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
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