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How an Effective Marketing Mix can Increase Profits
(Part 2, Pricing)

In my last blog post, we covered the 4 Ps of marketing also known as the marketing mix, and how these four basic concepts can be used as a foundation for your marketing program. Also, that blog post was an explanation of the first P which is the Product. In this post, we will cover the importance of Pricing your goods and services.

Price is what your customer is willing to pay for the product. Many businesses work on a cost-plus mark-up to determine their selling price. This is very common in retailing, adjusting the price to meet competition or discounting, and increasing sales volume while creating an image of lower prices.

Companies that offer services with a product have more latitude in adjusting their pricing by offering superior performance. An example of this happened to me recently when I contacted painters for my home renovation. The individual that I hired had the highest price quote, but he sold me on the quality of the paint and went into detail explaining what he was going to do. He described the preparation of the surface, the types of paint used, and the results I could expect.

There is a psychology in pricing which is used to create an impression of a lower price by ending with 99 cents. A price of $5.99 appears cheaper than a selling price of $6.00. Upscale restaurants use a whole number such as $29 with no zeros to convey the image of an affordable price.

In my former career in manufacturing, we were able to increase profit margins by streamlining our product line. This increased the turnover of parts and raw materials leading to a higher turnover of inventory. Another contributing ingredient was that we increased our purchase quantities of the faster moving materials which increased our discounts from suppliers. The selling prices were never lowered and the net result was a very high gross margin of profit.

If you have any questions, please contact me at nick@kbizbrokers.com

The term marketing seems to have a different meaning for different business people. These days most of the marketing we hear about is social media and others think of it as a way of pushing a product onto a consumer. True marketing is an amalgamation of several social

sciences which include economics, psychology, sociology, political science, human geography, and demography. The fusion of all these disciplines has created a method for entrepreneurs to satisfy their customers’ needs and wants while increasing their profits.

As I’ve stated many times in previous blog posts we are currently in a difficult time for businesses to stay afloat. As we enter the fall season it is predicted that the COVID-19 virus will spike and we should expect government regulations to tighten. Now is the time to predetermine your strategy in anticipation and have a plan to implement.

The Marketing Mix also referred to as 4Ps of Marketing is the model that is used as building blocks for a companies strategy. The four components are Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. In this posting, we will cover the Product and in future posts Place, Price and Promotion will be discussed.

Product
The term product in marketing represents a physical object, service, or item bundled with a service. The products that you are supplying to your target market fit their needs. Facts to consider are demographics that include gender, age, race, marital status, and discretionary income.

The best way to know what your customers want is to do some marketing research. You can start with secondary research available online from government websites sba.gov fedstats.gov and factfinder2.census.gov. Trade groups maintain statistics about trends in marketing.

If you want to refine the data from secondary sources you can conduct your primary research. The best way to start is to form a focus group of 6 to 12 customers that represent your target market and ask them open-ended questions. From this data you can develop a survey questionnaire that can be used online by going to SurveyMonkey.com or SurveyGizmo.com, both offer free options.

In closing, there is the 80/20 rule in product marketing and that is 80% of your sales come from 20% of your product line. For decades the mantra in manufacturing has been product line extension. When a company has a successful product they expand their line by introducing additional commodity variations of flavors, sizes, colors, budget, and luxury models. Now is the time for small businesses to cut back your selection to the fastest moving items.

If you have any questions, please contact me at nick@kbizbrokers.com