A Marketing Strategy is a long-term plan that is supposed to be used to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage by understanding the needs and wants of prospective customers. It is simply a game plan.

There are so many things that need to be considered when one is trying to build or expand a business. I will be shedding more light on the most commonly used four P’s in marketing strategies.

PROMOTION

When you are only penetrating the market, i.e. you are a first-time business owner or this is a new business that you have just opened up, one element that most miss out on is promoting or advertising. You must know that the more you make people aware of what you are doing, the more people will get curious about trying something new from you. Speak positively about your business, talk about it every opportunity you get, and spread the word. Whether it is at church, a funeral, or a wedding, speak about it so you get more exposure in places that have multitudes of people. After all, you pay nothing, unlike a radio or TV advert that may cost you a fortune.

PRICING

The amount of money that people need to pay for a product or service must be eye-catching. That is why I said earlier that make sure you do your research very well. Find out about everything going on around your area so you have a better understanding of your next move in business. Here are some great examples of eye-catching pricing: 

   a) Instead of selling something at MWK5,000 sell it at MWK4,950 or even MWK4,999. Although there isn’t much of a difference, in a customer’s mind a 4 is smaller than a 5 and most people don’t even bother to see the rest of the figures. With this method, the human mind gets tricked.

b) Sell in bulk (i.e. promotion sales). You know how supermarkets say "Buy one, get one free"? It’s not that you are really getting one item for free, but that they get to sell a lot of products at once thereby making more sales (high volume or quantity) at a cheaper price. For them, this means they still get to make a profit by selling more.

PRODUCT

The quality of your products and services is essential to any business. Maintaining the quality of your products and services helps you have loyal customers, and be on top of competitors. It also makes you unique. Regardless of whether or not you are the only one in your area providing that particular product or service, you have to keep up with the consistency of the products and services to avoid becoming a contributor to your own downfall.

If any of the products you offer are no longer available on the market or ‘in season’, make sure that you provide alternatives for your customers. Do not use this, however, as a reason to overcharge as your customers may find out and you will lose out in the end. Be dependable.

PLACE

Provide products and services where there is demand. You can’t sell car spare parts to college student sites or locations, but you may sell stationery there. You can’t sell kitchen utensils at a football match but you may sell food and drinks there. Inasmuch as the area in which you conduct your business may be good for your business’ exposure, you need to ensure that your customers feel safe and important. A good example is if you sell foodstuff in a local community where young children are sent on errands. If you are situated close to a pub or a beer joint, there is a high chance you will lose a good number of potential customers who may fear for their safety and the things their offspring may be exposed to. Be smart about where your business is located.

CUSTOMER CARE AND FEEDBACK

I know it is not a "P" but trust me things get out of hand quickly if these two haven’t been handled with care. Treat your customer like your boss because the type of leadership that leads to a successful business is that of servant leadership. Yes! Make customers feel special when there is a problem, always listen and if there is a need to change your way of doing something, please consider it.

The only way you can build a prosperous business is by making sure that you maintain sales, and the only way to do that is by supplying the demand. Maintain relevance and be reliable to the customers.