The 7 Ps of service marketing are product, price, promotion, place, people, process, and physical evidence. These seven elements will facilitate in enhancing customer satisfaction and increasing brand awareness. These marketing elements also help establish the marketing strategy and, thus, increase the sales of products and services.
Did You Know? Marketing mix acts as a method for facilitating the sales of products and services in the market. In the 1960s, there were only 4Ps which later added additional 3Ps in the 1980s.
The 7Ps of Service Marketing Mix
One of the marketing techniques that businesses have historically used to sell their goods is the marketing mix. The marketing mix can be described as a combination of various marketing strategies that a business uses to sell its products and services in the market.
The strategy was often built based on the four marketing pillars of product, pricing, location, and promotion. However, the strategies have advanced along with marketing. Later, it was expanded to include People, Process, and Physical Evidence, making it the 7Ps of marketing.
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What is Service Marketing Mix?
Customers can receive customised services and benefits that are pertinent to their wants and requirements because of service marketing. Business professionals use service marketing to build and retain a long-term network of faithful consumers. The key internal component on which the strategy for marketing services will be formed is the service marketing mix. It serves as a technique for positioning the services in the intended market.
7Ps of Service Marketing Mix
The key internal component on which the strategy for marketing services will be formed is the service marketing mix. The 7 elements of the marketing mix help the firms to properly plan and implement the various process for enhancing the sales of their product and fulfilling the business objectives. Marketing mix enables various businesses to examine the numerous marketing elements. This helps them to identify the most feasible way to deploy their resources. Also, this allows the firms to grow and market their products and services.
You may apply the 7 Ps of service marketing to every element of your marketing mix in the following manner:
Product
The first P of the service marketing mix is the Product which includes quality, packaging, design, and brand. When creating a product, it is essential to consider whether the target market or audience wants it. From the business perspective, the services typically fall under intangible products. Every marketing mix component should focus on the service or good you are selling.
Here are a few things to think about while developing product mix strategies:
- What do consumers anticipate from a good or service?
- How will they use it, and what will they do with it?
- What characteristics are necessary to satisfy the client's needs?
- Is the name of the product memorable?
- What makes your product better than the competitors?
Price
In the 7 Ps of service marketing the second P of the marketing mix is Price, which indicates the amount of money the buyer is ready to spend to obtain your product. How the intended market behaves to prices, fees, and other discounts depends on the company's pricing tactics. Consumers consider the cost as a measure of the quality of the good or service.
The sales, demand, and perception of your brand are all significantly impacted by pricing changes.
Therefore, while deciding on a price, marketers should consider the product's worth and consider the various aspects of different pricing strategies.
- What is the price of your product?
- The cost of the services offered by competitors
- Does the customer have to adhere to any credit terms?
- Costs of materials, labour, and overhead for the company.
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Promotion
The service marketing mix's promotion mix component refers to what is communicated, who receives it, how that audience is reached, and how often it is advertised.
Successful marketing plans often include promotional tactics, including advertising, direct marketing, and in-store promotions.
The purpose and guiding principle of the promotion mix are to raise sales and brand recognition. Creating a promotion strategy won't be as difficult if you can affirmatively respond to these questions:
- When and where can you deliver your marketing messaging to your target audience?
- How do your rivals market their businesses?
- How do your competitors' marketing strategies affect the ones you choose?
- When should your product be marketed for maximum effect?
Place
Place in the context of the service marketing mix refers to the distribution and accessibility of your products to potential customers. Direct client feedback should decide the location and method of sale of your product.
Once you have a good grasp of their purchasing habits and can target them at the appropriate stage in their buying cycle, you will know where to promote and display your products and services. This can be both in the digital space and in the physical market.
The following are some factors that the business should consider when it comes to location and place:
- What locations do buyers look for your product?
- How can I locate the finest distribution channels?
- The placement of rival businesses
- Will you sell your goods just on your business's website or on external online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay?
People
The fifth P of the service marketing mix is People and it refers to those who work for the company and provide customer service. In addition to generating sales, providing satisfactory customer service helps increase your customers and increase sales.
Anyone who interacts with customers and represents your brand, even chatbots that aren't people, needs to be an adequately qualified sales expert with good knowledge of your product and how it can better their lives or resolve their issues.
Various strategies can be implemented to improve customer services, such as:
- giving the employees vital information regarding their interests, careers, and recurring clients
- teaching salespeople how to solve problems with the product or service
- establishing a framework for the sale of goods or services to customers that will make them feel at ease
Process
The sixth P in the services marketing mix is the Process which includes how your goods and services are introduced to the customers. Some of the crucial components of the marketing mix, as a result of the development of online buying, are digital partnerships and logistics.
Because of the following, the process mapping should be consistent:
- Regular process revision to reinforce existing company procedures and introduce new ones
- Symbols at different stages of the process make it simpler for the workers to follow
- Diagram of the process and changes from one step to another.
Also Read: Prospects vs Leads: What They Mean and How Do They Differ?
Physical Evidence
The seventh and last P in the marketing mix is the Physical Evidence, which refers to the physical proof of whether the business exists and whether the transactions have occurred. In the period of digitalisation, digital techniques and strategies are playing an essential role in providing physical evidence.
Invoices, follow-up emails, Receipts, and newsletters you send to your customers are a few examples of proof of purchases.
Everything your customer can see, listen to, and even smell about your product must be considered in relation to the marketing mix.
Naturally, this includes the products' packaging and branding, but it should also cover how things are exhibited in stores, where they are situated, and other factors.
Conclusion
It's crucial to comprehend how the 7 Ps of service marketing fit into the overall picture when developing a strong and effective marketing mix. The 7Ps help businesses identify the essential elements that impact the marketing and sale of their goods and services. Companies and businesses should follow these elements to enhance their marketing and sales. To meet the needs of customers in the service sector, marketers strive to blend these 7 Ps properly.
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