Seven Steps to Marketing Mastery

[Md. Anikuzzaman]

When you achieve marketing mastery, you will have taken the seven steps necessary to win your target market share and make a profit in the market sectors most important to your business. One way to plan the seven steps is to assess how your business rates in the fundamental marketing activities -- product, physical evidence, price, place, promotion, people and process -- known collectively as the "7Ps." Although all 7Ps may not apply to your business, the concept provides a convenient framework for building marketing mastery.

Product
Your product is fundamental to marketing mastery. Assess how well it performs against competitive products. Add features and benefits that will differentiate it even further. If you have a product that is already holding a strong share in the market, develop complementary products you can sell to your customers or introduce different versions that will appeal to other sectors of the market.

Physical Evidence
If you market services, physical evidence is important. Services are intangible, and customers need reassurance that your service can deliver benefits. By providing tangible evidence in the form of case studies or customer testimonials, you can overcome the problem and give customers the confidence to buy from you.

Price
Marketing masters are able to set prices that competitors cannot match. You can achieve this goal by positioning your product in a way that sets you apart from competitors and allows you to establish your own price levels. Alternatively, aim to reduce your production and marketing costs so you can compete effectively on price.

Place
Getting place right means you make it easy and convenient for customers to buy from you. Using the Internet to market your products enables you to reach global markets and gives customers the convenience of ordering from you anytime, day or night. You can also master this aspect of marketing by selling your products through leading retailers or distributors, giving you access to a wider market.

Promotion
Promotion is crucial to marketing mastery. You need to communicate the benefits of your product, its price and its availability to your target audience. As well as communicating directly to customers, you must also promote your products through retail and distributor outlets. Your sales force is also an important promotional channel. Make sure your team has the knowledge and motivation to achieve sales success.

People
People are important to marketing mastery. Customers have many points of contact with your organization, so it is essential that every contact represents a quality experience. Focus training and motivation programs on customer-facing staff, including sales representatives, service engineers, customer service staff, delivery drivers, accounts and order processing staff. Their performance and commitment to customer service has a direct impact on customer satisfaction, which is integral to marketing mastery.

Process
The term "process" relates to the way you manage those operations that relate to customers. The efficiency of your phone system, for example, influences customer attitudes. If customers cannot get through quickly to the right person to make an inquiry, place an order or make a service request, then they will try another company. Getting back-office infrastructure right supports marketing mastery.

Source: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/seven-steps-marketing-mastery-31417.html