“Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.” – Joe Chernov
In the 1960s, the American marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, reduced the framework of marketing down to 4 elements called "The Four Ps". Essentially, these 4 Ps explain how marketing works with each stage of the business.
Here are the four P's of marketing explained:
"Don't find customers for your products, find products for your costomers" -Seth Godin
A product is an item offered for sale. But, you will not be successful if you just start selling your product without doing market research and asking yourself a few important questions first.
Successful marketers ask themselves these questions to help their business understand the demand for the product and increase product quality. Whether you're selling cosmetics or a new video game, it's important to have a clear vision of exactly what your product is and what makes it unique. Your business should not focus solely on the product or service itself, but the number of customer reach. Overall, the more satisfied customers you have, the more revenue you will receive.
"The more you focus on the value of your product or service, the less important the price becomes." -Brian Tracy
Once you have a strong understanding of the product that you're offering, the next step is to figure out the pricing of the product. Your marketing team should check out competitors' product prices to figure out how much your customer is willing to pay. Price determinations will impact profit margins, supply, demand, and marketing strategy.
With the price, other factors need to be considered also. Today, people tend to rely on the internet when it comes to deciding what product to purchase. Delivery time and convenience play a big role in the consumer's decision to buy from you or a competitors' product.
In fact, Reanimate Web suggests building relationships with customers and getting good online reviews. Good reviews will help you gain an advantage over your competitors and may help your costumers choose your product.
Just like real estate, "location, location, location" is crucial. In real estate, for example, location inside the neighborhood will have a large impact on your home's value. The condition of a home can change, but location never will. In marketing, place deals with providing customers access to the product, and it also calls into play convenience for the customer. Where and how your customer is exposed to your product is the foundation for any successful marketer.
Today, even in situations where the actual transaction doesn’t happen on the web, the initial place potential clients are engaged and converted is online.
"Ninety percent of the success of any product or service is its promotion and marketing." -Mark Victor Hansen
How to make an audience aware of the product? Promotion is basically any interaction that your company has with the consumer. Ultimately, any online or print advertisement, brand awareness, event, influencers, social media marketing, etc. to help increase interest in your product will lead to more sales. Each touch point must be supported by a well-positioned brand to truly maximize return on investment.
While today’s marketing environment has changed greatly since the 4 Ps were established in 1960, the foundation of marketing has not. In summary, marketing intersects with all areas of a business. In the long run, by using the four P's, you can increase your business's efficiency and become a successful marketer.
If you are still struggling with your business, read our blog: Biggest Challenges for Marketers in 2018 for some extra tips.
