How Marketing Plans Work

Okay, so you know where you want to go. Now, you just have to determine which roads you're going to take to get there. These are the strategies you'll use in your marketing mix. Your marketing mix is the combination of elements that make up the entire marketing process. By using a variety of modes to reach your goal, you have a better chance of actually doing it. It requires the right combination, however, so be careful when putting it together.

Traditionally, the marketing mix refers to the four P's: product, price, place, and promotion. There are folks who will tell you that those are old-fashioned, and that there are new hip terms to use, but they really all boil back down to... product, price, place and promotion.

We'll go through each of the Ps and talk about the inherent elements in each that can be strategically modeled to help you meet your goals. In addition to the traditional Ps, and probably the most important when it comes to your marketing communications, is positioning. Let's begin there.