7P's of the Marketing Mix: Physical Evidence

Why Physical Evidence is Important in Marketing

It is said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But come to think of it, more often than not, you choose to buy or patronize products that already look appealing on the get go.

This is because you really do not expect people to research first about the products they want to buy all the time.

For example, if one is in a grocery store and sees this nicely-packaged box of biscuits, of course, there’s a tendency that he’d buy it right away.

He might not even look at the nutritional information, or consult an app that would tell him more about it.

Or, just think of beauty pageants. No matter what anyone says, it is definitely a big plus if someone has the X-Factor; if someone can easily attract you at first glance, without knowing a lot about her.

People often make decisions based on what they see, because seriously speaking, first impressions last—and mean a lot.

In short, within the marketing mix, physical evidence really could say a lot about how successful a product could be in the future!

Image Is Everything!

Have you heard of the term corporate branding?

Well, basically, it is all about creating a certain face for your brand.

This way, when people hear the name of your company or of the products and services that you offer, a logo or image of your brand would easily come to mind.

Like, when you hear the words Google or Buzzfeed, the logos of these companies come to mind. There gets to be recall. And that’s something that you should also aspire for your company.

This means that if you want people to remember what you’re all about, you need to be coherent with the logos and images, or the color patterns that you use for packaging and promotional materials.

These include:

• Signage
• Logos
• Tarpaulins
• Web Pages/Web Sites
• Employee Uniforms, if any
• Paperwork
• Packaging
• Letterheads
• Business Cards

If you’re trying to assure that it all goes well with the marketing mix, physical evidence must get together—so you don’t get to confuse your followers, and potential followers, too.

Physical Environment and Spatial Layouts

Now, you also need to keep in mind that physical evidence isn’t just about putting a logo out there, or giving away flyers or posters with graphics that relate to your company in it.

You also need to make sure that somehow, the physical environment of your office says a lot about what you’re trying to offer, too.

When it comes to spatial layouts, functionality is important.

You know, you really won’t be able to work properly if you’re in a space that’s just so cramped, or so filled up with things that you don’t really need.

You have to make sure that you have cleaned up well, and that you’re able to do everything you need to do without panicking, or having to go somewhere else.

So, it’s important to have the kind of office that you really could work in.

It should be functional. Aesthetics can only take you so far, you see. You need a space where your creative juices could really flow.

Ambience is Key

Aside from having functional space, ambience is also an example of physical evidence that you need to work on.

Okay, so ambience is not tangible, that’s true.

But, it’s still considered as physical evidence because somehow, when you add up what you have done to your space and on the issue of corporate branding, it would all culminate to the ambience that your space would give.

Think about eating at your favorite restaurant, for example. You know that you don’t only go there for the food—you also go there because you like the ambience.

You like how it makes you feel.

That also goes for your office and for your products.

In marketing, people don’t just try to research on the products right away.

They want to know and feel like these products were created with utmost care, and that they were created in places that speak a lot about the company itself.

Just take for example the fact that these days, there’s a big clamor for unconventional offices.

By unconventional, it means unique. It means that while these offices are still functional, they do not make the employees feel restricted.

Think of Google’s office with all those bean bags and couches.

Or, what about Pinterest’s office that speaks a lot about the company, corkboards and vision boards and all? Not to mention, there’s this light color palette going on, too!

Make It Interesting

In short, in order to spark interest, you need to make sure that you don’t just follow the rules and stay stagnant.

Yes, you do have to follow rules, but you also have to keep in mind that you can always put your own spin on things.

No company has been successful just by trying to be what everyone expected them to be, you know?

So, you do have to exert extra effort—and prove that by physical evidence alone, you could already impress people and make revenue.

Once this happens, you know you have marketing mix in the right track!

S.A.V.E Marketing – Update To The 4P's & 7P's

The new version of the 4P's (and 7P's respectively) for the new millennium.

Although the 4P's are still relevant SAVE Marketing has pretty much become the new standard.

Continue to S.A.V.E. Marketing