How the 7P's Can Up Your Marketing Game
- 07 Dec 2023
- Millie Nunn
The 7P's cover every element that is essential for creating a successful marketing mix. These are Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Evidence; each piece of the 7p's plays a crucial role and identifying where they lie within your business can be a huge help.
Let's start with People, that’s you! People refers to those who provide a service or product; from well-trained sales staff to customer service representatives, investing in your people builds a positive brand awareness and a successful customer experience. A friendly face always helps, and you should strive to provide your customers with you knowledge and expertise to provide them the best shopping experience.
Place is vital within the 7P's. As our businesses evolve, so does our technology; not all places have to be physical stores. The appearance of your website is as important as a store. Other things to consider are is it easy to navigate? Does it provide a range of information and images? Are the holidays on your websites updated regularly to meet customer demand?
Embracing a dual approach with both physical and online stores can be the way to go, it allows you to reach a broad and diverse community. For those of you with physical locations, there is a huge focus on the design of your store and accessibility of your locations. Is your in-person store designed to enhance your customer experience? Can it be easily reached, ensuring a hassle-free visit for your customers?
Promotion refers to activities that promote your product or service to different target markets. A well-executed promotional strategy helps build brand awareness, create interest, and ultimately drive sales. Some examples of promotion you can use are seasonal/event based promotions, social media giveaways, loyalty programmes and flash sales. Here are a few more ideas you can use to help promote your holidays - https://seotravel.co.uk/marketing-ideas-for-travel-agencies/
Arguably, the most important of the 7P's is the Product itself. For you, the product you are selling is intangible, so it is vital to sell the experience to the customer. When selling your holidays, support this with images and videos to really bring the holiday to life. Do you have products for a range of preferences? Holidays are for everyone, so make sure to have a variety to meet different customer bases. A vital part of your product is identifying your USP. A USP is a unique selling point, this helps to set you apart from the market, attract customers and deter competitors. This for example could be selling a unique holiday type or unique business aspect e.g. family owned.
Process helps to ensure a seamless customer experience. Whether this is digitally or physically booking a holiday in store, the process should be efficient and easy to heighten customer satisfaction. Think about your booking process, is it too lengthy? Can it be made easier for customers? Are transactions made efficiently? Do customers receive all the support they need following booking with you? The process is the beginning to end, so be sure to help throughout!
Establishing the right Pricing strategy can help to drive sales and draw in customers. Price can be a key factor when customers are looking to book holidays so be sure to consider who your target audience is . This could mean including sales and promotional periods to gain a competitive edge. Be sure to consider different budgets of differing clientele to accommodate to a wider range of people. Price can also include discount periods which is an extremely effective marketing tool to stimulate purchases.
The final of the 7P's is Physical evidence which can include a variety of things. One example is proof of purchase, whether this is a tangible receipt or an emailed copy, this is crucial to both customer and yourself. Another example of physical evidence is any marketing material you provide the customer, a common effective example of this is brochures/leaflets. Additionally, physical evidence can be an in-person location where your service is important; make sure your store is well presented and inviting.
