketing mix will depend hugely on who your customers are and what you are selling them.
When it comes to the marketing mix, diversity is key. There are companies who generate all of their enquiries through direct mail or through TV advertising. This may work well in the short term but it’s nearly always a risky strategy because there is always the worry that factors beyond your control will have a negative impact. For example, postage rates could go up 3p per stamp, the TV show you sponsor could be cancelled, or – and this is happening all the time now – Google could change its secret formula so that your previously high-performing website slips down the search engine rankings.
So, just as a varied diet is good for your health, a balanced marketing diet is good for your business. However unlike food charts, which show that you need a certain amount of everything to operate at maximum capacity, the same is not true for all businesses. Not every company needs to exhibit or network. Not every business needs a LinkedIn profile to generate new leads. There are so many types of marketing activity, that trying to do all of them will often result in none of them being done well. Instead, it pays to do your research and carefully cherry- pick the activities that will generate the best results for your business.
Take social media as an example. Over the past decade social media has revolutionised marketing. For most companies it should form a part of the marketing mix. But according to Social Media Today, these are the 10 most important social media sites:
- Renren
- Google+
- Disqus
- LinkedIn Pulse
- Snapchat
- Tumblr
Have you even heard of all of them? The point is, having a worthwhile presence on each of these platforms would probably result in you using up all of your marketing budget, time and enthusiasm – just on poorly-targeted social media.
No one would suggest that it would make sense to focus all marketing activities on just one marketing method so the question is, what activity will work best for you?
If you would like help with selecting activities to create the right marketing mix for your business contact The Ideal Marketing Company on 01858 374 170 or email info@idealmarketingcompany.com
