Marketing Mix of WordPress and 7Ps (Updated 2024)

The Marketing mix of WordPress analyses the 7Ps of WordPress, which includes the Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Evidence, and Process of WordPress. WordPress was released in 2003 as a free and open-source CMS (content management system). It is based on MySQL and PHP and is installed on a web server, either a network host or part of an internet hosting service. As an internet hosting service, it is presented as WordPress.com, whereas the network host is presented as a computer that runs the WordPress.org software package.

About WordPress

• Type: Content management system (CMS)
• Industry: Software
• Founded: May 27, 2003
• Founders: Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little
• Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
• Area served: Worldwide
• Key people: Josepha Haden Chomiak (Chairman) and Matt Mullenweg (CEO)
• Number of employees: 500+

WordPress Competitors

• Ghost
• Drupal
• Joomla
• Tumblr
• Weebly
• Wix
• Medium
• Squarespace
• Shopify
• Blogger

WordPress Product Strategy

WordPress offers a comprehensive product and a marketing mix of WordPress that caters to a wide range of needs for individuals, businesses, and developers looking to create, manage, and grow their online marketing presence.

The new Product Mix of WordPress in 2024 is as follows (Source).

1. WordPress.org (Self-Hosted WordPress): Free, open-source software that you can install on your web server, Full control over your website’s design, functionality, and monetization, Access to thousands of plugins and themes to customize your site.
2. WordPress.com (Hosted WordPress): A hosted platform that simplifies website creation and hosting. It offers free and paid plans with various features, including custom domains, additional storage, premium themes, managed security, updates, and backups.
3. WooCommerce: An open-source, customizable eCommerce platform built on WordPress that allows the creation of an online store with flexible and secure payment options and integration with numerous extensions for added functionalities like shipping, booking, and subscription services.
4. Jetpack: A plugin designed to enhance WordPress sites with features like improved security, performance, and site management; it Offers real-time backups, malware scanning, spam protection, and site analytics and provides tools for social media integration and SEO.
5. Akismet: A plugin that filters out spam from comments and contact form submissions. It uses advanced algorithms to prevent your site from publishing malicious content and helps maintain the credibility and security of your website.
6. VaultPress: A subscription-based protection, backup, and security scanning service, Offers real-time backup and automatic security scans to protect against hackers, malware, and accidental damage, Easy restoration and file recovery functionalities.
7. WordPress VIP: A high-end hosting platform for WordPress, targeting enterprises and large-scale websites. It provides robust hosting solutions with enterprise-grade security, performance, and support, including personalized support, code review, and performance monitoring.
8. WordPress Mobile Apps: Offers iOS and Android apps for managing WordPress sites on the go; features include publishing posts, uploading photos, moderating comments, and monitoring analytics.
9. WordPress REST API: Enables developers to create applications that interact with a WordPress site, Provides a way to access WordPress data, such as posts, pages, and users, programmatically, and Facilitates the development of headless WordPress applications.

WordPress Pricing Strategy

WordPress employs a multifaceted pricing strategy that caters to a wide range of users—from individual bloggers to large enterprises. This approach maximizes market penetration, customer satisfaction, and revenue generation. Here’s an overview of WordPress’s pricing strategy.

1. Freemium Model for WordPress.com: WordPress.com offers a basic package for free, which is an effective strategy to attract new users. This package includes essential features suitable for beginners or users with minimal requirements; premium features, advanced customizations, and additional storage are available through tiered paid plans. This model encourages users to start at no cost and upgrade as their needs evolve, maximizing conversion rates from free to paying customers.
2. Open-Source and Free WordPress.org Software: The WordPress.org software is free and appealing to tech-savvy users and developers who prefer full control over their website. This strategy fosters a large community of users and developers, contributing to the platform’s growth and ecosystem; revenue is generated through recommended hosting providers, premium plugins, and themes. This allows WordPress to capitalize on its free software by creating an ecosystem where third-party developers and companies can sell their products and services.
3. Tiered Pricing for Additional Products and Services: WordPress offers various products like WooCommerce, Jetpack, and VaultPress, each with its tiered pricing plans. This strategy caters to different market segments, from small businesses to large enterprises, by offering flexible pricing based on the features and support levels required; this tiered approach allows users to select a plan that best fits their budget and needs, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Custom Pricing for Enterprise Solutions (WordPress VIP): WordPress VIP provides a custom pricing model for enterprise-level clients, which includes personalized support, high-performance hosting solutions, and extensive security features; this strategy targets high-end market segments by offering bespoke solutions and pricing, ensuring that large organizations receive the scalability, security, and support they need.
5. Add-on Sales and Cross-Selling: WordPress and its ecosystem thrive on selling add-ons like plugins, themes, and additional services. This strategy increases average revenue per user (ARPU) and enhances user experience by providing a wide range of functionalities; cross-selling between different products and services within the WordPress ecosystem encourages users to invest in complementary products, increasing customer lifetime value.
6. Annual Billing Discounts: By offering discounts on annual billing cycles compared to monthly billing, WordPress incentivizes longer commitment from users, improving customer retention and upfront cash flow; this strategy also reduces transaction costs and administrative overhead associated with monthly billing.
7. Transparent Pricing: WordPress emphasizes transparency in its pricing structure, clearly distinguishing between plans and what each offers. This approach builds trust with potential customers and aids in their decision-making process.
8. Community-driven Development: While not a direct pricing strategy, the open-source nature of WordPress.org leverages community contributions, which reduces development costs. This allows WordPress to reinvest savings into improving the platform and maintaining competitive pricing for its paid products and services.

WordPress Place Strategy

WordPress’s place strategy, focusing on how it distributes and makes its products available to users, reflects its own strategy, global reach strategy and accessibility strategy. Here’s an overview of WordPress Place strategy.

1. Online Distribution Model: WordPress operates primarily through an online distribution model, allowing users to access its software and services from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. This model supports the global availability of WordPress.org (for self-hosted solutions) and WordPress.com (for hosted solutions).
2. Global Hosting Partners: WordPress.org collaborates with various hosting partners globally, offering users recommended hosting solutions that ensure optimal performance and compatibility with WordPress software. These partnerships make it easy for users to start with WordPress, regardless of their geographical location.
3. WordPress Plugin and Theme Directory: Through its extensive online directories, WordPress provides a centralized location for users to find and install plugins and themes. This vast repository is accessible directly from the WordPress dashboard, simplifying the process of customizing and enhancing websites.
4. Community and Events: WordPress fosters a strong community presence worldwide through WordCamps and WordPress Meetups. These events are organized globally, allowing users to engage, learn, and contribute to the WordPress ecosystem in their local areas.
5. Marketplaces and Third-Party Sellers: Beyond its official channels, WordPress-related products, such as premium plugins and themes, are also available through third-party marketplaces. This extended distribution network ensures that WordPress users have Access to a wide array of tools and services, regardless of location.

WordPress Promotion Strategy

WordPress has positioned itself as the most preferred blog site. This has been done by providing some of the best products and features. The fact that WordPress offers a free blog hosting service is another marketing strategy that the company uses to woo more people. Upon being satisfied with their blog hosting services, you can easily convert your blog into a website, where you will now start paying some hosting charges depending on the package you go for. WordPress is also dedicated to ensuring that it is a future social, mobile, and application platform of choice for the future generation.

WordPress also holds conferences to educate people on what WordPress is and how to go about its programs. These conferences are called WordCamps, with the first event being the WordCamp 2006, which was held in San Francisco in August 2006. Five hundred people attended this one-day conference. After that, at least 507 WordCamps were held in 207 cities across 48 countries.

Some Recent Video ads and Print ads for WordPress are:

WordPress People Strategy

The “People” marketing aspect of WordPress’s Service Marketing Mix is crucial, reflecting the human element involved in delivering, supporting, and enhancing the WordPress platform. Here are key points about the “People” marketing mix component:

1. Diverse and Global Community: WordPress boasts a vast, diverse, and global community that includes users, developers, designers, and content creators. This community contributes to the platform’s development, provides support through forums, and shares knowledge, making WordPress more accessible and user-friendly.
2. Open-Source Contribution: The core of WordPress is built and continuously improved by volunteers from around the world. These contributors include coders, testers, UI/UX designers, and more, who work collaboratively on new releases and updates, ensuring the platform remains cutting-edge and secure.
3. Dedicated Support Teams: WordPress.com (hosted service) offers dedicated support teams known as “Happiness Engineers” who assist users with their queries and issues. This professional support ensures users receive timely help, enhancing the overall service quality.
4. WordPress Foundation and Automattic: Behind WordPress.com is Automattic, a company founded by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg. Automattic plays a significant role in supporting WordPress.com, Jetpack, WooCommerce, and other related initiatives. The WordPress Foundation, a charitable organization, aims to ensure free Access to the software projects supported by WordPress.
5. Training and Education Providers: Many trainers, educators, and institutions offer WordPress-related courses, tutorials, and resources. These contributors play a vital role in educating users on effectively using and maximizing WordPress, catering to various skill levels from beginners to advanced developers.
6. WordCamps and Meetups: The organization of WordCamps and local WordPress Meetups by community members worldwide facilitates knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration among WordPress users. These events are instrumental in building a supportive and engaging community ecosystem.
7. Plugin and Theme Developers: The ecosystem is enriched by thousands of third-party theme and plugin developers who create diverse extensions and designs for WordPress. These developers expand WordPress’s functionality and provide support and updates for their products, contributing to the platform’s adaptability and growth.

WordPress Process Strategy

The “Process” component of the Service Marketing Mix of WordPress refers to the procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities by which WordPress services are consumed. This includes how users interact with the platform, from initial setup to ongoing management and support. Below are key points detailing the “Process” aspect of WordPress:

1. Easy and Accessible Setup: WordPress offers a streamlined setup process. Users can start a website with WordPress.com with just a few clicks, while WordPress.org requires a bit more technical know-how for installation on a hosting server. This flexibility caters to both novice users and tech-savvy individuals.
2. User-Friendly Interface: The WordPress dashboard provides an intuitive interface, allowing users to easily manage content, customize designs, and install plugins and themes. This user-centric design ensures that users with minimal technical skills can effectively manage their sites.
3. Extensive Documentation and Tutorials: WordPress is supported by comprehensive documentation, including tutorials, guides, and forums, facilitating a smooth learning curve for new users and a helpful resource for advanced users. This extensive support network is critical to the WordPress process, ensuring users can find answers and solutions efficiently.
4. Automated Updates and Maintenance: WordPress offers automated updates for the core platform, themes, and plugins, ensuring sites remain secure and functional without manual intervention. This process is crucial for maintaining the health and performance of WordPress sites.
5. Community Support and Forums: The WordPress community plays a significant role in the support process, offering a platform for users to ask questions, share solutions, and collaborate on problems. Community forums and discussion groups are vital resources for peer-to-peer support.
6. Plugin and Theme Ecosystem: WordPress provides a seamless process for extending the functionality and design of websites through plugins and themes. Users can easily search for, install, and activate these extensions directly from the WordPress dashboard, greatly enhancing the site’s capabilities and appearance.
7. Feedback and Improvement Cycle: WordPress incorporates user feedback into its continuous improvement cycle, with regular updates that address security vulnerabilities, introduce new features, and improve user experience. This process ensures the platform evolves in response to the needs of its user base.
8. Hosting and Performance Optimization: The process involves choosing a hosting provider for self-hosted WordPress sites, which can significantly impact site performance and reliability. WordPress.com simplifies this by managing hosting, performance, and security, offering a range of plans to suit various needs and budgets.

WordPress Physical Evidence Strategy

The “Physical Evidence” component in the Service Marketing Mix refers to the tangible and intangible elements that help customers evaluate and feel assured about a service before, during, and after its consumption. For a digital platform like WordPress, physical evidence primarily manifests through its digital presence, user interface, and other elements contributing to its perceived value and credibility. Here are key points regarding the “Physical Evidence” of WordPress:

1. Website and User Interface: The WordPress website, both WordPress.com and the WordPress.org site, serves as the first point of contact for many users. Its professional design, ease of navigation, and comprehensive information about products and services provide a positive first impression and prove WordPress’s reliability and expertise.
2. Branding and Design Consistency: Consistent branding across its websites, products, and promotional materials reinforces WordPress’s identity and professionalism. This consistency helps in building trust and recognition among users and stakeholders.
3. Customer Testimonials and Reviews: Testimonials from satisfied users and reviews on third-party platforms serve as social proof, reinforcing the value and reliability of WordPress services. These testimonials are often featured on WordPress’s website and marketing materials.
4. Case Studies and Portfolios: WordPress showcases case studies and portfolios of websites built using its platform. It provides tangible examples of its versatility and capability in supporting various projects, from blogs to large corporate websites.
5. Security and Performance Certifications: WordPress emphasizes its commitment to security and performance through certifications and compliance with industry standards. Displaying these certifications on its website and communications proves its dedication to providing a secure and robust platform.
6. Community Engagement and Events: The vibrant WordPress community and the events it organizes, such as WordCamps and meetups, provide physical spaces (though temporarily virtual in many cases) for learning, networking, and sharing experiences. These events contribute to the ecosystem’s tangible evidence of a supportive and active community.
7. Support and Documentation: Extensive online support resources offer users concrete assistance and guidance, including forums, documentation, tutorials, and automated help tools. The quality and accessibility of these resources are crucial forms of physical evidence for the service quality of WordPress.
8. Online Presence on Social Media and Forums: WordPress’s active presence on social media platforms and various online forums provides a tangible extension of its community and customer service efforts. Engagements on these platforms reinforce its accessibility and responsiveness.

Liked this post? Check out the complete series on Marketing Mix