Continuing from the previous post around Ps in marketing, someone asked about Pitch.

Complementing Promotion

Pitching is essentially a part of the broader “Promotion” category. When businesses pitch their products or services, they are engaging in promotional activities. A well-crafted pitch can effectively communicate the value proposition, benefits, and features of a product, which aligns closely with the goals of traditional promotion strategies like advertising, sales promotions, and public relations.

Personal Selling and Direct Marketing

Pitching is also a crucial element of personal selling and direct marketing efforts. Sales representatives often pitch products directly to potential customers, providing tailored information and addressing specific needs and concerns. This personalized approach can be more effective in converting leads into customers, demonstrating the importance of pitching within the promotion and people components of the marketing mix.

Building Relationships

A pitch often involves direct interaction with potential clients or investors, making it an important tool for building and nurturing relationships. This aligns with the “People” aspect of the 7 Ps, emphasizing the role of human interaction in successful marketing. Effective pitches can create strong, lasting relationships with customers, partners, and stakeholders.

Why Pitch Does Not Fit into the Ps of Marketing

Narrow Focus

The concept of a pitch is relatively narrow compared to the broader scope of the 7 Ps. Each of the 7 Ps covers a wide range of activities and strategies, while pitching is a specific technique within the promotional efforts. Therefore, it may not warrant being considered an independent “P” because of its limited focus.

Redundancy

Including pitch as an additional “P” could lead to redundancy. The existing 7 Ps framework already encompasses all necessary aspects of marketing strategy. Since pitching fits well within promotion and people, adding it as a separate “P” might duplicate efforts already covered by these existing elements.

Conclusion

While pitch plays a critical role in marketing, especially within promotional and personal selling activities, it is well-covered under the existing Ps of Promotion and People. Therefore, it may not be necessary to include it as an additional “P” in the marketing mix. However, its importance should not be underestimated, as an effective pitch can significantly impact the success of a marketing strategy.