How do you apply the 7Ps in a digital context? - The Marketing Mix. (7 P’s) in online context
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The 4Ps were designed at a time when businesses were more likely to sell products, rather than services, and the role of customer service in helping brand development wasn’t so well known. Over time, Booms and Pitner added three extended ‘service mix P’s’: Participants, Physical evidence, and Processes, and later Participants were renamed, People. Today, it’s recommended that the full 7Ps of the marketing mix are considered when reviewing competitive strategies.
The 7Ps helps companies to review and define key issues that affect the marketing of their products and services and is often now referred to as the 7Ps framework for the digital marketing mix.
Using the Internet to vary the marketing mix
Product
- Quality
- Image
- Branding
- Features
- Variants
- mix
- Supports
- customer Services
- Use occasion
- availability
- warranties
Promotion
- Marketing communications
- Personal promotion
- Sales promotions
- PR
- Branding
- Direct marketing
Price
- Positioning
- List
- Discounts
- Credit
- Payment methods
- Free or value-added elements
Place
- Trade channel
- Sales Supports
- Channel number
- Segmented channel
People
- Induviduls on marketing activities
- Individuals on customer contact
- Recruitment
- Culture / image
- Training and skills
- remuneration
Process
- Customer focus
- Business-led
- IT-supported
- design features
- research and development
Physical evidence
- Sales/staff contact experience of brand
- Product packaging
- Online experience
Although it’s sometimes viewed as dated, we believe the 4Ps are an essential strategy tool to select their scope and is particularly useful for small businesses. For startups reviewing price and revenue models today, using the Business Model Canvas for marketing strategy is a great alternative since it gives you a good structure to follow.
Companies can also use the 7Ps model to set objectives, conduct a SWOT analysis and undertake competitive analysis. It’s a practical framework to evaluate an existing business and work through appropriate approaches whilst evaluating the mix element as shown below and ask yourself the following questions:
- Products/Services: How can you develop your products or services?
- Prices/Fees: How can we change our pricing model?
- Place/Access: What new distribution options are there for customers to experience our product, e.g. online, in-store, mobile etc.
- Promotion: How can we add to or substitute the combination within paid, owned and earned media channels?
- Physical Evidence: How we reassure our customers, e.g. impressive buildings, well-trained staff, great website?
- People: Who are our people and are there skills gaps?
- Partners: Are we seeking new partners and managing existing partners well?.
An example of a company using the 7Ps strategy
Take a look at HubSpot as an example, which was founded in 2006; Hubspot has 8,000+ customers in 56 countries and sells software. What does their marketing mix look like?
This is a top level overview; you would take this into greater detail and ask the following questions:
- Products/Services: Integrated toolset for SEO, blogging, social media, website, email and lead intelligence tools.
- Prices/Fees: Subscription-based monthly, Software-As-Service model based on number of contacts in database and number of users of the service.
- Place/Access: Online! Network of Partners, Country User Groups.
- Promotion: Directors speak at events, webinars, useful guides that are amplified by SEO and effective with SEO. PPC Social media advertising, e.g. LinkedIn.
- Physical Evidence: Consistent branding across communications.
- Processes: More sales staff are now involved in conversion.
- People: Investment in online services.
- Partners: Hubspot looks to form partnerships with major media companies such as Facebook and Google plus local partners including Smart Insights who it is collaborating with on research in Europe.
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