9. Marketing Mix - Place

1. overview 2. planning 3. swot 4. marketing plan 5. marketing mix 6. product
7. price 8. promotion 9. place 10. literature 11. public relations 12. promos
13. advertising 14. sponsorship 15. sales

Place refers to the means by which your customer acquires your product. This includes the actual place it is purchased (the shop, the telephone, the web page, the warehouse) as well as the actual route of distribution.

The distribution chain

Marketing Mix - Place

Most consumer goods are purchased from a retailer, who purchase them from a wholesaler/distributor, who purchase them from the manufacture. If the goods were imported there might be more merchants in this distribution chain. Sometimes, this distribution chain can be bypassed or leapt over. In the security industry, some manufacturers of security systems sell their product directly to end users at the same time as selling them to security installation companies at the same time as selling them to national distributors. The point is that these different distribution channels can provide different levels of profitability and they can quite happily run alongside each other provided a well thought through pricing strategy has been decided upon.

For example a consumer is likely to want only one variant of your product and expect to purchase it immediately. A retailer is likely to want limited stock of a number of variants and not expect to pay for 60 days. A distributor is looking at large volumes of product in all its variants at greatly discounted rates. Your ditribution policy needs to take account of these variables. If it does not, then you will find yourself in a very embarassing position with a customer sooner or later which would result in the loss of a sale.

The complication to this approach however is that you need to consider the fact that your 'customer' might be a consumer, a retailer or a distributor and that each of these customers will be looking for perhaps different features or different levels of service.

The Internet.

Needles to say the internet offers a new "Place" to many business sectors. It has enabled many middlemen to be bypassed resulting in a price advantage to be offered to the customer followed by the inevitable increase in volume for the seller.
This could be selling direct to your consumer and missing out the retailer, or it could be direct to your retailer, missing out the wholesaler.

Business growth for you?

copywriting

Is there any way you could generate extra volume on the internet?

Given the relatively low set-up costs, you should be seriously looking at this avenue! You do not need to set up a complex site, we may be able to set up a simple income-generating site for only a few hundred pounds. I personally favour this approach because it gives you enormous flexibilty in developing your commercial site - especially useful for small businesses with little experience in this medium. You literally develop the site over a few months as you uncover the secrets to success for your market sector. Costs are minimal.

How many small business-owners would like to take on a new business-building strategy that offered almost no risk?

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Testimonials


The following are a number of testimonials from satisfied clients. We are really pleased to receive these testimonials, and proudly list them here.

Thanks for the website Ian.
As you stated, I have had a steady stream of enquiries since setting me up on the internet.
Simon
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Morning Ian, just a short note to say 'thankyou' for the work on my website. Not only am I pleased with the way it looks, but I could not believe it when I got my first enquiry from it only a few days after its completion. All you said would happen has indeed happened.
Regards
Glenda
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Thank you very much for your kind help. It is really a good advice for my marketing plan.

Thanks and best regards,
Thi
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Hi Ian Just a short note to tell you we have had a very good season, an excellent sales increase so we should be ok now the autumn is here and going very soon into Winter.. . . . . . . . .
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Thanks Ian. The website has certainly increased our Bookings and we look forward to next year.
Best Wishes
Sue
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I am not really interested in getting back in to PPC as it cost a lot of money last time for not a lot of return. We have been without it for over a year and what you are doing is still increasing visits and turnover on the site.
Regards
AJ
Director
Sports Outlets
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Just a quick note to say I’m very interested in maintaining the website you have completed a marvellous job of so far. We are already noticing a complete change and receiving a lot higher internet inquires.
Thanks Ian
Marie
Director
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Hello Ian, came across your website via a Google search and wanted to say how impressed I am! The marketing plan template arrived within seconds of my request - it is clear, tremendously helpful and has provided me with the structure I desperately lacked as I prepare to kick off my new business on 1st September! A really super service, am sure I will be in touch again over the coming weeks to discuss other elements of your offer.

Thanks and regards
Sarah
Director
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....... I have also noticed the success of extra clicks! Business is also up by at least 15 percent from last year. Regards
Simon
Owner (Dry Cleaners)

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I would just like to bring a ray of sunshine to your day (well it did for me).
Since we started to work with Ian Smith, our Adwords guru, our results have improved impressively. These figures are the average across the board, ..
Our Click through rate has gone from 1% to a very credible 4.5%
Our average cost per click has dropped from 87p to 63p (just remember some clicks are still £2+).
Our average position has gone from 5.4 to 4.6
So all in all a very good result and with further input we hope to do even better.
Chris
Interior Design Retailer
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