You were lied to. The 7Ps of marketing,
aren’t. They are also the 7Ps of finance, of administration, of human
resources, of ICT, of operations, and even, of sales. They are the 7Ps
of business.
As a reminder they are product, price, place (distribution), promotion (marketing), physical evidence, process (how the business operates) and people (staff).
As a reminder they are product, price, place (distribution), promotion (marketing), physical evidence, process (how the business operates) and people (staff).
Physical
evidence is the brochure at the bank or your staff ID card. They are,
respectively, proof that the bank does indeed have that savings account
it claims to, and that you are a bona fide staff member of the company
you work for. Looking at the seven Ps solely through the marketing lens
is limiting.
This should be exciting news, particularly
for the business to business seller. When appreciating his offering,
it opens up a stimulating opportunity to go beyond the limited scope of
product and price. What do I mean? The average seller tends to centre
his entire sale on only product and price.
And this is
because they are objective, visible, ‘hard’; they are also immediate
and buyer- facing. In fact, many times, it’s usually on one-price.
Product is usually a given, which is taken as sacred. In essence
therefore, this seller limits himself to using only the butt of the gun
when he has access to the formidable power of a machine gun.
Consider
interviewing the buyer as a step in the sales process. The progressive
seller cleverly plays on all the ps to fully appreciate the buyer’s
pain. He focuses his questions on the buyer’s product, pricing, place,
promotion, people, physical evidence and process.
Consequently,
he comprehensively understands the buyer’s business and sees
specifically how his (buyer’s) pain moves at a tangent to it. In effect,
he accelerates the sale to a close because the buyer feels understood.
Consider
negotiations. The very mention of the word elicits thoughts of
discount, price cut. And, dwells there; many times ending in a win-lose
or lose-lose situation. A price war (small or large) can tend to do
that. Yet, it shouldn’t; in fact, the product/ service can be adapted to
match the buyer’s budget. This is not news to most sales people.
What may be is that, it’s only two out of a possible
five other options. A business that offers coaching, training and
consultancy services or a football club, will most likely see people
immediately before the product; meaning they may bargain on a less
experienced consultant (or footballer) to meet the buyer’s budget. Most
likely, the consultancy may not think of ‘soft’ issues like process.
For instance, “instead of sending hard copy reports, we shall email them
to you”; or, “we shall be using PowerPoint slides instead of course
books to meet your budget.”
The seven Ps of business
are an indispensable tool for the progressive business to business
seller. They tremendously increase his opportunities to comprehensively
understand his own offering, the buyer’s pain, and therefore more likely
close the sale.
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