The New Marketing Mix
We’re all familiar with the 4 P’s of marketing Product, Price, Place and Promotion but in today’s Internet age of Social media, Web 2.0 and ROI is the old marketing mix still cutting it?
Surely the 4Ps still have some place in the world of marketing if anything as the basis for marketing but long gone are the days of a marketplace where the store vendor knew everyone of his customers personally. Where interaction was on a one to one level with real human voice and physical connection, despite the promise of a one to one website application.
Today the customer is clearly in the drivers seat with both hands on the steering wheel, which is why marketers need to add a 5th P to the marketing mix, Persuasion.
The New P - Product, Price, Place, Promotion and Persuasion
This is where Persuasion comes in. But first let me make one thing clear. By persuasion I don’t mean some sort of trickery or manipulation. Persuasion focuses on your prospects experience with your product or service. It’s what makes a Browser into a Customer. Persuasion focuses on making a prospective buyer comfortable and increases his or her trust level with your brand. The greater the trust the greater the likeliness your browser will buy.
Persuasive Design
Visual persuasion removes roadblocks, improving visual communication. Verbal persuasion provides the right content, in the right way at the right time. The combination of verbal and visual is what makes up persuasive design and can greatly encourage your prospects to take action.
Everything Old is New Again
Persuasion is what takes the place of the vendor at the corner store who once knew everyone of his customers personally. That old marketplace vendor was the embodiment of trust and ease of use. Both visual, if he needed to conduct a product demo, and verbal, with his reassurance and commitment behind his product, all at once.
How are you using Persuasion in your marketing mix?
3 comments:
Some nice ideas! What about the other remaining Ps? People, Process, Physical Evidence and Planning?
I've written a post with ideas on these Ps at:
http://marketingblagger.com/61/marketing-mix/
Cheers,
Andy
Andy, Thanks for the kind words. I just read your blog about the 8P's on www.marketingblagger.com I would agree that the traditioanl markeing mix is changing and I think we're both speaking in terms of online although your post is slanted more towards blogging and mine is more towards websites. I agree with your addition of Ps but I think People, Process, Physical Evidence and Planning all fall into Persuasion, my 5th P. Inorder to Persuasively Design you need to take into account People with personas and user goals. Physical is about the perception that design creates. Process in the persuasive Design Process is all about desiging pathways. And Planning is what Persuaion and Design is all about.
Bobby Hewitt
Hi Bobby and thanks. When I refer to People I really mean the People involved in delivering the product or service, rather than the customer with user goals. But I like that idea very much as marketing is all about understanding your customer, what they want and then how to persuade them to do business with you.
Planning specifically refers to setting up a marketing plan, for example setting out marketing objectives and goals, how you will measure success etc etc. To my mind this would include persuasion as part of the strategy.
Process and physical evidence in an online environment most certainly do fit into your 5th P. As you say, setting up pathways to drive people through your site, or blog, to making a purchase is certainly important. The physical evidence, i.e. the design of your site, is clearly a big motivator for customers in buying your product. Not only the way it looks but also the way it works.
It looks increasingly to me like there are 7Ps of online marketing... Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Planning and of course Persuasion.
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