Ever heard the term “7ps”? No, it’s not a movie name!  It is your future academic task with which we are making you familiarize, beforehand.  Yes, this is a technical term which is mainly designed for business students or the ones who are involved in the marketing-related fields.

In case if you think that how we got to know about your task even before you then relax! It’s not that we can predict the future. 7ps strategy is the general thing which every student of business or marketing has to confront.

The strategy of 7ps, also known as marketing mix, is purposefully designed on the basic seven principles, and these are; product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence.  You know what? This particular marketing strategy can be implicated in any brand. Let’s see how!

Imagine Toyota as your brand on which you are performing the marketing mix.  How are you going to apply the seven principles on it? No, please don’t think that you need to visit some outlets or have to consider a few external sources. The only thing you need is- good research skills and strong fundamentals of knowledge. That’s it! Let’s play it together on Toyota.

1. Product

It’s a basic piece of understanding that the asset of each brand is in its product or service. Keep one thing in mind, that in 7ps strategy, we do not evaluate a brand based on any competition. No! It’s a simple formula which you need to apply on the brand.

For instance, if take Toyota in the view then in the automobile industry Toyota is famous for its exclusive yet appealing designs, offering fuel-efficiency, providing safety and comfortability and as well as meeting on the user’s mobility requirements. Apart from basics, the brand caters its audience right according to their demand by offering a complete range of its product. Such as luxurious cars with unique car accessories its customizing options.  That’s how we keep the 7ps strategy simple and straight!

2. Price

Now, when it comes to price, each brand varies and stands differently. There are many brands which focus on catering only one type of audience by being bound on a particular price range and the same sides there are brands which segment their audience and cater them accordingly.

Toyota falls in the second category. The brand caters all types of the audience; Social class B+ to A and from social class A to A+.  If you have a huge range, then there is the category of the luxury car waiting for you and in case, if your need falls in the economical price range then do not worry the brand is ready to cater your needs as well! Some times in the 7ps strategy, it is demanded to mention the prices according to the offering, though it depends completely on the instructor. So, if your mentor asks you to mention the price list, please make sure you are following the instructions properly.

3. Place

What do you think place particularly refers to in the context of 7ps? If you are thinking of a place as the spot where customers from where customers can have access to the product then no, it is denoting the distribution strategy of the company.

The distribution strategy of Toyota is very well organized. The brand allocates its maximum sales through dealerships. Toyota and its dealerships are penetrated in almost every corner of the world among which SBT Japan the strongest dealer of the brand.

4. Promotion

Oh yes, it’s about those branding techniques or advertisements which you have come across many times, in different ways.  Have you seen any of the digital campaigns of Toyota in your feed?  Or either may have witnessed BTL branding specifically in malls or in other public places? That’s what we call promotional strategies.

Specifically, the promotional strategies of Toyota are based on direct and personal selling, sales promotions, ads, and public relations. Toyota invests heavily in advertisements such as on newspaper ads, TV ads, digital and print campaigns. Also, it promotes other mediums with a huge investment such as direct selling through offering test-driving and by other audience engagement activities.

5. Process

No, it’s not the promotional process. The process in 7ps indicates the process in which brand follows to manufacture its product and how much environmental friendly it is. So, if we take the manufacturing process of Toyota, then it is known that the brand obtains an outstanding manufacturing approach.

In the automobile industry, Toyota is prominent for its valuable manufacturing process, and it is found that the brand not only focuses on its product efficiency but, also aspire to make its product development process as better as efficient too and due to this the operational management of Toyota is considered as highly expert.

6. People

People in 7ps are the employees of the company and not the customers. Mainly it is the workforce of the brand, which makes of breaks its image and in the case of Toyota; it immensely values its people.

Toyota offers an open learning opportunity to its employees by empowering them. It is said that the workforce of the brand is highly expert and acquires relatively modern time knowledge. Toyota tends to give an open challenge to its operational staff by offering them an opportunity to give a practical contribution. It seems that Toyota is dictating a team of solution-oriented people who always stand at the verge when it comes to serving the brand.

7. Physical Evidence

Well, you all can get an image of this strategy just through its fundamental meanings, i.e. identity. Even if the name of the brand is not mentioned still, we can recognize it. Guess how?  Through its trademark! Similarly, the terms physical evidence refers to the brand’s logo.

Have you seen those three rings overlapping on each other? Yes! The logo of Toyota has captured many hearts by captivating all letters of the brand’s name. Did you know this before? If not, then consider this piece of article worthy. The remarkable logo of Toyota is prominent internationally, which makes the physical evidence of the brand strong and reputed. It represents the sincerity of the brand with the advancement of technology and also conveys the message of unification among customers and the brand.

Now understood what the basic marketing concept behind this 7ps strategy was? Ever thought this complex term could be this much simpler. See, how we amazingly we have made the twisted path smooth for you.