Have you ever heard of the five p’s of marketing? It is a framework that describes the choices that marketers make when building a marketing strategy. These five elements are often referred to as the “marketing mix” and include:

• Product: What a company sells to its customers, including the product’s quality and features
• Price: How much customers pay for their products
• Promotion: How companies advertise, promote, and publicize their products and services
• Place: Where products are located for sale or distribution within a company’s market area also referred to as channels
• People: The employees who interact with customers in any way

The five Ps are often represented by a simple diagram called the marketing mix. The diagram shows how the five elements of the marketing mix can be used together to create a successful strategy for any product or service.

The marketing mix is often referred to as a “balanced approach” because it balances the needs of the company with those of its customers. A company’s products must be useful, affordable, and easy to buy or order. The company must provide adequate customer service and support if it wants to build lasting relationships with its clients.

As a company’s marketing mix changes, so does its overall strategy. For example, if a company decides to increase its prices or cut back on customer service to increase profits, it will need to adjust its other four elements accordingly.

Let’s take a closer look!

Product

The product is the most important part, it is what the company sells and it’s why they exist. The product is a good or service that customers purchase because they have a need for it, and the company offers value by meeting those needs in some way.

The quality of the product is important because it affects how well it meets customer’s needs. For example, an airline that provides poor service and unreliable flights would not be successful in attracting customers—even if they were cheap. Therefore, companies often invest heavily in research and development to create products that meet or exceed customer expectations.

Place

Place refers to the physical location of the product, such as in the consumers location, a storefront, a marketplace, or in virtual locations such as online marketplaces and ecommerce stores.

Price

Price is the most important factor in the consumer decision-making process. Price can be used to signal quality and exclusivity, or it can be used as a tool to gain market share. The price of a product should be based on the perceived value of that product by consumers, so make sure you understand what your customers think about your products before setting prices.

If you’re selling a product that has many competitors, it’s important to set your price lower than the average for your industry. If possible, choose a price point below the competition so that you can gain market share. This strategy is especially useful when you are first entering an industry or competing against established companies with significant brand recognition.

Promotion

Promotion is any way that get the word out about your business, product or service.

Promotion is not just advertising; promotion is the process of making people aware of your product or service so that they can buy it from you and become a customer or client. Promotion includes things like public relations, media exposure, community involvement and word-of-mouth marketing—all of which help build consumer awareness about the benefits of your business or product offering in their lives.

People

The people in your organization are the ones who are going to be interacting with customers. They’ll be the ones providing customer service, answering questions, and making sales—so it’s important to make sure that they’re trained well and happy at their jobs. Always remember the people are the ones representing your business, brand, product and service, they are the first and sometimes only impression. The people can make or break your business so choose wisely.

The Five Ps of Marketing are the five elements that make up the marketing mix. Each P is important and should not be overlooked, it would be like baking a cake and forgetting to put it in the oven. If you take your time and consider each of these elements and tie them together, you are guaranteed to have a killer marketing strategy. Just remember the world is fluid and always changing so should your five P’s and your marketing mix.

If you need a hand or have questions reach out, we help clients like you craft and market irresistible offers every day!