Are You Using the Right Marketing Mix?

Between digital and print advertisements, television and radio commercials, and even word-of-mouth marketing, there exists a myriad of ways to market your business. Maintaining an effective marketing strategy can be difficult enough, but throw in all the available channels and it becomes downright overwhelming. Plus, advertise in the wrong space and you’ve wasted your resources-and your time. Are you using the right marketing mix to attract-and keep-your target customers?

What is a Marketing Mix?

Your marketing mix is the way you present your product or service to the public. It includes both the channels, the language, and the method by which you present your brand messages. It also helps you map out your marketing options in terms of the 4 Ps of marketing: price, product, promotion, and placement. 

Price: Price is easily defined as how much your product or service costs, but it’s so much more than that. How much value does your product or service bring to the customer? Remember to compare your prices to those of the competitors. 

Product: Do you have a product/service or an experience? Strive to provide the most value, beyond transactional, to build customer loyalty and differentiate your product offerings. 

Promotion: Where and when can you get your audience to read/see/hear your marketing messages? Do you use the same marketing messages year-round, or adapt seasonally? Are you advertising in the same manner as your competitors?

Placement: Just like you don’t have one exclusive customer profile, you shouldn’t have an exclusive channel for marketing. That means if all you’ve got is a website and a Facebook, it might be time to step up your efforts. Place your ads in diverse, high-traffic locations, and don’t be afraid to supplement one ad in one space with another ad in another space!

In a nutshell, if you aren’t bringing your product to market in the most effective way, you’re wasting time and money.

Are You Using the Right Channels?

There are three distinct channels for marketing your business: owned channels (like your website & social media pages), paid channels (like SEO & PPC), and earned channels (customer reviews). Part of the marketing mix involves incorporating the right mixture of these channels to both maximize your visibility and solidify your brand positioning. 

Most small businesses focus on the owned channels first. More than 96% of small businesses use social media, but less than 70% have a website. What does that tell you? 

That folks are more likely to spend their time on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, than on a corporate domain. At least that’s what most businesses think-and the data backs it up. Americans’ average daily time spent on social media has been steadily increasing since 2012. In 2020, the average American spent over 140 minutes a day surfing social media. 

It’s easier to get folks to come across your ads on Instagram than to hope they stumble across your website. Furthermore, you can use social media ads to direct folks to your site! This can be especially critical as a driver of sales, especially if your site has eCommerce capabilities. 

At the same time, how do you know which social media channels to use? Your best bet is to look at your customer profiles. If your clientele is mostly older folks, they’re probably not using Snapchat or Instagram. Plan out your ads accordingly, and remember, it’s okay to focus on one or two channels. You don’t have to be everywhere. 

Why A Good Marketing Mix Matters

If your marketing strategy goes stale or becomes too one-dimensional, you’ve already lost market share. The right marketing mix keeps your customers engaged and helps build loyalty. When folks decide your posts add value to their life, they subscribe to your page. The more subscribers you have, the more potential credibility your brand gains. Plus, the more people that subscribe, the more chances you have that they’ll share your posts, further expanding your customer base and increasing your visibility even more!

While it’s okay to focus on the channels over which you have the most control, it’s important to remember to invest in paid and earned channels. When experiential marketing doesn’t exist, customers have to rely on testimonials from others. Therefore, it’s critical to both build a strong image of your brand among your customers and get your customers to testify visibility to that end. 

More than 90% of all search engine traffic goes through the world’s top search engine, so if your customers can’t find you there, they can’t find you anywhere. Invest in SEO and PPC ads to maximize your visibility on Google and ensure that when customers look for your product or service, not only do they find you first, but you’re highly recommended!