Women are either intrigued with or mystified by boutiques, but most are interested in learning more about boutique management.
With the help of a boutique course, we can learn about the four P’s of marketing mix which is a must for any business and is the starting point in any boutique course.
Before we begin with the four P’s, we need to know what exactly is the marketing mix. Every business wants to promote its brand in the market. This, however, can not be done effectively if there is no planning put into the work. This set of plans or actions which help a company to increase its sale is known as marketing mix. In other words, a marketing mix is to put the right product in the right place, at the right time and at the right price. For an effective marketing mix, any boutique course will suggest you keep these four P’s in mind and work accordingly-
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1. Product
Product is one of the key factors suggested by any boutique course, to ensure that your boutique functions properly. If you have the right product, keeping in mind the target audience, your boutique will thrive. However, the kind of product stocked in your boutique also depends on the budget. If you are low on budget, you cannot obviously take risks or invest a lot in your product. In such a case, you have to go for the basics first and thus cannot give way to innovation. However, if your product is of good quality and the service provided is also good, the customer will automatically flock to your shop. You have to take care that under no circumstances, you can afford to compromise the quality of your product. It will bring a bad name for you and your boutique business.
In case you have a good budget at your disposal, you can take risks and bring in new products. You should, however, not be too carefree with your money. Only invest in the products that you find relatable. Though, not all your product is sure to impress the target audience but going the extra mile will not hurt.
2. Price
Price is another important factor when it comes to running a successful business. The price of the products shall be such that it satisfies all the expenses of the business and still leave the owner with a handsome profit because profit is the ultimate force behind starting any business. However, the consumer should also be kept in mind when fixing the price for a particular product. If you price your product heftily, the consumer will not make a purchase. He/she will reach out for a store that can offer a lower price for the same product. In case the price of your product is very low, you’ll not be able to pay for other services and expenses of the business, such as lighting, rent, infrastructure, the salary of the staff, etc. This means that your business will start incurring losses and ultimately you would have to shut it down. A boutique course suggests you take into account some unforeseen expenses that may occur during the tenure of your business. During the period of a pandemic or some natural calamity, the prices of raw materials would tend to rise. Such is the nature of unforeseen expenses. You have to prepare in advance for such a case and this, you need to have some ready cash with you. This will also go while pricing a product. Thus, you have to be extra careful the next time you put on that price tag.
3. Place
The location where your business is set is one of the most determining factors of business marketing. The locality of the business should be such that it can offer some basic facilities to the customer such as parking lot, security, mode of transport, etc. If the business is set up in a far and deserted place, consumers would not prefer to reach out to it. If there’s a parking issue or the lane to your business is not wide enough for the passage of big vehicles, the buyer would again feel discomforted and so shall not reach out to your store. Hence the locality of your boutique business should be at a prime location. Also, it has to be close to the place from where you can get the raw materials needed for your business. If you transport raw materials from a far-out place, the cost of transportation will add up making your product costlier. Also getting it from a distant location is time-consuming. If you have your raw materials from a nearby location, you can purchase them at any given hour; you won’t have to
wait for the repletion of other products so that you can give a bulk order. Lastly, you have to keep in consideration the type of people that reside in the locality that your boutique business is set in. On the large, these people will be your target audience. If you are surrounded by middle-class families, you should get the products that suit their lifestyle. Similarly, if you own a boutique business in a posh location, you have to invest in branded and exquisite products.
4. Promotion
This refers to different methods by which the sale of a product can be increased. It includes discount offers, lucky draws, sales, advertisements, etc. While promoting your product through advertisement, a boutique course suggests you give correct details about the goods you are dealing in. They say, ‘consumer is the king’ and the king cannot afford to be foolish. The consumer will not get attracted to any description which appears wrong to him/her. You can promote your product through advertisement by means of a newspaper, social media such as Facebook, Instagram, etc.
No customer is ever attracted by a small discount offer unless it is for a branded product. Lucky draw is the promotion idea that a lot of businesses prefer nowadays. To be honest, it is not at all an attractive initiative. Consumers don’t fall for a lucky draw but sales offer, such as winter sale, end of season sale, etc is pretty much effective even to this time. Remember, promotion is an added expense, the burden of which will fall on the pocket of the buyer. The price of all the expenses has to be incorporated while fixing the price of the product.
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A failure in the management of any of these four P’s will hamper your boutique business. To help you with smooth management and functionality, enrolment in a boutique course is suggested.
Also Read: How to Start Your Own Successful Boutique Business
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So, what are you waiting for? Join Hunar Online Courses and do what you always wanted to do.
