Extended Marketing Mix
(7-Ps)

Explanation of Extended Marketing Mix (7-Ps) of Booms and Bitner.

The 7-Ps or Extended Marketing Mix of Booms and Bitner is a Marketing Strategy tool that expands the number of controllable variables from the four in the original Marketing Mix Model to seven.

 

Usage of the Extended Marketing Mix

The traditional Marketing Mix model was primarily directed and useful for tangible products. The 7-Ps model is more useful for services industries and arguably also for knowledge-intensive environments.

 

3 extra P's

Booms and Bitner's have added the following 3 additional Ps to the original Marketing Mix:

  1. People: All people that are directly or indirectly involved in the consumption of a service are an important part of the Extended Marketing Mix. Knowledge workers, employees, management and consumers often add significant value to the total product or service offering.
  2. Process: Procedure, mechanisms and flow of activities by which services are consumed (customer management processes) are an essential element of the marketing strategy.
  3. Physical Evidence: The ability and environment in which the service is delivered. Both tangible goods that help to communicate and perform the service, and the intangible experience of existing customers and the ability of the business to relay that customer satisfaction to potential customers.

The first two more Ps are explicit (People, Process) and the third one (Physical Evidence) is an implicit factor.

 

Booms and Bitner also suggest that Place in a service-oriented company includes the accessibility of the service, and that Promotion in a service-oriented company includes the input of front-line service personnel.

 

Book: Nirmalya Kumar - Marketing As Strategy -

Book: David A. Aaker - Strategic Marketing Management -

 

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Recent User Comments
sharmaine - australia 7PS of Marketing "Needed some insight into the Marketing Mix for my Tafe Coyurse!! Got stuck on the P.Evidence so google it and BING_GO u guys have help me understand heeps.., Please keep it up for all others that are mind boggled over Marketing MIx Cheers!!!"    0
sumitha - india Alternate 7 ps "Proper Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents Poor Performance..."    4
Cat - Ireland Prioritise the 7 P's "Could someone please prioritise the 7 p's for me in order of importance?"    9
 - NZ What about Customers?? "Sometimes I think marketers can get too hanged up with theories, that we forget the ' Customer Experience'. Though it doesn't start with a "P" per say but essentially they are the core of the Marketing Mix."    3
Mateen - Pakistan Extra P - Purpose "Define the Purpose of the product."    0
Best User Comments
paul - GB Explain Physical Evidence "I've read and re-read the meaning of Physical Evidence but it's still gobbledigook. "The ability and environment in which the service is delivered.": sorry, you lost me!"    39
Y.N - Australia 7P vs 4P "Basically you could just go away with the 4Ps even when it comes to the services, however just having those 7Ps in mind is a good idea, but its not really something to focus on. The Physical Evidence falls into the Place, since there are no real distribution when it comes to services. People... well the marketing mix is made to satisfy people's needs and wants so it could even be in the 4Ps, why adding it in the 7Ps? It's just like bolding it to make sure you get that right but still People are involved in the whole process one way or another. Process: Ok that is probably the only one that deserves to be added on the 4P of the "normal" marketing mix. So yeah, once again, is there a real need of those 7P? ps: "Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performence" is still the best 7P ~!"    25
Neil - UK P's P's more P's "This tool is a great easily remembered method of remembering and encompassing the whole basic business process into 7 very simple words that can be elaborated to create the core basis of a strong sound marketing plan, concept and business strategy as long as used as a basis to compare and analyse SWOT on all 7."    20
mbabhai - India Extra P - Packaging "Another P should be added - Packaging. The rationale is that it is very important how the product is presented to the customer, and the packaging is often the first contact that a customer has with a product."    18
jb. singh - india P's of marketing mix "Why we are stuck in the web of P's only? Just to continue with the single alphabet will not solve the problem...we have another 25 alphabets ...and marketing can be known by combining all of them...and not only P's.."    17
Rajesh Vyas - India Extra P - Pace "How about Pace? I.e. The speed of introduction of new products. Won't pace be a factor to be considered to get the First Mover Advantage?
Marketing success is a function of Pace in a big way."		    11
anita - brunei Extra P - Perception "A possible 9th P could be 'Perception' of interested groups of people, primarily the Customers."    8
Sanju - India Marketing Mix - when to choose what?? "I think the whole process of marketing revolves around these 7 Ps, but what is more important is to analyze the internal and external environments, your strengths and weaknesses, and then prioritize how you wish to focus on each P. But needless to mention, all the Ps are still very relevant and important, People being the most important followed by Product, Positioning, and Price."    7
Piyush - UK / India Keep it Simple "Use the most suited P's of the marketing mix for the marketing plan. Using all or too many could complicate the plan. Keep the plan as simple as possible, as it's easier to implement for us, and easier to understand for the consumer."    7
Philip Knowles - UK Extra P - Principles "There is a basic misunderstanding by some of the commentators. The Ps are internal factors in control of the business and an error in one of them can cause failure of the whole mix. For example get the right product, right price, right promotion, right place (4Ps) and have poor sales staff (people), display it badly (physical evidence) or have long queues (process) and it can still fail. I have been adding Principles to the mix for my students because customers are making decisions based on the ethical stance of businesses now."    5

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Compare with the Extended Marketing Mix (7-Ps): Marketing Mix (4-Ps)  |  Relationship Marketing  |  Ansoff  |  Porter  |  BCG Matrix  |  Positioning  |  Co-Creation  |  3C's  |  4S Web Marketing Mix

 

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  ● S S Moiz (Yemen) Alternate 7Ps "I would like to comment on sumitha's view that GM, Chrysler, Lehman were all properly planned and prepared. Well still they collapsed. I would like to mention here that the Market is unpredictable and blind. Better if we manage well and resist undue expansion this can save us to some extent."

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  ● Ann (Malta) The 7 P's "1. Product 2. Price 3. Place 4. Promotion 5. People 6. Physcial Evidence 7. Process"
  ● PJ (RSA) The 7 P's Prioritized "What about? 1. Product, 2. Price, 3. Physical evidence which may encompass packaging, 4. Promotion, 5. Place, 6. Process, 7. People"

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  ● RayC (UK) the 7th P "In a service oriented business the Physical Evidence could include, your offices, reception, marketing literature, proposals, case studies, project reports etc. How your business is physically represented to your potential client."
  ● Gayle (UK) What is Physical Evidence? "The ability and environment... ie, imagine going into a five star hotel, in the reception physical evidence is all around you…"
  ● shash (INDIA) Physical Evidence is the Medium "The 7th P speaks about the medium through which the service is delivered. Take for example RETAILING, which is a service industry, so the Physical Evidence here would be the MALL and the its atmospherics."
  ● Weiye (Singapore) Physical Evidence is also the Receipt "Physical Evidence also refers to the receipt you received after you've paid for the service. It serves as a reminder that the product (a service in this case) has been consumed. As we all know, the types of receipt issued vary accordingly to the types of products etc. Why is this so? This is because of the significance people realised in these physical evidence as being part of the product."
  ● James (Oz) Physical Evidence is also Testimonials "It could also be written customer testimonials that reinforce the quality of the service being provided"
  ● Eddie (UK) 7th P "Ray and Gayle's explanations are spot on. It really is about the physical environment from where the service is provided!"
  ● Adrian (Ireland) Physical evidence is how the Service looks "How the staff interracts with the customer. What the service looks, employees attitude towards customer, Is the service supplied efficient, how long are u waiting. Overall presentation of service e.g. restaraunt …"
  ● Gareth (UK) Physical Evidence "Guys, read your marketing books properly. For the person who is lost regarding physical evidence, I can explain. Services need physical evidence to show that they exist. eg, vouchers etc ."
  ● Kev (GN) Physical Evidence for Services is Tangible Aspects "Got to agree with Gareth there. Physical evidence within a service context is the tangible aspects that make the service possible... it might be signposting in a shop or an airport, it may be the writen communication between you and an insurance company (i.e. - if you received a letter from your insurers full of spelling mistakes - it reflects on the service perception). Hope that helps"
  ● Mohit Garg (india) Physical Evidence allows Customers to judge Quality "How is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix which allows the consumer to make judgements on the quality of the servce. If you walk into a restaurant your expectations are of a clean, friendly environment. On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be able to lay down!"
  ● mohit (India) Physical Evidence Examples "Physical Evidence, one of the 7 p's of Service Marketing plays a crucial role in Service sector companies.
Take an example of a restaurant where you have gone for a date with your girlfriend/boyfriend. You are very much satisfied with price, people, process etc.........but you don't get seats comfortable enough to sit for long. They also have sprayed strong room freshner which is making you to fight to breath....Utensils are not cleaned etc..etc............Result..your date gets spoiled.
Take another example.......You have gone for a business meeting in summer and the company has arranging for you to stay in a Five star hotel.....You stayed there for a night and to your surprise the AC was not working ...and so you have managed with the fan only for the whole night...Result...you may not want to stay in that hotel on your next visit..... It therefore becomes necessary to make all efforts to be intact with all 7P's of service sector.....you just can't ignore one…"
  ● Aster (SG) (Singapore) Physical Evidence in Insurance "I do agreed with Kev (GN). Insurance company was my experience. I bought a car insurance from a supposingly well known insurance company and yes I bought it for the fact that it was recommended by a number of my friends. It turns out their service (physical evidence) was bad and has not lived up to their company's image and when they send me my insurance certificate, there was a typo error!"
  ● Damil Alam (Bangladesh) Physical Evidence not for Products "Physical Evidence is the physical proof of the service. It is said that for physical products, it is bit redundant unless they include some (after sales) service as well."

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  ● Nilesh Mandole (India) Marketing Mix "I think there is need of extending marketing Ps because physical evidence is a necessity just like people and process."
  ● Chris (UK) 4Ps vs 7Ps "Physical evidence in place? Surely physical evidence is more a measure of your position as a brand, than how your place your products? Within positioning and the Marketing Audit I'd say - so still not in the 4Ps. People I also see differently, as an internal measure, of what you can and can't do, whilst this can be a Marketing tool, it is not a true P either, as it effects the Marketing mix, rather than being a part of it. You may use your people in your promotions, indeed your people may effect where you can place your products, but people are not an indepedent factor of the Marketing mix. Finally Process - this is a tricky one as perhaps it does fit - or rather it doesn't but interaction does, and interaction could be phrased as a buying process - customer servcie and salespeoples handling of enquiries etc. this element is a part of the marketing mix, having the fastest response time, the most helpful information etc."
  ● Wilson (UK) Physical evidence not the same as place "If physical evidence falls into one of the p's it would be Product, as when developing a product in the service industry you must pay attention to how it will differ to its competitors. For example a restaurant as an augmented product and its elements: aural, visual, olfactory and tactile, definetely needs a lot of attention. Since the standards for service industry have gone up increasingly, People has been taken into the marketing mix as it makes a competitve advantage itself."

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  ● gzgreg (philippines) the 8th P "Packaging is part of one of the 4 P's, Product. When you think of a product, packaging is an integral part of it. From the primary packaging to the secondary to the shipping package."
  ● Brian Imber (US) Packaging in Marketing Mix "I would rather consider Packaging being part of Promotion, because the presentation of a (consumer) product to the buyer is often very significant. Howewer this would be less valid for B2B goods."
  ● Avinash (India) Packaging "Packaging already comes under the product mix."
  ● K.G. (Nepal) No more Ps please "Come on Mr. Avinash, don't add more Ps on it, already 7 ps are more than enough as 4 Ps can cover up the whole marketing mix model. If we start to add more Ps then almost all of the words related to the Marketing fall under it.
It can be more confusing to the fresh students too, remember those days in college when you were studying about the marketing mix concept."
  ● Hunegnaw (Ethipia) Strategic Importance of Packaging "I'd like to get your responses or views on the following questions: i)Why do some people consider packaging as the fifth "P" of the marketing mix? ii)What is the strategic importance and relevance of packaging for product decision making?"

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  ● Luis Ferrero (Spain) perception no P's "In my opinion, "Perception" commented by Anita-brunei is not a P's variable due it's on communication variable, and one of communication strategies is to mantain perception."

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