SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL

THE 7 P’s OF MARKETING: PEOPLE, PROCESSES & PHYSICAL EVIDENCE The 7 P’s of marketing — Product, , Place, , People, Processes and Physical Evidence — is a foundation concept in marketing used by businesses and marketers to help determine a product or brand’s offering.

BY KENNETH FISHER

N THE PREVIOUS two issues we looked Engage in regular internal communica- Ensure that your intellectual prop- at the first four elements of the 7 P’s tion that is transparent and comprehensive erty (IP) is adequately protected. For of marketing. Now we shall deal with and, where possible, include staff in most businesses, ownership of the rights the last three elements — People, decision-making. to a brand name, slogans, designs, Processes and Physical evidence. content, inventions and so forth are criti- I PROCESSES cally important to the success and of PEOPLE Effective, efficient, accurate and user- the business and getting it wrong can be a Your people or staff are undoubtedly the friendly business processes for ordering, very expensive mistake. lifeblood of your company. Employ the delivery, IT and production, and communi- most competent people you can at the cation are key. Your systems should allow COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY best remuneration you can afford and you to measure everything of import and OWNERS work to retain staff who have proven the information should be readily available. • Inadequate research at the outset themselves and are loyal to the company could cause business owners to not — offer them incentives or a profit share PHYSICAL EVIDENCE allocate sufficient budget for - and ensure that there are adequate Because your business assets are ef- ing or to overspend on costly and career promotional opportunities within fectively used to market your business, ineffective promotional campaigns. your company. brand personality should be a pervasive • Engaging in erratic marketing or a Encourage team members to work consideration when choosing your shotgun approach to marketing that is smartly, effectively and efficiently and to furniture, fittings, computer equipment, devoid of a well-thought-out, specific be meticulous in the execution of their stock, publications and brochures. Visible and focused strategy. is duties. Make a top prior- signage is important and so too is your expensive and unless done continu- ity and cultivate a sales-oriented approach website which should be modern, classy, ously, it will not generate the sales you amongst all staff members. easy to use and effective. expect — a single ad, whether flighted

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in a newspaper, magazine, on television or in Executive summary and introduction P's OF the cinema, is not going to cut it, and neither The executive summary is a brief summary of half a MARKETING will relying on word-of-mouth alone. page or so that sets out the key marketing content. 7 • Complicated websites that are difficult to Use the introduction to outline the background to navigate is a big no-no. your . PRODUCT • Not adequately promoting their competitive advantages (CPAs), unique selling proposition Marketing objectives (USP) and emotional selling proposition (ESP) State the primary and secondary goals or objec- PRICE will result in lacklustre sales. Poor strat- tives of your marketing plan. egies will also make marketing and product uptake more difficult. Environmental scan and SWOT analysis PLACE • Neglecting to monitor their customer service Analyse the effect of socio-cultural, technological, delivery systems and failing to appreciate the economic, and political/legal aspects, as well as peculiarities and differences of their various competitors on your business. Also analyse the PROMOTION market segments, could lead to unhappy strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and loss of repeat business. to your business. that fails to capture • Imprudent product design PEOPLE the attention of the , and prod- strategy encompasses ucts/services that are not properly positioned Explain your product design strategy in respect of the availabil- in relation to their target market, will not the anatomy of the product, the brand personality, ity, competency, generate the hoped-for turnovers. marketing slogan, USP, ESP and CPA. Also discuss efficiency and Staff recruitment is another area where you your costing and pricing strategies and methods, • effectiveness typically get what you pay for. If you employ your price-quality market strategy and of staff and cheaply, don’t be surprised when the antici- . Review the marketing ratios the quality of pated sales don’t materialise. in respect of mark-up percentage, gross profit per- customer service. • Brand personality is portrayed in your assets, centage, breakeven turnover, breakeven number people, brochures, price lists, office premises, of units required, net profit percentage, maximum furniture, fittings, etc. To keep your brand discount percentage, total real cost per product, PROCESSES personality intact, all these aspects have to be and margin of safety. Outline your examines order- managed accordingly. strategy in respect of advertising, , ing, IT, delivery • Location, location, location. When it comes to sales promotions, direct selling and personal sales. and administra- the location of a store you normally get Include your marketing process strategy, tion systems. what you pay for and getting it right will mean location strategy, channel strat- the difference between high and low turnovers. egy, employment strategy and physical evi- • Always remember, building a brand takes dence/asset strategy. PHYSICAL time. You have to gain the customers’ trust EVIDENCE — they have to adopt your product as part of Marketing budget considers their purchasing lifestyle. Your budget should include such specifics as equipment or the number of units to be sold per month, the assets, premises, MARKETING PLAN GUIDELINES monthly turnover, and the marketing expenses per literature and While the marketing plan will typically form part of category, for example, overhead and promotional intellectual an overall business plan, if compiled separately it mix expenses. property. should follow the following guidelines — Conclusion The cover page Summarise the essence of your marketing plan. Include the name of the enterprise, the company/ brand logo, marketing slogan, the title (e.g. We trust that this series of articles has been helpful Marketing Plan) and the year on the cover page. in explaining what a is and the value of applying it in your everyday business Contents page dealings will bring to your business. Consecutive numbering of the different sections, chapters or sub-sections should be indicated on the left with page numbers on the right-hand side. References, appendices, addenda and quotations should be included at the back of the document.

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