I recently spoke at an event organised by Redbridge Equalities & Community Council to celebrate International Women’s Day. Part of the event was focused at encouraging women to start their own business, so I talked about using the 7ps of marketing when thinking about starting a business. I have outlined the main points of my presentation below.

The 7Ps is a widely used model for structuring your marketing approach. The Chartered Institute of Marketing offer a longer guide here.

So in simple terms this is what the 7Ps mean:

The 7 Ps

• Product – what you are going to produce/deliver?
• Price – at what price?
• Place – how you will deliver your service or product to your customers?
• Promotion – how will your customers find out about it?
• People – who will have contact your customers? Staff? Suppliers?
• Process – how does the above fit together?
• Physical evidence – how can you prove your business to customers? And what will their experience of your service/product be?

I encouraged those attending to think about these questions in relation to their new business:

Is there a need for my service/product?
You should research what sort of need there is for the service or product. One way to start is by looking at what your competitors are offering, as that is where you potential customers could start. Talk to your contacts and network – what do they think? Ask potential customers.

What price will I charge?
The price you charge will need to take into account the cost of production, your business running costs and a profit margin. It is worth checking out the competiton, if they are able to deliver their product or service at below your cost level then it could be that your business isn’t viable.

Who is the intended target audience of my service/products?
How large is the market? How easily can I access my typical customers?

How will I reach those potential customers?
Typical approaches include: your own website, direct marketing (emails, letters, calls), social media (Twitter, blogs,
Facebook), advertising and press.

What is the customer experience going to be?
What tools do you need in your business in order to take the product/service from you to your customer. How will the customer experience your organisation. Will  you have staff?

If you are thinking about starting a business Business Link currently offer information and seminars – although this will change fairly soon as they are being replaced. Your local Council will probably also provide enterprise support. Good luck!