Any business starts from the bottom, even though it’s risky. Every business owner’s goal is to achieve success and grow their sales. Moreover, businesses have different purposes and this is where the essential functions of marketing can assist. The seven marketing functions are product management, pricing, promotion, selling, marketing, financing, and distribution. You need them all to effectively navigate the entire marketing process, from developing products to managing finances and risks, ensuring success in the marketplace.
Marketing strategies can guide customers down the sales funnel by employing tactics tailored to each stage: awareness, interest, consideration, intent, evaluation, and purchase. This involves creating compelling content, targeted advertising, nurturing leads through email campaigns, providing informative product/service information, offering incentives or discounts, and ensuring a seamless purchasing experience to convert leads into customers.
Therefore, the 7 marketing functions should be understood well to extend the capability of your business from its competitors and keep an eye on the customer’s needs and behavior. Although businesses are of small to large sizes, the main focuses are the same: how to make the best strategy for the 7 marketing functions.Â
Today, we’re going to learn about these marketing tools, all seven of them, and see how they work together to help businesses do well. Just like your favorite team of superheroes, these marketing tools join forces to help businesses reach their goals. So, get ready to meet these marketing helpers and see how they make businesses successful.
1. Pricing
To generate ROI or anything that tackles business or sales pricing is one component. So, every business or company will decide how much to charge for its products or services. On the other hand, one example of that marketing function is when an airline might set low prices to attract travelers who search for less expensive, especially those backpackers type of guests. This way, they sell more tickets and grow by serving a broader audience. Pricing can also change when a company wants to expand. For instance, a tech startup might offer a discount to get more customers when they launch a new software product. In a nutshell, pricing is a powerful tool that, when used right, can boost a business’s growth by making more money, increasing profits, and keeping customers happy.
Product’s pricing formula
If you are a small business, there are useful retail pricing strategies to fix your problem with pricing strategy. Try this first if it will perfectly sum up your pricing from sold to cover all costs and achieve the desired profit margin. Here’s a simple example of calculating a product’s price using this formula.
Price = Cost + (Cost x Markup Percentage)
Let’s say you run a small bakery and want to determine the price of a batch of cupcakes you make. Here are the relevant numbers:
Cost per batch: $50 (This includes ingredients, labor, and other variable costs associated with making the cupcakes).
Desired profit margin: 30% (You want to make a 30% profit on top of your costs).
Now, you can calculate the price of your cupcakes as follows:
Price = Cost + (Cost x Markup Percentage)
 = $50 + ($50 x 0.30)
 = $50 + $15
Total= $65
So, to achieve a 30% profit margin on your cupcakes, you should sell each batch for $65.
Keep in mind that this basic formula provides a starting point for pricing, but it doesn’t take into account other factors like market demand, competition, or psychological pricing strategies. It’s essential to consider these factors when setting your final price to ensure it aligns with what your customers are willing to pay and what the market can bear.
Pricing methods
When determining the appropriate pricing strategy for your product or service, it’s essential to consider factors like your target market, competition, cost structure, and overall business goals—conducting market research and staying flexible to adjust prices when necessary. Remember that pricing is not static and may require periodic evaluation and adjustments to remain competitive and profitable. Here are some of the example methods in pricing.Â
Cost-plus Pricing
 You calculate the price by adding some extra money (profit) on top of what it costs to make or buy the product. For example, if it costs you $50 to make something, and you want to make a $20 profit, you sell it for $70.
Competitive Pricing
You look at what other companies are charging for similar stuff and decide your price based on that. If your competitors sell something for $100, you might choose to sell it for $90 to attract more customers or $110 if you want to show that your product is better.
Value-Based Pricing
 This is about pricing your product based on how much people think it’s worth. If your product does something special or saves people a lot of time, you can charge more because it’s more valuable to them.
Dynamic Pricing
Your price changes depending on the situation. For example, an airline might raise ticket prices if there are only a few seats left on a flight, or a store might offer discounts during a sale.
PsychologicalÂ
You set your price just below a round number to make it seem like a better deal. So, instead of selling something for $10, you sell it for $9.99 to make it feel cheaper.
PromotionalÂ
You offer discounts or special deals for a limited time to get more people to buy your product. It’s like a temporary sale to create excitement.
Bundling and upselling
Bundling is when you sell a package of products together for a lower price than if someone bought them separately. Upselling is when you suggest more expensive options or add-ons when someone is buying something.
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SegmentedÂ
 You charge different prices to different groups of customers based on who they are or where they live. For example, students might get a discount, or people in one city might pay more than people in another.
Price skimming
When you start selling a new product, you set a high price to attract the first customers who are willing to pay more. Later, you lower the price to reach a wider audience.
Markup
In retail, you add a certain percentage on top of what you paid for a product to set the selling price. If you bought something for $30 and added a 50% markup, you’d sell it for $45.
2. Product management
As you’ve seen in dramas, product management helps oversee all aspects of a product, from conception to market release and beyond. Moreover, product managers often bridge the customer and the organization. They ensure the product meets customer needs and aligns with the overall marketing and business strategies. It’s the pathway to correctly use the 7 marketing functions by guiding the product’s journey from ideation to market launch.
To excel in product management, businesses must continuously innovate and understand customer needs through cross-functional teams, prototyping, and agile methodologies. Product bundling can also enhance competitiveness by identifying complementary products, creating compelling value propositions, offering tiered bundles, and gathering customer feedback. This drives sales and adapts to market dynamics and consumer preferences.
3. MarketingÂ
 On the other hand, living with the internet, e-commerce is the best way to sell these days. Most of their intended audience is on the social media platforms. Hence, using a strategy: inbound content marketing and personalization is one of the focuses today; that’s why you need to make more effort for the 7 functions in marketing, whether an outlet or e-commerce. Check these marketing strategies businesses use to reach their target market.Â
Content creation
This strategy uses a content creation strategy to successfully connect with your intended audience and produce exceptional and worthwhile content that answers to every business problem, inquiry, and passion, you can use diverse mediums, such as blog articles, videos, and infographics, as long as the content is enlightening, captivating, and pertinent to your field. Moreover, there are different niches, so be mindful of the content you will make.Â
SEO optimization
Make it easy for your target audience to find your content with strong SEO practices. Research and target relevant keywords, optimize meta tags and create a user-friendly website structure. If you are a business of food, use relevant keywords that have the potential to connect with your business. If you are ranked in Google search, it will help you reach the intended audience with this marketing strategy and ensure your 7 functions of marketing can benefit of it. Â
Email marketing
Develop personalized email marketing campaigns based on customer behavior and preferences. Segment your email list to send tailored content and offers to specific groups, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
Social media engagement
Use social media to engage your audience, share content, and build a brand community. Promote key content with social ads to reach wider audiences. Moreover, build your social media platform first that can be trusted and be mindful of the algorithm of each platform.Â
Marketing automation
Implement marketing automation tools to streamline lead nurturing and customer engagement. Personalize interactions based on user behavior and demographics, guiding them through the sales funnel.
Data analysis
Monitor your content and campaigns regularly. Analyze website traffic, conversion rates, email open rates, and social media engagement to identify successes and areas for improvement.
Personalization
Utilize advanced personalization techniques to deliver tailored content and product recommendations to individual customers. Personalization can significantly improve customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
User-generated content
On top of the marketing strategy, the customer’s opinion is valuable. In addition, that’s why you must encourage your customers to create and share user-generated content, with their reviews and testimonials, and share it to their social media posts related to your products or services. The customer’s opinion is an effective way to boost trust and credibility for your brand.
Partnerships and influencer marketing
Expand your reach by collaborating with industry influencers or complementary businesses. Partnering with trusted voices can help tap into established audiences.
Customer Retention
Prioritize customer retention strategies by implementing loyalty programs and offering exclusive deals to existing customers. This approach can be more cost-effective than constantly acquiring new customers.
Continuous Adaptation
Be prepared to adjust your strategy based on changing market trends and consumer behavior to maintain sustained growth.
4. SellingÂ
Selling is not just about transactions; it’s about creating meaningful connections and understanding the needs of both buyers and sellers. Whether you’re an experienced sales professional or someone taking the first steps in this field, embracing effective selling strategies is essential. As a representative of the business to sell, be the guiding star to meet the financial objectives. In addition, nurture relationships with valued customers. In the process of selling, empathize with customers’ needs to foster trust and ultimately seal deals; these strategies serve as a compass, navigating us through the ever-changing landscape of modern salesmanship.Â
5. DistributionÂ
Think of it as the gentle hand that guides goods from manufacturers to consumers, orchestrating an intricate dance behind the scenes. This function encompasses everything from warehousing and inventory management to logistics and transportation, all with the aim of seamlessly delivering products into the hands of eager customers. Imagine a world where your favorite products are always readily available, delivered promptly to your doorstep, or easily accessible at your local stores. This is the magic of distribution, working diligently to make sure you have what you need when you need it.
Distribution channels are carefully curated to match the unique needs of different businesses, ensuring that the right products find their way to the right places, all while minimizing costs and maximizing customer satisfaction. It’s a choreography of supply chains, wholesalers, retailers, and e-commerce platforms, all operating harmoniously to make our lives more convenient.
So, in essence, distribution is the silent conductor in the symphony of commerce, orchestrating the movements of goods with grace, ensuring that businesses can thrive and customers can enjoy the products they love, effortlessly and with a touch of fine
6. PromotionÂ
Marketing plans use promotion strategies to achieve objectives and boost growth. The main components of the promotion function in marketing typically include advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling. Effective communication influences target audiences to take specific actions. Businesses need to interact, engage, and thrive in the market. Therefore, promotion is the main source of effective marketing especially for e-commerce businesses.
Building relationships with the audience in promotional strategies is significant because it fosters trust, loyalty, and long-term engagement. By connecting on a deeper level, understanding their needs, and providing value beyond just selling, businesses can develop brand advocates who are more likely to make repeat purchases, recommend the brand to others, and contribute to overall business growth.
There are the best places to sell products online. For these reasons, promotion will determine whether you reach customers, grow sales, establish connections, and adapt to changing market conditions. To ensure long-term success, make sure that promotion helps achieve marketing goals.
7. FinancingÂ
Financing serves as the lifeblood of any business. It provides the essential capital needed for various purposes, from daily operations to expansion initiatives. In fact, achieving sustainable growth often requires more than just a good product or service. Businesses can secure financing for marketing strategies through internal funds, external investment, bank loans, crowdfunding, strategic partnerships, or government grants.
Overall, financing strategies are the engine that drives a business forward. Above all, in financing, team up with the best advice to get better with the budget vs. expenses: how it functions in business. Upgrade your knowledge in strategic financing that can fuel business growth. Listed below are some of the strategies, but before that, gather information on what are the right strategies in financing and select the appropriate financial strategy to add up to get better the function of this marketing. Be considerate of the following:Â
Business stage: Your financing needs will vary depending on whether you’re starting a business, seeking to expand, or stabilizing operations. Tailor your strategy to your current stage.
Risk tolerance: Choose financing options that align with your comfort level. High-risk ventures may require equity financing, while lower-risk businesses might favor loans.
Cost of capital: Evaluate the cost of financing, including interest rates, fees, and potential equity-sharing arrangements. Compare different sources of capital to minimize costs.
Long-term vs. short-term goals: Align your financing strategy with your long-term and short-term objectives. Some financing options are better suited for immediate cash flow needs, while others are more appropriate for long-term investments.
Financial planning: Make a financial plan that outlines how you’ll use funds and how you’ll repay any borrowed capital. This ensures that financing serves your growth goals effectively.
Takeaways
Understanding all seven marketing functions is vital as they represent core activities in product development, pricing, promotion, distribution, and customer relationship management. This comprehension ensures cohesive strategies aligned with objectives and audience needs, leading to competitive advantage.
Digital strategies can also enhance and integrate all seven marketing functions (product/service management, pricing, promotion, distribution, marketing information management, financing, and risk management) by leveraging data analytics, automation, personalized targeting, and omnichannel approaches to optimize each function’s effectiveness and alignment with overall business objectives.
The 7 functions of marketing shouldn’t be easy. If it is overwhelming, then you can outsource to a trusted company that fits your business needs. Therefore, business planning should be analyzed to have a smooth business
