Ps and Cs of Marketing

Posted by David Guerrero

Your marketing mix is a combination of marketing tools that are used to satisfy customers and company objectives. The 4 P’s of Marketing is your marketing mix or the heart and soul of Marketing.  Marketing would not exist without the 4 P’s. 

Why are they so important? 

The 4 P’s provide the guidelines necessary to develop, sell, and promote a particular product.

Product

The company’s core product and/or service needs to be highlighted correctly in all marketing promotions.  It’s important for marketers to be aware of the bells and whistles of the product and how customers will benefit from using it.  The goal is to learn about the product and be able to highlight the benefit to the customer.  Another important aspect of the Product “P” is to understand what features are important to your customers and deliver them successfully. This “P” includes packaging, warranties, R &D, and forecasting.  It also includes researching new technology and keeping up with it.  A possible job in this area would be a Product Manager.  The main goal of the Product Manager is to develop the go-to-market strategy for their particular product.  They are experts on a particular product and can be technical at times.  The marketing team can pick their brains and get information on how to market the product.

Place

So you have a great product to sell…but where are you going to sell it?  This P is important and can’t be overlooked.  You really only have a few choices….You can sell direct or indirect…you can give options to your customers including online availability, in-store only, phone, fax, etc.  Whichever way you choose make sure it works for you!  Don’t be afraid to test different avenues and see what works best for your company.  All marketers should know how customers can purchase the product.  A possible job in this area would be a Channel Marketing Manager.  This job consists of working with channel partners (resellers) and ensuring a good relationship.  The Channel Marketing Manager would need to provide marketing tools to their partners and help them promote their products to the end user.

Price

How do you want to price your product/service? Are you looking to be on the higher end or the lower end? Is your goal to be known as high quality, high price, or average price, average quality?  All these questions need to be answered by pricing managers.  Some product managers can get involved in pricing their products.  This “P” can make or break the success of a product. You can have the best marketing campaigns…but if the price is too high and extremely higher than your competitors, you may have priced yourself out of the marketplace.

Promotion

Most marketers would agree that this is their favorite ‘P”.  It’s the P that puts it all together with creative marketing campaigns.  The promotion includes your actual marketing tactics which can consist of  social media marketing, print and on-line advertising, trade shows, PR, direct marketing, personal selling, telemarketing…It’s all in the Promotion “P”! Once you have the other P’s in place, you can start working on promotion.

And the 5th P is...

Positioning

Positioning is a new approach to communication, advertising and marketing.  It is an organized system for finding a window in the mind of your prospect in order to position effectively their product/service – against its main competitors. How you position your product/service is crucial to your brand image.  Your positioning statement should show the uniqueness about your product or company.  How will your customer benefit from using your product/service?  What are the attributes of your product and how will it solve their problem or pain point?
Taking the right product to the right place at the right price is a huge challenge for marketers.  By taking it back to Marketing 101, marketing executives can ensure that they have the pieces in place to be successful.
 

Four 'C's

Robert F. Lauterborn proposed a four Cs classification in 1993. The Four Cs model is more consumer-oriented and attempts to better fit the movement from mass marketing to niche marketing.

Product part of the Four Ps model is replaced by Consumer or Consumer Models, shifting the focus to satisfying the consumer needs. Another C replacement for Product is Capable. By defining offerings as individual capabilities that when combined and focused to a specific industry, creates a custom solution rather than pigeon-holing a customer into a product.

Pricing is replaced by Cost reflecting the total cost of ownership. Many factors affect Cost, including but not limited to the customer's cost to change or implement the new product or service and the customer's cost for not selecting a competitor's product or service.

Promotions feature is replaced by Communication which represents a broader focus than simply Promotions. Communications can include advertising, public relations, personal selling, viral advertising, and any form of communication between the firm and the consumer.

Placement is replaced by Convenience. With the rise of internet and hybrid models of purchasing, Place is becoming less relevant. Convenience takes into account the ease of buying the product, finding the product, finding information about the product, and several other factors.

Sources:

Developing your Marketing Mix

The Marketing Mix

The essence of Positioning

Marketing 101 - Getting back to basics

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