Strategic Planning with the 4P's Marketing Mix Framework

4P's Marketing Mix is a technique that enables better strategic planning in business.

Applications include new product launches, repositioning existing products, and marketing strategy. The benefits of this framework are
to ensure that all levers are considered and marketing strengths and weaknesses are identified and accounted for.

The traditional Marketing Mix consists of 4 P's: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.


Product: A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume
of units. Intangible products are often service based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry. Typical examples of a mass
produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a
computer operating system.
o Product performance versus the competition and relative to customer expectations
o Cost relative to product line or line extensions
o Opportunities to extend the brand through new categories or to new market segments



Price: the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition,
material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. The business may increase or decrease the
price of product if other stores have the same product.
o List vs wholesale price; trade margins
o Trade discounts, such as bracket discounts, terms, backhaul, and drop-ship DSD
o Product differentials, such as individual vs case, product size
o Price change policy: leader or follower, price protection, price guarantees

Place: the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical
store as well as virtual stores on the Internet.
o Channel selection (e.g., indirect, value-added resellers)
o Customer needs and behavior, relative to place of purchase and place of use

Promotion: Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four
distinct elements - advertising, public relations, word of mouth and point of sale. A certain amount of crossover occurs when
promotion uses the four principal elements together. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from and cinema
commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards. Public relations are where the communication is not
directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events.
Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people
specifically engaged to create word of mouth momentum.
o Target audience
o Message and communication goals
o Timing & Scheduling
o Media (e.g., television, direct mail)



Extended Marketing Mix (5P's, 7P's)
In addition to the 4 P's marketing mix, numerous theorists have attempted to add more P's. People/Personnel is the most commonly
added fifth P.

Booms and Bitner extend the Marketing Mix by adding three more P's:


People: includes employees, management and consumers, who may all add value to the final product or service.
Process: Procedure, mechanisms and flow of activities by which services are consumed
Physical Evidence: The environment in which the service is delivered. Both tangible goods that help to communicate and perform
the service, and the intangible experience of existing and potential customers


Strategic Planning with the Seven S (7S) Management Framework Framework

Seven S (7S) Management Framework is a technique that enables better strategic planning in business.

Strategic planning must be developed within the context of an organization. The Seven S framework shows how strategy fits into the
larger picture, and allows management to consider how the direction of the company will affect all facets of the company.

The Seven S's are Structure, Systems, Strategy, Style, Skills, Staff, and Shared Values. Each element is interrelated with the other
elements. Therefore, management must consider how changes to one element will affect all other elements.

The 7-S framework is especially helpful with a process redesign or a change management objective.


Structure: An organization may be structured around customers, products, functions, or other gravitaional centers. Structural
elements should be semi-autonomous, yet capable of facilitating interaction amongst one another. (For example, in a functional
structure, cross-functional teams will play important roles.)
Strategy: A company's strategy defines the business within the marketplace - staking out a position of strength that can be
maintained for years, if not decades. Strategy begins with a theory that provides puts a company's actions into the context of a
larger, explainable process. It attempts to correlate cause and effect within a business context, so that action can be evaluated on
the basis of expected result.
Style (Culture): Refers to the behaviors, beliefs, and approach that is ingrained within the organization. Some corporations have
innovative, risk-taking styles, others are highly conservative. A company's style affects who it does business with (i.e., vendors
and partners), as well as who does business with it (i.e., customers). If a company's style clashes with its stated strategy (e.g., a
conservative culture claiming a strategy of bold change), style is likely to win the day. With concerted effort, style can be changed.
However this requires delicacy and patience.
Staff includes not just the people, but the systems affecting individual and group performance. This includes training, incentives,
wages, heirarchy, and intangibles that affect motivation. Although performance reviews and hiring processes are often seen as
bureaucratic and unpleasant, they play a vital role in the organization and deserve as much attention as business strategy.
Skills include core compentencies and secondary competencies that are the aggregate of employees' individual skills. Companies
may have funcational skills in engineering, R&D, marketing, or managing customer relationships. Skills may be based on
employees' knowledge, or may involve utilization of patents, assets, or systems.
Systems consist of processes and procedures that organize the flow of information and operations. Financial systems allocate
and control the flow of money into (e.g., from customers) and out of (e.g., to employees and vendors) the company. Operational
systems manage the flow and processing of good and services. Marketing and sales tracking systems provide information about
products, customers, and sales effectiveness. Each system should have a reporting component that enables management to
monitor performance, and provides data with which to make strategic and operational decisions.
Superordinate Goals are unwritten principles that shape behavior. Superordinate Goals are often unwritten, and must be learned
based on the behavior and history of the company, rather than what is stated in the company's mission statement.
Strategic Planning with the AIDA - Attention, Interest, Desire, Action - Buying Process
Framework

AIDA - Attention, Interest, Desire, Action - Buying Process is a technique that enables better strategic planning in business.

The AIDA model was introduced in 'Theories of Selling' in the Journal of Applied Psychology. It provides a guideline around the basic
components before potential customer makes a purchase.


Attention: Sales and marketing must begin by creating interest. The first few words or seconds are critical. Effective techniques
include phrases such as, 'Have you ever...' or 'Can you see...' Including the word 'you' is particularly powerful. In addition to
attracting attention, it is also important to set a tone that creates a relaxed, low-pressure atmosphere and moves the prospect into
the next step.
Interest: At this stage, the prospect must find a connection between their own needs and desires and whatever is being
communicated. A salesperson may modify their communication or ask questions to determine what message is most likely to
interest the prospect.
Desire: The aim here is to move the prospect to a position closer to making a purchase. This involves showing how a product or
service will serve within the context of their interest that has been aroused. The Desire stage contains many complex elements,
including the prospect's perception of competitor products, how it fits their budget, and if any doubt or fear of risk has been
allayed.
Action: The final stage is a purchase (or repurchase) action. Once the prospect has moved through the previous three stages, it
is often necessary to ask for the sale directly. Indirect hints are often insufficient to overcome inertia. However, a customer may
not be fully through the previous three steps, in which case it may be necessary to step back to a previous stage before trying
again.
Strategic Planning with the Ansoff's Matrix - Product-Market Growth Matrix - Expansion
Strategy Framework

Ansoff's Matrix - Product-Market Growth Matrix - Expansion Strategy is a technique that enables betterstrategic planning in
business.

The Ansoff Matrix allows marketers to consider ways to expand the business via current and/or new products, in current and/or new
markets - there are four possible product/market combinations. This matrix helps companies decide what course of action should be
taken given current performance. The matrix consists of four strategies:


Market penetration (current markets, current products): Market penetration occurs when a company enters/penetrates a market
with current products. The best way to achieve this is by gaining competitors' customers (part of their market share). Other ways
include attracting non-users of your product or convincing current clients to use more of your product/service, with advertising or
other promotions. Market penetration is the least risky way for a company to grow.
Product development (current markets, new products): A firm with a market for its current products might embark on a strategy
of developing other products catering to the same market (although these new products need not be new to the market; the point
is that the product is new to the company). For example, McDonald's is always within the fast-food industry, but frequently markets
new burgers. Frequently, when a firm creates new products, it can gain new customers for these products. Hence, new product
development can be a crucial business development strategy for firms to stay competitive.
Market development (new markets, current products): An established product in the marketplace can be tweaked or targeted to a
different customer segment, as a strategy to earn more revenue for the firm. For example, Lucozade was first marketed for sick
children and then rebranded to target athletes. This is a good example of developing a new market for an current product. Again,
the market need not be new in itself, the point is that the market is new to the company.
Diversification (new markets, new products): Virgin Cola, Virgin Megastores, Virgin Airlines, Virgin Telecommunications are
examples of new products created by the Virgin Group of UK, to leverage the Virgin brand. This resulted in the company entering
new markets where it had no presence before.


Ansoff's Matrix was introduced in 1957, but is still frequently used as a strategic framework.