Pipsqueak Media

So, what is Marketing?

Marketing is an overarching activity that affects everything that a business does. Marketing is how marketers craft meaningful communications and facilitate the delivery and exchange of products and services.

So how do the 5Ps fit into what is marketing?

What are the 5Ps of Marketing?

Marketers use various tools to generate awareness, build salience, inspire brand loyalty and ultimately increase sales. This is known as the Marketing Mix. The 5Ps is a way of organising the marketing mix into categories, each representing a specific controllable aspect of marketing.

These are Product, Price, Promotion, Place, and People.

Product

This refers to the item or service offered and involves everything from branding, packaging, quality, and features to benefits provided.

So whether a customer is handling a product or reading a service description, messaging should evoke desire whilst convincing customers of its benefits.

As such, you need to do customer research and ensure that your offering satisfies an actual need. And whether there is a sufficiently sized market to generate profit.

For example, consider an online security provider. They will emphasise the dangers of surfing the internet without security, creating fear. All before discussing their security software and how it guards your devices against malware.

Price

This aspect of marketing accounts for how much your customers are willing to pay. Competitor pricing, production costs, profit margins and any promotional offers you might use are all factors to consider.

When deciding your price strategy, take into account market characteristics and the prices of your nearest competitors. You may even perform a cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis to know when you’ll break even and maximise profits.

A common strategy SMEs use is price penetration. This is where a lower price is offered to attract price-sensitive customers and gain a foothold in the market.

Or, if you’re in the premium luxury market and want you’re offering to be perceived as unique and high quality, consider price-skimming. Giving your offering a high price may heighten perceived quality and exclusivity, enticing affluent consumers.

Promotion

Promotion is what people often think about when considering what is marketing. It’s the most overt and in-your-face aspect because that’s exactly what it does.

The marketer’s mission is to generate as much awareness and buzz as possible to persuade consumers to buy your offering.

As such, marketers employ a broad range of marketing tactics. So advertisements (e.g. TV commercials), sales promotions (e.g. Buy one, get one free), personal selling (e.g. door-to-door sales), public relations and digital marketing.

Place

This aspect of marketing is about ensuring customers can easily gain assess to your products and services. It also accounts for whether the location is appropriate for your brand and pricing strategy.

Place considers channels of distribution, logistics, market coverage, and location serviceability. So answers whether your offering is easily obtainable and readily available for the right type of customer.

For example, you’re not going to see Rolex watches sold at ASDA. Given the exclusive premium luxury nature of the brand, it’s far more likely to be sold at Harrods.

People

Finally, the People aspect concerns the types of individuals or entities who are involved in the product, distribution and consumption of your offering. So who are you employing? Who are your suppliers? Who are your partners? And – of course – who are your customers?

As such, the People aspect of how marketing works pairs your offering with the customer’s needs and expectations. So as long as your offering meets customer needs and wants, their potential for a profitable long-term relationship.

For example, consider the situation of the budget economy airline, Ryanair. A gripe that customers often complain about is the low level of customer service. But this comes down to a misunderstanding of Ryanair’s business model.

Ryanair is meant to offer a barebones travel solution for price-sensitive fliers. It’s for travellers who want cheap flights so they can indulge in luxury accommodations and fine-dining experiences at their desired destination. Otherwise, if you want high-quality customer service, book a business-class flight with British Airways.

Marketing communications done right…

To understand what is marketing you need to appreciate that it’s a crucial activity for businesses to grow and retain market share. But for marketing to work, messages need to resonate with customers.

At Pipsqueak, I understand what marketing is and want to help you improve yours. I offer copywriting and marketing/PR planning services that can help you to reach and persuade more customers to buy your goods or services. So, if you’re in need of a professional B2C/B2B Copywriter, give Pipsqueak Media a shout!