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Date 12th April 2023
Are you familiar with the marketing mix? It's a powerful tool that businesses use to create effective marketing strategies. But did you know that the marketing mix can vary across different industries?
In the fast-paced world of fashion, marketing is more important than ever, and the marketing mix plays a crucial role in shaping successful campaigns. From product design to pricing strategy, distribution channels to promotional tactics, the 7 Ps of marketing help fashion brands stay at the forefront of consumers' minds.
Dive into the world of fashion marketing and discover everything you need to know about the fashion marketing mix, why it's important, how brands utilise it to develop effective marketing strategies and how to start a career in fashion marketing.
The marketing mix is a framework model used by businesses to help shape effective marketing strategies. It can be defined as the set of marketing tools a business uses to achieve its marketing objectives.
Historically this framework has been known as the 4 Ps of marketing, which includes:
More recently, the marketing mix framework has also been known as the 7 Ps of marketing which includes:
The fashion marketing mix is very similar to the general marketing mix and the same principals of the 4 Ps and 7 Ps can be applied. The main difference from other industries is that the fashion industry relies heavily on marketing to sell its products.
In contrast to products that have a purely practical use such as computers, appliances and food, the purchase of clothing and accessories is less about the need to cover up and is more of a personal choice and is often considered a luxury.
It is the role of fashion marketers to create a desirable brand image and portray that image to consumers in a way that they want to buy into the brand and its products. Find out more about what fashion marketers do in our careers guide to fashion marketing.
The marketing mix is incredibly important as it allows businesses to develop a targeted and effective marketing strategy. By considering all 7 Ps of the marketing mix, businesses can create a comprehensive marketing plan that is tailored to their target audience and their wants and needs.
It also helps businesses conduct competitor analysis, allowing them to define their USP and the value of their product offering. This competitor analysis also helps businesses optimise their pricing strategy. Pricing is a crucial aspect of marketing, and the marketing mix helps businesses to set the right price for their product based on factors such as competition, target market, and costs.
Furthermore, the marketing mix helps businesses choose the most effective promotional tactics for their business goals and target audience, which can help make their marketing efforts more effective. The marketing mix can also be used to help businesses identify the most effective distribution channels for their product, which can reduce costs and improve the availability of the product to customers.
Overall, the marketing mix provides a framework for businesses to make informed decisions about their marketing strategy, which can ultimately lead to improved sales and customer satisfaction.
Fashion businesses must use a variety of marketing and advertising methods to help raise awareness of their brand and to stay at the forefront of consumers' minds. To do this they focus on the 7 P’s of the marketing mix when producing marketing campaigns.
Product is one of the 4 Ps of marketing as well as the 7 Ps. The product refers to the clothing or accessory that a fashion brand is offering to its customers. Fashion brands must focus on the quality, design, and functionality of their products to attract customers. They must also consider factors such as the target audience, the brand image, the needs of the consumer and the latest fashion trends while designing their products.
There are several ways fashion brands can focus on implementing a successful product led marketing strategy. They can let consumers try their products for themselves so they can see the value in what they have to offer. Alternatively they could encourage customers to share authentic stories on social media about why they like the product and the brand.
The price of a fashion brand’s products is an essential element of the marketing mix. Fashion brands must price their products competitively while ensuring that they make a profit. They must consider factors such as production costs, competition, target audience, and market demand while setting the price of their products. Price is also one of the 4 Ps and 7 Ps of marketing.
Fashion brands can use price as a marketing tactic in a number of ways. They could mark their products at a higher price point to increase desirability and reflect quality. Fashion brands may also set their prices higher to make bundling and promotions more appealing. On the flip side, fashion brands may price a product lower than competitors to break into a crowded market or attract value-conscious consumers.
Place is one of the 4 Ps and 7 Ps of marketing and refers to both a brand's physical and digital presence. In terms of its physical store, this relates to where the store is such as, is it in a desirable location and is it easy to get to. However it could also relate to the visual merchandising of stores and how products are displayed. In terms of its digital presence this refers to the positioning of the brand on social media and the results pages of Search Engines. Getting the top results on Google for a primary keyword can be just as valuable as having a store in a prime location.
The place is important in fashion marketing because customers often buy items that are convenient for them to purchase. Making a product available and accessible to consumers in the correct location may increase the likelihood that they buy that product. This is often why brands will display products at the POS in a store or at the checkout stage of an ecommerce website.
Promotion is the last of the 4 Ps of marketing and it refers to the various marketing activities that a fashion brand undertakes to promote its products to its target audience. These activities may include advertising, public relations, promotions, personal selling, and direct marketing. Fashion brands must select the most effective promotional strategies based on their target audience, budget, and marketing goals.
Fashion brands typically use a mixture of the above marketing activities to tie their marketing mix together to create an omnichannel strategy that creates a unified experience for the customer base. For example a customer sees an in-store promotion and uses their phone to check prices, size quantities and read reviews.
Process refers to the various processes and procedures involved in the marketing and sales of fashion products. Fashion brands must ensure that their processes are efficient, effective, and customer-centric to create a seamless buying experience for their customers. They must also be specific so that staff can smoothly and efficiently follow them.
This may include things such as when and how consumers are approached by staff, how easy it is to find items in the right size, the trying on process and the purchase and returns process. Some retailers will also include other factors in their processes, such as sustainability and equal rights for workers.
The physical evidence of how a fashion brand is perceived is another important factor of the marketing mix. This refers to the tangible elements that customers encounter while interacting with a fashion brand.
From the type of packaging and promotional materials used in store to how the brand is perceived online and social media, physical evidence and positioning is a key indicator of whether you are attracting your target audience. Fashion brands must ensure that their physical evidence is consistent with their brand image and creates a positive impression on their customers. They may choose to do this by designing packaging that can be recycled or sharing their sustainability practices online.
People refers to the employees of the fashion brand who are involved in the marketing and sales of their products. These employees must be well trained and motivated to provide excellent customer service and create a positive brand image. It’s important that everyone who represents your brand or deals with customers is fully trained with plenty of knowledge of your products and how it will improve the lives or solve the problems of your customers.
To ensure employees are making the right impact on the brand's customers at all levels, businesses should develop their team's skills by investing in training and development, consider company culture and brand personality, hire professionals who are passionate about what they do and focus on customer relationship management to increase brand loyalty.
Utilising all 7 Ps of the marketing mix has a lot of benefits for fashion businesses. Not only can it lead to increased revenue and a higher ROI, but it also enables brands to determine the effectiveness of their marketing and allocate budget for future marketing campaigns. For more information about retail marketing as a whole, read our guide What Is Retail Marketing & What Are The Different Types Of Retail Marketing.
If you want to work in marketing for a fashion brand, your first decision is whether you’d like a more general or specialised marketing role. You could choose to specialise in areas including social media, digital marketing or PR. Alternatively, you could take a more general role to try out different areas and then specialise further down the line.
Whichever area of fashion marketing you choose to specialise in, your first step should be to study a fashion qualification or degree to help you stand out from other applicants in a competitive industry.
At the Fashion Retail Academy, our diverse range of courses are specially designed alongside our industry partners. They teach you the specific skills you’ll need to succeed in your chosen area of the fashion industry.
For a career in fashion marketing, our Level 4 Digital Marketing or Level 4 Fashion Retail (with Marketing) diploma courses will get you qualified for an entry-level role in the industry in just one year.
You could also study our BA (Hons) in Marketing & Communications for Fashion undergraduate degree. Our degree programmes are condensed over two years, saving you time and money, and getting you into the industry faster than your peers at traditional universities.
Gaining practical experience in a fashion marketing role can help you to stand out in a competitive job market. Taking on real-world responsibilities and challenges helps you to develop fundamental skills for fashion marketing.
By choosing the Fashion Retail Academy, you can gain experience alongside your studies. Our courses include a hugely beneficial three-week work placement to give you that vital practical experience. We also work with over 140 retail partners, setting live briefs throughout our courses, allowing you to work on real-world challenges.
Not only that, but 91% of our students are in employment or further study within 6 months of completing their course. So what are you waiting for? Take the first step to your dream career and study with the Fashion Retail Academy.
If you have any more questions about any of the courses on offer at the Fashion Retail Academy, send us an email at info@fra.ac.uk. We’d love to hear from you!
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