“As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.” – Corinthians 6:1
The term “marketing-mix” was first introduced by Neil Borden, the president of the American Marketing Association in 1953. It consisted of the four Ps: Product, Price, Promotion and Place which is the foundation on which many a marketing strategy was built.
In the late 70s it was widely acknowledged by marketers that the Marketing Mix should be updated. This led to the creation of the Extended Marketing Mix in 1981 by Booms & Bitner which added three new elements to the 4 Ps Principle, namely: People (service delivery), Process (uniform standards) and Physical Evidence (packaging and ambiance).
Then, an eighth P of Marketing was added to the Mix, namely, “Productivity & Quality” which is an efficiency concept in the context of delivery to the customers. Of course, productivity and quality enhance competitiveness.
In 2008, Bryan K. Law of Fox College of Business suggested that “Payment” should also be included as the ninth P, as ease and security of transaction plays a crucial role, especially in this cyber age. The foundation of the initial Marketing Mix has therefore been strengthened by the addition of five Ps, thus facilitating sales which gives life to enterprise. The challenge is to convert this to growth and, through increased profits, sustainability.
My current experience with start-up businesses is that, even though the entrepreneurs may be passionate and very knowledgeable about the idea and innovation which they wish to nurture and grow into a sustainable business, they do not have the specialist marketing expertise required to grow sales quickly. In addition, because they are start-ups, they do not have the cash flow to effect payment for this service on the open market.
Today, we propose a solution to address this payment constraint and increase profitability. It is called the Shared Sales Service (SSS) which is a concept for the enterprise to benefit from immediate expert sales service to drive life into the business. In the SSS, many businesses share marketing expenses, then each business can position itself to get a significant sales revenue boost at an affordable cost. The SSS is managed by a Shared Marketing Team. More anon!
Each Shared Marketing Team, guided by the 9 Ps of Marketing, will consist of a cadre of marketing specialists competent in disciplines which include: branding, public relations, social media management, merchandising and customer relations management (CRM), before and after “closing the sale”.
This is an initiative of the Shepherding Innovative Growth Squad (SIGS), consisting of a team of experienced business persons, conscious of their corporate social responsibility.
Let us cooperate, let us work together in harmony, with positive spiritual energy, to heed the sales assistance needed by start-up businesses so that their efforts shall not be in vain.
(Dr. Basil Springer GCM is Change-Engine Consultant, Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust Inc. – CBET. His email address is basilgf57@gmail.com and his columns may be found at www.cbetmodel.org and www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com.)