How one company approaches its marketing efforts can vary quite a bit from another, depending on the product or service each company is trying to sell. By focusing on the elements of the marketing mix, the 4 Ps (product, price, place, and promotion), marketers can work to ensure that the product or service in question successfully reaches its identified target market. And part of what marketers must understand is how the potential customers in that market are driven to make decisions. In other words, what factors will most strongly motivate the buyer to make the purchase? Based on that understanding, strategies can be developed to highlight one or more aspects of the marketing mix (such as price and place, for example) to encourage consumers to buy. In this Discussion, you will consider the role of persuasion, and the marketing mix on consumer behavior and marketing decisions.
Think of a buying experience you have had as a consumer in which you were unsure whether you wanted a product or needed a product or service. Consider the persuasive marketing efforts that impacted on your decisions, including which of the 4 Ps of the marketing mix played the strongest role in your decisions.
Post an analysis of the impact of persuasion on consumer behavior and the importance of the 4 Ps in making marketing decisions, to include the following:
Describe a buying experience in which you were unsure of whether you wanted or needed a particular product or service but ultimately made the purchase.
Analyze the impact of persuasion on your decision to purchase this product or service. Include how the product or service’s marketing campaign influenced your decision and what you think is the strategy behind that campaign. Provide specific examples to support your analysis.
Identify which of the 4 Ps of the marketing mix played the largest role in your decision to purchase the product or service.
Sample Answer
One company's approach to marketing efforts can vary from another depending on the product or service being sold. By focusing on the 4 Ps of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion), marketers can ensure their offerings successfully reach their identified target market.
My Buying Experience: The Apple Watch
My recent experience with purchasing an Apple Watch provides a clear example of how persuasive marketing can influence a consumer's decision to buy something they were initially unsure about. While I owned a smartphone that could tell time and track basic steps, I wasn't convinced I needed a smartwatch. I viewed it as a luxury item rather than a necessity.
The Impact of Persuasion
Apple's marketing campaign played a significant role in persuading me to make the purchase. The campaign did not focus on technical specifications; it focused on lifestyle enhancement.
Emotional Appeal: The ads showcased the Apple Watch as a tool for living a healthier, more connected life. They featured people using the watch to effortlessly track their workouts, share activity with friends, and receive important notifications on the go. The commercials were not about a watch; they were about a better, more convenient version of myself. This approach created a desire for a healthier, more active lifestyle, a desire that the watch was positioned to fulfill.
Social Proof and Influence: The marketing also heavily relied on images of people like me—young professionals, busy parents—using the watch in everyday life. This created a sense of social validation and made the product seem like a natural, essential part of a modern routine. Seeing the watch on countless people at the gym or in the office made me believe it was something I was missing out on, a key piece of technology everyone else had already adopted. This subtle peer pressure was a powerful persuasive force.
The strategy behind the campaign was to sell the "experience" and "lifestyle" rather than the product itself. They knew I already had a phone, so they had to create a new value proposition that was based on convenience, health, and belonging.