Marketing instruments – classic concept

The most basic concept of marketing instruments, i.e. the marketing mix, was created several dozen years ago and basically ends with 4P. According to her, marketing consists of four basic elements, which are:
– product,
– price,
– special offer,
– distribution.

In opposition to this concept, Robert Lauterborn introduced his own, which he called 4C. It contains exactly the same elements as the classic 4P, however, instead of showing the entrepreneur’s point of view, it emphasizes the role of the customer. According to Lauterborn, such an approach to marketing is necessary, because only full focus on the recipient’s needs leads to success. In his theory, we distinguish elements such as:
– customer value,
– cost,
– convenience,
– communication.

Now let’s focus on explaining what the individual instruments refer to and how to understand them and – most importantly – use them in practice.

Product (customer value)
It does not necessarily have to be a tangible commodity sold to the customer. When we talk about a product, we mean the values that a specific thing or service brings to the recipient and the needs it satisfies. So, when we offer mechanical repair shop services, we are not merely communicating that the company provides inspection and replacement of broken parts. We focus on the fact that the use of professional service gives you safety, comfort, time saving, quality guarantee and so on. It must be remembered that dry information about the product does not arouse the desire to buy it yet. We need to make the recipient aware of what problems they can solve and what expectations they can meet. Only then do we gain the interest of potential customers.

Price (cost)
Price is an important element of marketing because it largely affects the other foundations of brand communication. Product prices can be selected based on various criteria, for example brand recognition, competition prices, production costs and financial capacity of the target group. However, it is important to maintain a consistent pricing policy within the brand. So if, by definition, our offer is widely available and intended for consumers with any budget, the prices should be very competitive. However, when we target a group of affluent customers who purchase only luxury products, too low a price will not only be of no help, but may even harm sales.

Promotion (communication)
When we have a product tailored to the needs of the target group, we must, however, communicate to the world that it is available and that it is worth buying it from us. This is what all promotional activities are used for: on the website, in Google Ads, social media, at the company’s headquarters, advertisements in the press, radio, television, on billboards, etc. This is where we can tell people about the benefits of the product and the needs it meets. Of course, we do not have to use all available promotion channels – it is worth conducting an analysis of the target group and advertising (free and paid) where the recipients spend the most time.

Distribution (place, convenience)
In short, these are the things that determine whether the purchase of a good / service will be convenient for the recipient. When it comes to a stationary store or service company (beauty salon, cafe, hotel, etc.), the locations will be of key importance. The product must be close to the recipient, even at hand, so that reaching the company does not constitute an effort for the recipient. In the case of online businesses, the most important thing is the website through which the product can be purchased (its responsiveness, intuitive use, loading speed, etc.). In addition, convenience can also be provided in other ways – for example, by providing various payment or delivery methods.

Extended concept of marketing instruments

However, it quickly turned out that the concept of 4P or 4C is not enough to describe all the marketing factors on which the brand’s success depends. So it was decided to extend it with another 3P, and in the latest developments even with an additional 4P:
– people,
– process,
– physical evidence,
– pleasure.

People
This capacious slogan holds all people who are related to the sale / purchase of the product, i.e. the seller, the customer and other buyers. What’s this all about? First of all, even the best quality product will not be successful if there is no demand for it. Therefore, before introducing a product or service to the market, research is needed to determine the interest in the offer. However, the service associated with a given product is equally important. Whether in the case of stationary businesses or online stores, it is important that the seller is nice, competent, able to solve possible problems and meet the expectations of the recipient. Nowadays, it is the employees who largely build the brand image. On top of that, however, there is one more puzzle called other buyers. This means that no customer lives in a vacuum, they are surrounded by other brand fans with whom they can connect and share their impressions. These days, social media groups that bring together clients and companies, thanks to which you can build an engaged community around the brand, are no longer a rarity.

Process
We are talking about the entire process of contact with the customer, also after the purchase of a product or service, i.e. researching the level of consumer satisfaction, after-sales care, the ability to sell products, improving the offer based on customer feedback, etc. We can do a great thing or service which, however, will not be as useful for customers as it initially seemed. Therefore, the key is to constantly improve the products to better meet the needs of the recipient. That’s why we call it a process.

Physical evidence
Contrary to the name, they do not necessarily have to be tangible things, although we also include them among them. These are all the elements thanks to which the potential customer forms an opinion about the quality of the service / product. This includes, for example, the visual identity of the brand: logo, website, leaflets, promotional materials. Evidence of the high quality of the services provided are also less obvious things, such as the appearance of the company’s headquarters or its equipment.

Pleasure
The pleasure category includes all the features of a specific product or service that are not strictly related to usability, but are simply a pleasant bonus for the customer. For example, chairs in a restaurant do not affect the quality of a meal, its taste or nutritional value, but if they are comfortable and adjusted to the height of the table, they increase the joy of consumption. The same function can also be performed by, for example, a fragrance in cosmetics or air conditioning in a car.

Marketing instruments in a marketing strategy

Marketing instruments are not the same as tools and do not provide specific ways to promote your brand. However, they are like blocks that can be arranged in any way, creating a strategy with which we will sell a product or service. Understanding their essence and delving into the consumer’s needs is a necessary condition to build a competitive advantage.

It is true that articles or films on a given topic remain on the servers and usually, even many years after the original publication, they are still available, but the harsh truth is that very often they simply do not interest any recipient anymore. Their online use-by date has passed – such is the fate of the vast majority of news, reviews, sports reports, political commentaries and materials from hundreds of other categories. The Internet generates enormous amounts of information that we simply do not need – even those that recipients consider up-to-date and valuable at a given moment, in the vast majority of cases, will soon lose their recipients’ attention. The circle of digital life in all its glory.

There are, however, individual pieces of the Web that enjoy unflagging interest. Such content is called evergreen, in keeping with its name being evergreen and flourishing recognition, and hence – also organic traffic to the site. A post, website or movie called evergreen content generate visits all the time. There is no trick to it, although of course such an article must be created in accordance with good SEO practices and full of properly selected keywords. The most important thing, however, is that its content does not expire, while remaining up-to-date despite the passage of time.

In the case of portals on pop culture, evergreen articles will be, for example, journalistic materials about timeless book or film classics, which are considered a canon in a given field. However, in the tech industry, for example, things are a little more complicated. Both software and hardware change so dynamically that such texts very quickly become obsolete. An article about the best programs for a given task one year after publication may be simply based on outdated data, ergo useless for the user. From the website administrator’s perspective, a guide to a specific version of a given application loses its potential when customers migrate to the updated edition of the program.

Please note that seasonal content is not classified as evergreen content. The Google Trends chart for the phrase “presidential election” shows a huge increase in interest every 4 years, but in the periods between the elections, few users search for material on this topic. A similar situation occurs with other cyclical events – the football world championship, the Nobel Prize Gala, Golden Globe Awards or death anniversaries of famous people.

Evergreen content – examples

– Diet items – what to eat to lose weight, how to gain weight, etc .;
– Recipes for popular dishes – from scrambled eggs, to chili con carne, to preparing lobster;
– Training articles – sets of exercises for a specific audience and for a specific purpose;
– Dictionary content – definitions and translations of words or phrases;
– Various types of guides – e.g. gardening, renovation, computer;
– User manuals for specific tools.

Of course, this is only the tip – an article can be called an evergreen when its topicality (and thus the potential interest of the recipients) does not pass with time. It does not mean, however, that once written text should not be updated. While the assumption of evergreen is long, eternal topicality in mind, expanding the content with new data will always be desirable – both by recipients and by indexing robots. However, a well-written evergreen text does not require frequent completion, saving you time.

For this reason, evergreen content articles cannot define, for example, the vast majority of purchase guides with product proposals. Of course, guides “what to buy – [month, year]” can also generate valuable traffic and increase conversion in a given e-store, but it certainly contradicts the idea of evergreen.

Apart from several industries, current trends and store supplies are changing so dynamically that such texts have to be updated very often – even every few weeks.

How to write an evergreen article?

The main source of traffic for this type of content is organic traffic from search engines. In online marketing, intuition is very important, but it loses to something much more powerful – data analysis.

A. Keywords
The selection of appropriate keywords that will be placed in the text will be a priority, making it easier for users to find the article. So you have to answer the question: what phrases do people who are looking for content on a given topic enter into the search engine? If the topic has already been raised on competing websites – let’s not hide it, it probably is – you can analyze the content and structure of the text using various tools, and use the collected data to build your own project. Tools such as Google Trends, as well as Ahrefs, Senuto and Semstorm will be useful for this.

B. Adapt the text in line with good SEO practices
The article must be filled with valuable keywords, but in addition to the content, the form is also important. In order for it to fulfill its role, i.e. not only generating traffic, but not causing the reader to immediately turn off the card and turn to other sources of knowledge, it should be presented in an attractive structure. It consists of the entire visuals – text layout, division into paragraphs, used graphics, font and its color and many other factors.

C. Linking
Even the best-written and presented text will not make it to the top of the search results if it is not linked to it from various sides – especially in a competitive industry, where many other players are waiting for high positions. If the article is indeed very valuable from the user’s perspective, many links will naturally appear, harnessing the social power of the internet. Usually, however, even this is not enough to lift a subpage where it should be – at the very top. For this reason, it is worth using the help of professional positioners with experience, resources and skills in link building.

D. Copywriting and sales decency
When writing articles that are evergreen content in mind, it is easy to overdo it and turn to clickbait to encourage users to read even more. Sure, the main assumption of blog articles is most often, in addition to collecting traffic, encouraging – directly or indirectly – recipients to buy products, use the services of a given company or build brand prestige. However, evergreen’s article must carry not only sales, but also substantive value.

E. Protection against obsolescence
It is worth avoiding references to current events – although a country or the world is commenting on a matter, sensation or behavior at a given moment, in a few months the public’s attention will completely change its direction. References to a currently popular series or a political dispute are very catchy and often the most justified in terms of marketing, but in the long run they harm rather than help. It is hard to find a greater signal that the text was written a long time ago than an outdated joke or a saying that was only popular in its time.

Advertising of a devotional shop: how to run it?

Devotional shops very often operate on a local scale, e.g. at holy places in different regions of the world or in the centers of larger cities. However, more and more people doing business in this way are also moving to the Internet. It is very reasonable, because operating in the field of e-commerce gives you the opportunity to significantly expand your reach and reach buyers from all over the world with your products.

However, the question arises: what should an advertisement for a devotional shop look like? Simply put – just like an e-shop operating in any other industry. Although indeed products in this category reach a very specific group of recipients, they also need to be effectively reached. This is possible by combining two strategies: positioning and active advertising.

It is worth taking a look at these two aspects and see what channels of communication with recipients to choose.

Positioning of the devotional shop

Positioning is a way to increase the visibility of an e-shop – so that its offer is available on the first page of search results for specific phrases. The higher it is, the greater the chance that the customer will choose your offer, not the one presented by the competition.

So the question is: how do you hit really high? The answer is simple: through a skilfully planned and even better implemented SEO strategy. What exactly is she. It consists of many factors, but the key ones are:
– optimizing the website – so that it is as functional as possible, loads quickly and is transparent and understandable (both for users and for Google algorithms),
– adjusting the website to the requirements of mobiles devices and ensuring its security,
– adaptation of the site map and URL structure to SEO requirements (including a clear division into categories and text page addresses with phrases),
– meta tags optimization.

Most of all, however, the point is that the website of the devotional shop should contain valuable and substantive texts, which will also be adapted to the requirements related to positioning. When creating them, the following issues are important:
– appropriate length – the more text, the better, as long as it is on the topic,
– proper saturation with key phrases – selected after careful analysis,
– division into h1, h2, h3 and sometimes lower-order headings,
– correct use of internal linking.

And although in theory meeting all these requirements seems quite simple, in practice it is a serious challenge. Therefore, if you want your actions to bring measurable results, it is worth entrusting them to SEO specialists.

How to choose keywords when positioning a devotional shop?

The basic issue is, of course, matching them to the subject of the website – so they must be related to the offered accessories. However, this is not the end of the task facing the positioner. There is competition in the devotional shop industry. Therefore, relying solely on general, basic keywords may not be enough – especially since your customers are often looking for very specific products.

For this reason, it is a good idea to use tools such as Google Trends, Keyword Planner or Senuto or Ubersuggest when searching for key phrases, but also to perform a professional and in-depth analysis. It will show which phrases have high potential and which may be too much of a challenge when positioning. In recent years, the most frequently recommended strategy for stores with a large assortment is long-tail positioning. It means matches to general keywords of side phrases that will increase your search potential. Especially in the times when a large number of searches are conducted by voice, this is a very important solution.

Why is positioning profitable?

SEO activities will benefit your devotional store in the long run – this is the most important benefit to keep in mind. While it may take a while to rank well in search results, it will also be possible for a long time to stay in the top rankings. But be careful! Activities with positioning cannot be limited to a one-time “setting” of the page high in the results. They should be continued – so as to maintain good results, and at the same time obtain equally good results when searching for other phrases.

Advertising a devotional shop in Google Ads – is it worth it?

Positioning is primarily used to build the visibility of the devotional shop. On the other hand, Google Ads tools allow for active promotion and reaching recipients with direct message. The huge advantages of this system are:
– the ability to precisely reach people potentially interested in buying devotional items – in the Google campaign you can define various demographic characteristics of the desired recipients, as well as their interests,
– thorough monitoring of campaign results and reliable settlement of their effects – you only pay for impressions / clicks, and therefore for effectiveness,
– high level of return on investment, provided that the campaign is set up correctly,
– the possibility of achieving long and short-term goals – also those related to quick promotional campaigns.

That is why advertising a devotional store based on Google Ads tools is also a good solution.

What does an ad for a devotional store look like in Google Ads?

Devotional stores usually have a very wide range of products. That is why it is worth conducting advertising in Google Ads using several channels – so as to obtain a synergy effect.

– The most popular and most frequently used form of promotion is the one with the use of sponsored links. These are links to the store’s offer, which are displayed above the standard Google search results. Despite the fact that such links are marked as advertising, they are of great interest to customers and their use may help to increase traffic to the site and general interest in the offer.
– A good advertisement for a devotional shop is also the one in the PLA model, i.e. in the Google Shopping model. How it’s working? Well, after the user enters a password related to a product belonging to your assortment, he will see not only standard search results, but also boxes with specific offers, enriched photos and prices. It’s a simple way to convert!
– Contextual advertising on external websites, displayed in the Google Display Network system, will also work very well. It will appear on banners on portals visited by your potential customers. Its very interesting version is remarketing advertising, which is targeted at people who have already visited your store but have not made a purchase yet.

It is worth remembering that when choosing a promotion method as part of Google Ads tools, you do not have to decide on only one. The best results will be achieved by advertising a devotional shop, which will be conducted through several channels at the same time. Transparent reports will show how the individual messages worked, who they were sent to and what is the return on investment in advertising, and only then will you be able to decide on the most effective channels.

Advertising of the devotional shop on social media

Positioning and Google – there is no need to end with these solutions. Social media also has a huge potential for stores selling devotional articles. It is especially about Facebook, which is the most widely used and at the same time the most universal solution.

When and how to reach the audience with an ad on Facebook?

In the case of stores with devotional items, it is worth thinking primarily about product campaigns related to specific seasons.

Remarketing advertising will also work well in social media – it works in a similar way as in the Google Ads system.

What about other social media? Is there a place to promote a devotional shop? In the aforementioned remarketing system – yes, yes. However, an image-related communication would have to be very well thought out. It is worth consulting with experts.

As you can see, a devotional shop can be advertised in different ways and on a variety of platforms. It’s definitely worth it, because the competition has reached this sector of the market as well. So if you have extraordinary products, be sure to show them off. You need help? Report to us. We will suggest how to run an effective campaign.