Marketing mix for your e-business: putting it all together for success

The marketing mix refers to the factors that a marketer can manipulate to influence the demand for their product. Some people may think that influencing demand just means increasing demand. This is a mistake because there may be times when a marketer will have to act to reduce demand for your product. When the product is in short supply, for example.

Early marketing professors presented the marketing mix as four elements: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. 4P in short. Later thinking held that these 4Ps are good enough only for physical goods and that there was a need to expand the marketing mix to take care of services. Therefore, 3 new P’s were added to the marketing mix, which equates to 7 P’s for services. The additional 3 are physical evidence, process, and people. An attempt will be made to relate the 7 P’s of marketing to your e-business.

Product

Without a doubt, the product is the most important element of the marketing mix because people buy the benefits or the solutions incorporated in the product. In your retail store, you could see, touch, smell, and even taste a product or hear the sound of a product. But on the World Wide Web, you cannot do this. As an e-business builder, you are limited to visual and verbal techniques to present your offering. You can only show an image, drawing (static or animated) and describe the features and benefits of your product. And this must be done well.

It’s easy for online shoppers to compare prices with just a few clicks before buying. Today there are shopping geniuses who make this easy. This increases competitive pressure and implies that e-business creators must not only clearly state their prices, but also must relate them to the value that their potential customer will obtain.

Square

This has to do with the location and availability of products. On the Internet, your store is as far away from you as your computer screen. And you are very influenced by what you see. Therefore, the ecommerce builder must have a website that is compelling and professional so that buyers are confident in ordering.

Promotion

This seems to be the most talked about marketing mix element in internet marketing. It is the element that drives traffic (visitors) to the website. And sadly, when some people discuss marketing strategy, they are only referring to promotion. There are many promotools that you can use. They include various types of advertising, press releases, publicity, purchase leads, traffic exchanges, SEO techniques, article marketing, and blogging. You should be guided by your skill set and budget when choosing your tools.

Physical evidence

This is closely associated with the element of place. Does your website give the impression of reliability and trust? If you score high here, try to include a physical address and other means of contact, certification from bodies like BBB, and proof that customer payment details are secure.

Process

How easy is it to buy from you? How fast does your order page load? Do potential customers have to answer a lot of questions before or after ordering? How fast is the delivery? Electronic products must be instant. You need to think about some of these problems.

People

You may think that this is not relevant for selling on the internet. Big mistake. What about the attitude and behavior of the customer service staff? Your experience with them can be crucial in determining whether to buy or buy again.

Take all of this with you as you set up your e-business to sharpen your competitive advantage and win the business game – a solid top line and a healthy bottom line.