How Your Marketing Mix
Can Improve Profit
By Bobette Kyle
You may have heard the
term "Marketing Mix" used in
connection with marketing planning. It means the combination
of promotions, products, places (distribution channels), and
prices you chose for your business. Including both short
term and long term strategies makes for a more profitable
marketing mix.
Long term strategies build
brand/company awareness and give sales revenue a permanent,
gradual boost. Short term
strategies create a temporary, immediate revenue boost by
giving buyers an incentive to purchase.
By implementing both long
and short term strategies, you can attend to immediate sales
goals while building your business
reputation and goodwill. Some examples of both types of
strategies are below.
Long Term Marketing Strategies
Branding. General advertisements
and other high profile activities contribute to your company's
image. These points of contact with your target customer help
mold your image, which in turn can create loyalty from your
customers.
Philanthropy. Donating
money, services, and/or time can build trust and a positive
image for your business. Philanthropy contributes both toward
your branding efforts and your company's internal well being.
New Product Pipeline.
New products in development represent your future sales. If
you get feedback from your customers
or potential target market then design new products (or
change existing ones) to meet their needs, you are ensuring
a demand for your products in the future.
Short Term Marketing Strategies
Reduced Price Sales. Limited
time sales encourage customers to act. You likely have customers
intending to buy but have
not "gotten around to it". Holding a sale will give
them
incentive to purchase.
Group Discounts and Offers.
Discounts or other offers to a specific group can help exposure
your business to new
customers, resulting in a sales surge.
Pay-Per-Click Search Engines.
Pay per click search engines are another way to become visible
to new customers. Use them
carefully, however. Do not bid more per click than the
profit you expect to make from that click.
Search Engines
High search engine placement
can produce both short term and long term results. Short term,
you can gain immediate sales.
Long term, results come as potential business partners find
your site.
Do not, however, become
obsessed with search engine optimization to the detriment of
your other marketing
strategies. Search engine marketing should be one part of a
more comprehensive plan. Include other marketing strategies
in your plan to reach additional customers.
I do not put a lot of
time into search engine optimization - two or three hours a
month at the most. Instead, I focus on
quality content, which in turn creates strong rankings for
my site. This approach has gotten me results with Google -
close to 1,000 visitors a week through their free search
engine.
About the Author
Bobette Kyle draws upon
10+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, a Marketing MBA,
and online marketing research
in her writing.
She is author of "How
Much for Just the Spider? Strategic
Web Site Marketing for Small-Budget Businesses". The book
shows how to better find, target, and attract Web
customers with an effective marketing mix. Read about it
here:
WebSiteMarketingPlan.com/bookinfo.htm
Copyright 2003, Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.
