Defining The 7Ps of The Digital

Marketing Mix

1. Product
Product refers to the ‘thing’ you offer that your target audience wants. This can be a physical, tangible
item, or an intangible service. From clothing or water bottles to home insurance or a digital marketing
agency, a product is the item or service the user seeks to fill a need.
If it helps, think of the product in terms of supply and demand. All consumers have wants and needs.
You are in business because you offer something that is wanted or needed by a consumer. Your
product supplies that consumer’s demand.

Focus on the Consumer First

A lot of businesses think they have a great product and then try to market it to the public and fail.
Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, reports that over 30,000 new products are
launched every year, only 5% of which succeed.
Most times, it’s because of poor market research. They have not asked the fundamental question: Why
do people want this?
If there’s no need for your product, it won’t sell. Understand the consumer demand first and then
design your product around that need. From there, identify your unique selling point (USP) that makes
your product valuable to buyers and differentiates you from competitors.

Product Questions to Ask Yourself:

 What does the customer want from my product? What need(s) does it satisfy?
 What is my USP?
o What advantages does my product offer to meet the user’s needs?
o How do I differentiate my product/service from competitors?
o Are there features a competitor product has that mine does not? Are there features that the consumer does not
deem valuable or worth paying for?
 Does my product have a name? How is it branded?
 How do I intend consumers to my your product? Are they using it correctly? Where will they use it?
Answering these questions can help you understand the end user’s view of your product and can help
drive additional marketing decisions because you understand what problem your product solves.

2. Price
Price is what the consumer is willing to pay for your product. While it’s a generally easy concept to
understand, it can be tricky for many businesses to apply — prices that are too high push users to
search elsewhere; prices that are too low cut into your profit margins.
Understanding your target audience and the relationship between perceived benefits, price, and value
can help simplify the process. If perceived benefits increase or price decreases, the perceived value
should generally go up. But if perceived benefits decrease or the price increases, the perceived value
goes down.

If consumers don’t see any perceived benefits in your product, or if they decide the benefits aren’t
worth the price, your product’s value will decrease and you’re less likely to make sales.

Opportunity Cost
Since a large part of the pricing model relies on what consumers perceive as valuable, your business
needs to understand what the consumer feels they are losing out on by choosing your product over the
others — also known as the opportunity cost.
 Here’s an example: I have $350. I can spend it on Facebook ads that might generate leads, or I can
use it on Google text ads. If I spend the money on Google ads then I forfeit the opportunity Facebook
ads might bring in. The loss of those potential Facebook leads is the opportunity cost.
In this situation, I have to make the decision of what I find more valuable. Will Google or Facebook get
me the leads I need? Which is the most cost-effective? Which is easier to manage? Where is my target
audience most likely to be?
Your customers will ask themselves similar questions before making a purchase: will this product make
my life easier? Am I getting my money’s worth? If you can anticipate those opportunity costs, you can
use them to your advantage to choose a price that’s appropriate in your market.
Factors That Affect Product Pricing:
There are so many factors that can impact the price of your product, some of the most common
including
 Competitive offerings and prices
 Market share
 Product branding and quality
 Materials or input costs
 Customers’ perceived product value and fair price.
Depending on the factors that are most important to you and your target market, you can price your
product appropriately using one of the following approaches:
 1. Demand-oriented pricing: set the price based on the demand for the product or service. If demand is high,
consumers might be willing to pay more for the product.
 2. Cost-oriented pricing: consider how much it costs to make your product and markup accordingly so you see a
profit.
 3. Profit-oriented pricing: determine your business’s profit goals and test out prices that yield your desired
return on sales (ROS).
 4. Competition-oriented pricing: price your product similarly to your competitors to compete with their market
share.

3. Place
Place refers to where the consumer is able to purchase your product. It solves the complicated process
of getting the product from the manufacturer into the hands of buyers.
Traditionally, place referred to strictly brick-and-mortar locations. But the internet has added some
complexities to this principle of the digital marketing mix, opening the door for many more distribution
channels to meet consumers where they are.
Ecommerce sites can be an incredibly useful place to sell your product. In 2021, retail eCommerce
retail sales exceeded $5 trillion US dollars globally — a number that’s projected to rise above $8 trillion
by 2026.
If your site is lacking online retail capabilities or you’re not selling your product through third-party
marketplaces online, you’re limiting your place strategy. It’s one of the easiest ways to increase your
brand’s reach.

Places and Accessibility

Smartphones (and the internet in general) allow the consumer to have a 24/7 marketplace accessible
from anywhere at any time. It is critical that your brand exists in the digital space. Not only that, your
business should easily found and active in that space.

Examples of Online Places Include:

 Websites displaying interactive ads
 Search engines highlighting shopping ads
 Google search results
 Emails
 Social channels such as Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest
Making your products accessible to the users at a time and place that is most convenient to them will
give your business a competitive advantage.
 4. Promotion
Jim Blyth defines promotion as “the marketing communications used to make the offer known to
potential customers and persuade them to investigate it further.” Simply put, it’s your strategy for
getting people to notice your product or service.
Thanks to modern technology, businesses have more channels than ever to communicate through. A
few examples can include Google My Business listings, sponsored ads, Instagram posts, email
newsletters, and much more.
These tools can help your brand personalize your marketing by tailoring your message to a specific
user. Using GA4 and consumer engagement reports, you can even determine where your audience is
most active and segment them according to mobile devices, browsers, and operating systems.

Which Channels to Use

When deciding on distribution channels, it’s important to make sure it fits your audience and your
brand. Here are some major online distribution channels:
 Search Engines
o Organic search results (e.g. Google and Bing)
o Paid/sponsored listings (e.g. Google and Bing)
 Display Ads
o Banner Ads
o Interactive Ads
 Social Media (posts and Ads)
o Facebook
o Instagram
o LinkedIn
o Twitter
o Pinterest
o YouTube
 Digital word-of-mouth
o Forums (e.g. Reddit)
o Wikis
o Influencers (e.g. bloggers)

5. People
In the digital marketing mix, people refers to anyone who represents your product and comes in
contact with the consumer. Aside from your customer service team or sales force, people can include
your employees, business partners, or anyone that consumers associate with your brand.
It’s important you’re hiring people who understand your brand’s vision and believe in your goals. You
should be able to trust that when they come in contact with customers, they’re representing your
brand in a positive light.
This is increasingly important if your brand is on social media.

Social Media Relationships

Social media, online forms, emails, and other internet platforms have created a way to interact with
customers directly. These added relationship factors give your brand the ability to:
 Respond quickly to users asking questions on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, etc.
 Add insightful recommendations via Quora
 Respond to negative reviews on Google Reviews or Yelp
Businesses that are utilizing these platforms can leverage the power of relationship-building where
customers are active. Interacting with your customers directly on these platforms can strengthen trust
and keep consumers coming back to your brand.
6. Process
Process is defined as the core tasks and operations required to deliver the product or service to your
customer. This can refer to anything from logistics and shipment and delivery to wait times and check-
out processes.
If your customers find your processes to be too complicated — for instance, the time from placing an
order to receiving it is too long — you’re likely to lose out on future sales.
To optimize your processes and create the best experience for your potential customers, it’s critical to
understand the user journey. If you can simplify the sales funnel and make the process from initial
brand discovery to purchasing feel natural, the greater your chances are to convert.

7. Physical Evidence
The final P in the digital marketing mix is physical evidence. It’s the proof that your product or service
exists and is credible. In the online universe, your brand’s digital footprint can serve as your physical
evidence.
Your website is the most important measure of physical evidence for most people. If it’s up-to-date and
easy to navigate, your brand can seem more trustworthy.
Personal touches like thank you notes, confirmation emails, and receipts after a purchase can be
another piece of physical evidence to keep your brand top-of-mind for customers.
Additionally, it’s important your brand is represented on social media. You should be prioritizing
creating solid brand awareness across multiple platforms and channels. Existing on these
platforms and staying active can build credibility.