Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix
Bobette Kyle

You may have heard the term "marketing mix" used in connection with marketing planning.

Your marketing mix means the combination of promotions, products, places (distribution channels), and prices you chose for your business. Including both short term and long term strategies in the marketing mix can make for a more profitable business.

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.

Build Long Term Marketing Strategies Into the Mix

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 Mix 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' Roles in the Marketing Mix

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.

As an example of how this can work, I generally put two or three hours a month into direct search engine optimization. My primary focus is on quality content, which simultaneously creates stronger search engine rankings for my site and makes the site more attractive to visitors. This approach has gotten me results with Google and other search engines (over 40,000 google.com visitors a month through the free search engine as of March 2006, not counting several thousand more from regional search results).

Another approach to search engine optimization is to hire an outside expert to work on search engine marketing while you focus internally on other parts of the marketing mix. If you take this route, however, be alert for agencies that use tricks that go against search engine guidelines to increase your rankings. They may get you results in the short term, but could get your site reduced in rankings or banned in the long term. Thoroughly research any SEO firm before hiring them to do work on your Website.

These are not the only short and long term strategies you could incorporate into your marketing mix. Look for different ways you can build long term recognition and health for your business. Effectively incorporate those into the marketing mix with a variety of shorter term, sales boosting techniques and your business will thrive.

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Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network. She is also author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business." You can search all articles on the network through the marketing directory by going here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/directory

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