The-four-p-s-of-the-marketing-mix
By Cash Miller
Effective marketing of a small business service or product can be hard. Often the competition includes much larger companies with bigger budgets. So if you want to develop an effective marketing plan then you need to know about the 4 P's. So what are the four P's of the marketing mix anyway? Product, price, place, and promotion are your keywords in the marketing mix. So what exactly do they mean?

Well first let's talk about Product. The product is of course what you are going to try and sell. If your business is service related then whatever the specific service is becomes your product in this instance. So your first step in developing your marketing mix is to define exactly what it is you want to sell to your potential customers. You'll want to put together some sort of an effective description of your product. Preferably one that helps you to differentiate your product or service from others. So step one is define your product.

Your second step is to determine a Price for your product. How much do you need to charge to make a profit and how much do you think your customers will be willing to pay? Of course to determine how much you must charge to make a product will require you to determine exactly how much that product costs you to produce. To help you decide how much your customers will pay you need to at look at similar products and services in your market category. Once you have determined what both numbers are you can decide what an acceptable price is for you.

Ok now to move on to the third step in marketing your product. This one concerns the Place for you product. Specifically through what outlets or means do you intend to try to sell your product to your customers? This can be through direct sales, retail store sales, the internet, or any other channel you might think of. It's important to decide exactly how you intend to sell your product as it will have a direct impact on your marketing efforts.

Finally we come to the fourth P of the marketing mix Promotion. The first three steps led you to this point. How exactly are you going

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to promote your product or service? Simply put how do you intend to advertise? Do you wan to use in store promotions, radio, TV, or something else? The promotion aspect is about deciding the methods that are best to advertise your product or service. It is something that will take you time to determine. You'll want to see how your competition does it and consider if there might be a better way. But this is the most important of the four P's to consider.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs should always have a basic grasp of every aspect of their business. Marketing is no different. As a small business owner knowing the basics of marketing is a must. So when determining how to market you product or service always keep in mind the four P's. Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

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About the Author:
Cash Miller
Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who has spent over a decade as a small business owner. The years of experience in small business have given him insight into a variety of topics. If you are looking for more small business information you can go to http://www.smallbusinessdelivered.com

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