How do you benchmark and compare your PESTEL and marketing mix with your competitors or best practices?

1 What is PESTEL and marketing mix?

PESTEL is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors that affect your market and industry. It is a tool to scan the macro-environment and assess the opportunities and threats for your business. Marketing mix is another acronym for Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, which are the four elements of your marketing strategy. It is a tool to design and deliver your value proposition to your target customers. By combining PESTEL and marketing mix, you can create a comprehensive and coherent market plan that aligns with your external and internal factors.

2 How to conduct a PESTEL analysis?

To conduct a PESTEL analysis, you need to research and evaluate each of the six factors in relation to your market and industry. You can use various sources of information, such as reports, articles, surveys, statistics, regulations, trends, and expert opinions. For each factor, you need to identify the key drivers, trends, and impacts that affect your business, and how they create opportunities or threats for your growth and profitability. You also need to prioritize the most relevant and significant factors for your market and industry, and assign them a score or weight based on their importance and likelihood.

3 How to conduct a marketing mix analysis?

To conduct a marketing mix analysis, you need to review and evaluate each of the four elements in relation to your target customers and competitors. You can use various methods, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, testing, and benchmarking. For each element, you need to identify the key features, benefits, and differentiators that make your product or service attractive and valuable to your customers, and how they compare to your competitors' offerings. You also need to consider the costs, risks, and trade-offs involved in each element, and how they affect your profitability and customer satisfaction.

4 How to benchmark and compare your PESTEL and marketing mix?

To benchmark and compare your PESTEL and marketing mix, you need to use a framework or a tool that allows you to compare your performance and position with your competitors or best practices. You can use various frameworks or tools, such as SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces analysis, BCG matrix, Ansoff matrix, or balanced scorecard. For each framework or tool, you need to define the criteria, metrics, and indicators that measure your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as your market share, growth rate, profitability, customer loyalty, and competitive advantage. You also need to collect and analyze the data and information from your PESTEL and marketing mix analyses, and from your competitors or best practices.

5 How to use the results of your benchmarking and comparison?

To use the results of your benchmarking and comparison, you need to identify the gaps, strengths, and areas of improvement for your market plan. You can use various techniques, such as gap analysis, SWOT matrix, TOWS matrix, or SMART goals. For each technique, you need to formulate the objectives, strategies, actions, and resources that will help you close the gaps, leverage the strengths, and address the areas of improvement. You also need to monitor and evaluate the outcomes and impacts of your market plan, and make adjustments as needed.

6 How to integrate PESTEL with marketing mix?

To integrate PESTEL with marketing mix, you need to align your external and internal factors with your value proposition and competitive advantage. You can use various models or methods, such as value chain analysis, value proposition canvas, or blue ocean strategy. For each model or method, you need to identify the activities, resources, capabilities, and partnerships that create and deliver value to your customers, and how they are influenced by your PESTEL factors. You also need to identify the segments, channels, relationships, and propositions that communicate and capture value from your customers, and how they are influenced by your marketing mix elements.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?