Anyone that has taken a marketing course, worked with a marketer or generally knows about the basic principals of marketing will be familiar with the four P’s.

Product, Place, Price, Promotion

They form the base of all marketing; so what do they mean for your business online?

Product

This is what it all boils down to; what is it that you do or sell?  Think about what it is that makes it special; makes it stand out from the crowd.

Then turn it on it’s head and think about what it is your customer wants from your product or service.  Because attention spans are that much shorter online it is vital that when you’re thinking about your product that you’re not just thinking about your product but what it is your potential online customers want from it!

This way you’ll be able to cut out what isn’t pertinent to them and focus on what it is they want to know.  The more closely your copy, images and website answer the questions they want answered then the more likely you are to sell.

Answer questions they’re not asking and you’ll be wasting time and attention.

Place

Think of your internet presence as one large opportunity to see your product or service.  Your success will be linked inextricably to appearing in the places your customers are in volume.

For example the success of your business in search engines will depend on ranking highly for key phrases your customers are searching for in their droves.

Rank for phrases that nobody is searching for and you’re essentially shouting to nobody.

The same applies to the rest of your online marketing mix.  If you’re business customers aren’t on Facebook or you can’t get them to engage on Facebook then why spend time and resource trying to get them there?  Just go where they are and put yourselves in front of them at every point.

Most buying decisions aren’t made in spontaneous moments of clarity; when they do make a buying decision you want to make sure your brand has been in front of them from the very start of that process.

Price

Now this is an interesting one! Do you put your price on your website or not? Depends largely on what it is you’re doing! If you have a product then by default you’ll have the price but then you need to look at your price point and it’s online competitiveness as to how you promote your business.

A business with a product that is at the cutting edge of pricing would be promoted very differently to a business that is premium in pricing nature.  But again, if we go back to the place your customers will likely be, they’ll be looking in different places, and going right back to product, your message, images and copy are likely to reflect the nature of your product!

If you don’t have a monetary price listed on your website it is vital that your site gives an accurate reflection of your business and its marketplace positioning.

Have a bottom end website and try to sell a premium product and you’ll have a problem in convincing people to buy!

Every bit of your brand should say top end!

Promotion

Take everything we’ve said above and work out where it is your customers are and what promotion channels will engage with them.  What is it that will trigger them to buy from you?  Again to use the premium product analogy, if you have a top end product does it detract from that positioning if you have a sales offer?

Knowing what it is that makes your customers tick will be an underlying factor in the success you have.

Make sure you have the basics in place to begin on the road to success!

For more information on how we can develop your digital strategy please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk