Power in the “P”

According to Brian Tracy, there are 7 Ps you should use to evaluate your performance.

And as he puts it; products, markets, and needs change rapidly; it would be helpful to use these 7 Ps to continually stay on track.

1. Product; develop the habit of looking at your product as though you are an outside consultant brought in to help your company to decide whether or not it should be pushed further.
2. Prices; develop the habit of continual evaluation of the prices, to ensure they are still competitive or appropriate in the current market.
3. Promotion; the 3^rd habit is to think in terms of promotion all the time. Small changes in your promotion can lead to drastic changes. Copywriters that are experienced can change the response rate by simply changing the headline of an advert.
4. Place; the 4^th P is place, where your product and service are sold. Where do your customers meet your salesperson? Sometimes a change in venue can lead to a rapid increase in sales. Some businesses and individuals use direct selling, some cold calling, some through catalogs or email, some trade shows or at retail outlets, and some in joint ventures. The right choice has to be made for the product and customer for buying decisions to be made.
5. Packaging; you need to stand back and visualize the visual elements through the eyes of a critical prospect.
   Packaging refers to the way your product or service looks from the outside. Also your people’s appearance, your brochures, your office. Everything helps, and a lot hurts. Lots of things can hurt your client’s confidence in you.
6. Positioning; how are you positioned in the hearts and minds of your customers? How do people think and talk about your company? Attribution theory states that each customer thinks of you with a single attribute neither good nor bad. Sometimes it’s quality, toughness, and so on.
7. People; keep thinking of the people inside and outside your business that are involved in your marketing. Ideas and plans are nothing without people to execute them.

There is no doubt years have been put into these principles, and applying them would most likely be beneficial regardless of your industry.