Strengthening The Competitiveness of Onion Cake Msmes Through The Implementation of The 7P Marketing Strategy In Rantauprapat City

Background: Competition among local food micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) requires marketing strategies that extend beyond product quality to the overall customer experience. The 7P marketing mix comprises product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. Objective: This study aimed to describe the implementation of the 7P marketing mix, describe MSME competitiveness, and analyze the relationship between each 7P dimension and the competitiveness of onion-cookie MSMEs in Rantauprapat, Indonesia. Methods: A quantitative associative cross-sectional design was used. The main analysis included 93 respondents. The independent variables were the seven dimensions of the 7P marketing mix, while competitiveness was the dependent variable. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were performed at a 5% significance level. Results: Mean scores of the 7P dimensions ranged from 18.63 to 19.17 on a theoretical scale of 5-25. Physical evidence had the highest mean (19.17±5.74), whereas price had the lowest (18.63±5.41). Mean competitiveness was 18.94±5.37. The regression model was statistically significant, F(7,85)=107.622; p<0.001, with R²=0.899 and adjusted R²=0.890. People (B=0.313; β=0.326; p=0.027) and physical evidence (B=0.364; β=0.390; p=0.002) remained positively and significantly associated with competitiveness. Conclusion: The 7P marketing mix was collectively associated with MSME competitiveness. People and physical evidence retained significant independent contributions after adjustment for the other dimensions. Strengthening service quality, human-resource capabilities, packaging, visual identity, cleanliness, and tangible business cues may therefore support the competitiveness of local onion-cookie MSMEs.