In digital marketing, many factors work together to create a customer base and drive sales for your business online. With so many different components and tactics, it can be hard to track them all. So how do you know which marketing tactics are most effective? And how do you know what needs to change to succeed in your niche market? How can your marketing mix determine your digital marketing strategy? Let’s first get started with an understanding of the marketing mix.
What is the Marketing Mix?
The marketing mix comprises five key elements that must be present for any brand to succeed. These include product, price, promotion, place, and people. Together, they work like a mathematical equation that drives consumer behaviour—and sales—in the right direction for your brand. The marketing mix works hand in hand with digital marketing tactics such as designing your website, implementing search engine optimisation, digital advertising, social media management and content marketing. Let’s examine these elements and how they affect your digital marketing strategy.
Product
The product is the first layer of the marketing mix. Product refers to the goods or services your company provides. It can be anything from keychains to luxury yachts, but it must be unique to your brand in the eyes of consumers. This aspect includes the type of service provided alongside the product you offer, as well as what it looks like. Your product needs to have a unique selling point (USP), which is your brand’s greatest strength.
The USP is what helps distinguish your brand from the competition. It makes your customers want to buy from you instead of someone else. For example, if you sell a gaming laptop that is fully customisable with different colours and designs, then that would be a great USP for your business, as long as your other competitors aren’t offering the same thing. If you are an online retailer with exclusive deals on designer handbags, this could also be a good USP for you since no other store offers that specific design at such an affordable price.
Online, consumers can asses a huge variety of products and their prices with the click of a button. As a business owner, you must consider your product or service’s USP when assessing your digital marketing strategy. If your product doesn’t have a USP, it will be much more challenging to market yourself and succeed in today’s competitive market.
Price
Price can take many different forms when it comes to marketing. Your company could offer an item at cost-price or with a discount. With a low price point, you are able to increase demand and sell more products. However, this low pricing can also cause consumers to perceive cheapness and drive customers away from buying from you altogether.
Price is thought to be the most straightforward element of the marketing mix. How much would you be willing to pay for the goods or services you offer? Price includes several different factors, such as how much it costs to produce and what your margins are on that product. For service-based businesses, price is often determined by the amount of time taken to provide the service while considering the amount of expertise needed by the professional.
Promotion
Promotional tactics are powerful because consumers crave information about products before they buy them. This includes the information on your website, online ads, social media and what’s available through search engines like Google.
Promotion is a crucial part of the marketing mix, but it works in ways that are often misunderstood. Promotion can be a powerful marketing tactic, especially when determining the digital marketing strategy for your business. Promotional methods include your business’s website, advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google, posting on social media and doing search engine optimisation to appear at the top of Google’s search results. For example, promotions like coupons and contests work well to get more sales, as well as offering freebies like free shipping or a gift with every purchase.
In order to drive sales, promotion should be tailored to your brand and audience so that it appeals to them on an emotional level. It’s critical to have a user-friendly website and allow for a positive customer experience when your target audience is interacting with your brand online.
Place
Where consumers buy from is important because it affects how competitive the market is for your company’s product or service. Places like department stores or convenience stores may have lower prices than independent sellers, who may charge higher fees due to their increased overhead costs associated with running a store space alone.
The place element of the marketing mix includes advertising and promotion, in addition to distribution channels. These channels include mass media, such as television, radio, and print. They also have online platforms like social media and search engines. The type of place strategy you take depends on what you’re selling and the target market you’re trying to reach.
For example, if a company is going after an older demographic with high disposable income, it would want to invest in display ads alongside website content that is relevant to the age group’s interests. Search engine optimisation could also help the business to target specific keywords related to the product, service or goals of the target audience. If they were targeting a younger audience with lower disposable income, they instead might want to create a video campaign on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok.
People
The people who your business attracts to buy your goods or services are one of the most critical parts of the marketing mix. This is because they provide the monetary value that drives sales upward, as well as create customer loyalty through word-of-mouth and referral efforts.
People are an essential element in the marketing mix, which is why 86 per cent of marketers say that having a solid brand or product is not enough. As previously mentioned, a wide variety of factors affect people’s willingness to buy your products or services. To get your brand noticed and move consumers through your marketing funnel, you need to be differentiated from competitors and focus on what makes your company special.
People are also responsible for driving sales for your business. According to Neil Patel, “A little over half (64%) of online sales come from direct interactions with customers by phone, email, chat etc., while the other 36% comes from social media.” This means that people have an essential role in driving sales and generating leads for your business—which is why it’s so important to invest in attracting new audiences and engaging with them online.
As a business owner, it’s essential to have a marketing expert who knows how to analyse the elements in the marketing mix and understand how each of them influences sales. The five critical elements of the marketing mix are key because they determine the success of your product, service and overall, your business.
If you need help determining the best marketing for your small or medium-sized business, don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at Crunchy Digital. We’ll analyse your current digital marketing presence and suggest an effective strategy to suit your objectives. We assist with websites, search engine optimisation, digital advertising, social media management, content marketing and more.
