Does The “Four Ps’ Meet Your Marketing Strategy?
With anything you do there has to be a process. In marketing we call this the Marketing Management Process. In this process it consists of of 3 key components:
- Planning marketing strategies
- Directing the implementation of the plans
- Controlling these plans
The Marketing Planning consists of setting objectives, evaluate opportunities, create marketing strategies, prepare the plans, and lastly develop the marketing program. Once we do all that we have to implement the marketing plan(s) and program. After we implement it we must control the marketing plan and program by measuring results and evaluating progress.
As an upcoming PGA professional, marketing yourself and your business is a huge step in branding your future. You will need your market strategy that specifies a target market and a related market mix. Essentially it is what is your big picture. If you don’t have the big picture then you will not be able to market yourself successfully.
Two interrelated parts are needed to accomplish your big picture. What is your target market, and what is your marketing mix. As an inspiring PGA golf instructor my target audience would be just about anyone. My marketing mix would consist of a product(a golf lesson), offered at a price(hour rates or half an hour rate), with some promotion to tell potential customers(buy 3 lessons and get the 4th one free), and a way to reach the customers place(newsletter, word of mouth, or email blast).
The “Four Ps” that make up a marketing mix consist of Product, Place, Promotion, and Price. One thing that should stick with you is that the customer is not part of the marketing mix. You will be offering a product at a place and after time it will allow you to give promote different prices. In golf you set what you want your prices to be. However, there is a catch to it. I am just now starting off so I won’t be charging the same price as my mentor. He has 15 more years experience than I do. But as a customers standpoint my pricing is much better than his so why do I keep going to him? His product is worth the price because he has the education and experience doing it. There is a saying “you get what you pay for” and he has these different promotions that are different and better than his competition in the surrounding area.
In Conclusion when it comes to a marketing strategy you need to think of what the customer is looking for and how can you provide that to them. Understand your competition and how much different you can be from them. What is the product you are trying to sell, where/how can you do that, how do you promote yourself, and what is a fair price that people are willing to pay for your product.