Tom Nook, the tanuki/racoon dog in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing made his trillions by following the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix. 

The Marketing Mix refers to key elements – Product, Price, Place and Promotion– that need to be present when planning and promoting a marketing product or service. 

I am going to explore the Marketing Mix, so you can understand how it fits into your business, how to utilise it to your advantage and see exactly how Tom Nook used it to his advantage to make his trillions. 

How Tom Nook Used the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix: A Success Story

If you have ever played Animal Crossing, you will know that Tom Nook is the founder and owner of Nook Inc. He also runs resident services in New Horizons where he is in charge of the development of the island. 

Tom Nook is a very successful entrepreneur, and one thing he got right, was the ability to ensure the correct elements of the marketing mix were used to ensure the successful running of his empire. 

Let’s explore them. 

Tom Nook Established The ‘Product’ Early On

The Product is perhaps one of the most important elements of the Marketing Mix, as without it, what do you have? 

The Product is what lets you communicate with your target audience, and makes the chance of a sale entirely possible. 

Do you have one product or many? What unique value proposition does it, or do they provide? The Product should serve specific needs, and solve specific problems, and if it doesn’t then it is unlikely to be a success. 

In New Leaf, Tom Nook owns the town shop and Nook Homes. In New Horizons, he runs resident services. Some say he’s a Con Artist, a Slumlord, while others accuse him of being a Capitalist Crook. 

Either way, Tom Nook understands his customers’ needs. 

Below are some questions you can consider when establishing your product early on. 

  1. What Value Proposition does my product and/or service provide?
  2. What features should it provide?
  3. Have I understood my potential customers’ pain points? 
  4. How will my potential customers use it? 
  5. What will my product be called? 
  6. How does it stand out in comparison to the competition? 

Tom Nook’s Pricing Strategy Places Value On His Business

Let’s face it. All Animal Crossing players are indebted to Tom Nook the minute they arrive on his island. 

Do you want to upgrade your house? No problem, but it’ll cost you a total of 5,696,000 bells! And the last loan you require for that final house upgrade will cost you all your previous loans combined!

It’s pretty obvious Tom Nook went for a premium pricing strategy. 

But why choose premium? 

It shows that your product/service is of high quality. 

Pricing is extremely important to get right, as it will essentially dictate whether your business is going to be a success or not. 

Tom Nook has 38 million customers today. 

Here are some important questions for your consideration when setting the Price of your Product. 

  1. What pricing strategy should I go for? Premium, Skimming, Economy, or Skimming? 
  2. Have you considered the costs for production and delivery?
  3. Does your pricing take into account any ups and downs in the market? 
  4. Is your pricing strategy representative of the quality of your product?
  5. Is your product of better quality than the competition? 
  6. What does the competition charge? 
  7. Should I consider different pricing levels? 
  8. Can I afford to set my price based on its Value Proposition?

Tom Nook Takes Advantage Of Several Placement Options

As soon as you have your Product and Pricing sorted, the next option is to consider where and how people are going to purchase your product or service. 

Tom Nook ensures his products and services are in the right place, at the right time. Villagers can easily access the local shop run by his apprentices Timmy and Tommy, identical twin racoons. 

Alternatively, if you need to pop by residential services, you can be sure to reach there within a few seconds to run from your house. 

Need to enquire about Nook loans? How about accessing the Automatic Bell Dispenser? Or do you want to purchase something from the Nook Shop catalogue? 

Tom Nook has ensured that his customers can access his product and services in a number of ways, which optimised the customer experience. 

Below are some questions you can consider when thinking about the Placement of your Product. 

  1. Where do your customers go to purchase your products and services?
  2. Do you have Primary and Secondary buyers, and who are they?
  3. Can you sell your Product online or offline, or both?
  4. Do you sell your product directly to businesses or to consumers?
  5. Where are your competitors or are you a ‘Blue Ocean?’ 

Tom Nook Knows How To Promote His Products, And Himself 

Visit Nook’s Cranny, and Timmy and Tommy will literally invade your personal space, following you everywhere, piling the pressure to buy something. 

I don’t recommend this sales tactic by the way, but, it’s an effective sales tactic nonetheless. 

And it’ll cost you 10,000 bells to purchase a house kit, but you will immediately start earning on the Nook Miles Scheme. Plus, there is nowhere else you can purchase a house, and not have to pay interest fees with deadlines. Seem like a good deal?  

Here are some important questions you can ask yourself when thinking about Promotional channels. 

  1. What channels will you use to promote your product?
  2. What social media networks can you use?
  3. Should you only use certain social media networks?
  4. Are there any influencers in your industry who can amplify your product?
  5. What do your competitors do? What channels do they use? 
  6. Do your competitors have a good following on social media?
  7. Can I benefit from using SEO?
  8. Are there events I can take part in to promote my product? 
  9. Can I utilise Advertising and Public Relations?

Conclusion

Hopefully, by the end of this blog, you will understand the importance of the Marketing Mix, and how you can best use it to your business advantage. 

Even if you have an established product already, it is beneficial to go through the questions above for each category of the 4Ps, to ensure there is nothing you have missed out, on and that your Product serves the needs of your customers. 

There are many more strategic exercises that can benefit your business, which is why Marketing Strategy is so important. However, it’s the one aspect that is so commonly ignored. 

If you would like to explore my consultancy options, please do get in touch.

Image Credit: FT.com