About this short course
The marketing mix is synonymous with marketing and therefore also needs to be applied to the digital marketing landscape. This module reviews how each of the marketing mix elements can be applied to the Internet. Here’s what you will learn:
Price and Product – Price defines a great proportion of your attractiveness in the eyes of the customer, your revenue, and eventually your profits. There are new pricing models and strategies that need to be considered for digital markets. The pricing element of the mix invariably relates to the Product, since online pricing depends on the range of products offered and the point at which a product is in its lifecycle. There are also new opportunities for modifying the core or extended product for digital environments.
Place and Partnerships – The Place element of the marketing mix looks at the way in which manufacturers get the product to the final consumer. Distribution of products has changed significantly for digital products. There are new distribution models, new types of intermediaries and a greater emphasis on partnering for better reach and efficiency. Online partnerships can contribute to building a competitive advantage and can help organisations to reach more customers.
Promotion – The promotion element of the mix has changed the most. In terms of promotion we need to consider all our communications with customers and other stakeholders in order to inform them about the product and the organisation. There are several new promotional techniques available such as interactive display ads, pay-per-click advertising, virtual sales staff, online loyalty schemes, influencers, social networks, affiliate marketing and many more. These have all become available to us because of Internet technology.
People, process and physical evidence – The traditional marketing mix was designed and gained popularity in an era where most businesses sold products. Any service provision and the role of good customer service was largely ignored and the potential impact on brand development and the user experience was not understood. This was remedied when the marketing mix was extended by 3 new Ps that directly relate to the service provision industry. These are People, Physical Evidence and Process.
As digital marketers, we also need to make use of these additional mix elements, since much of what we offer online is convenience and service to our customers.
You will learn about:
- Using the internet to vary the marketing mix: part 1: (product)
- Using the internet to vary the marketing mix: part 2: (price and place)
- Using the internet to vary the marketing mix: part 3: (promotion)
- Using the internet to vary the marketing mix: part 4: (people, process, physical evidence, partnerships)
