The 4 P's of marketing and how to use them in your strategy (2023)

What are the 4 Ps of Marketing?

The four Ps are key considerations that must be carefully considered and wisely implemented to successfully market any product or service. They are product, price, place and promotion.

The four Ps are often referred to as theMix de Marketing🇧🇷 They cover a range of factors taken into account when marketing a product, including what consumers want, how the product or service does or does not meet those needs, how the product or service is perceived in the world, and how its performance sets it apart from competitors. . the competition and how the company that manufactures it interacts with its customers.

Since the introduction of the four Ps in the 1950s, other Ps have been identified, including people, processes, and physical evidence.

Understand the 4 Ps of Marketing

Neil Borden, a professor of advertising at Harvard, popularized the idea of ​​the marketing mix - and the concepts that later became known primarily as the four Ps - in the 1950s. His 1964 article "The Marketing Mix Concept" demonstrated the ways in which businesses can use advertising tactics to attract their customers.

Decades later, the concepts popularized by Borden are still used by companies to advertise their products and services.

Borden's ideas have been developed and refined over several years by other key players in the industry. E. Jerome McCarthy, professor of marketing at Michigan State University, refined the concepts in Borden's book and called them the "four Ps" of marketing. McCarthy co-wrote the bookBasic Marketing: A Management Approach, further popularizing the idea.

When the concept was first introduced, it helped companies overcome physical barriers that could hinder widespread adoption of the product. Today, the Internet has helped businesses overcome some of these hurdles.

People, processes, and physical evidence are extensions of the original Four Ps and are relevant to current marketing trends.

These are the 4 Ps of marketing

1. Product

Creating a marketing campaign starts with understanding the product itself. Who needs it and why? What can it do that no competing product can? Maybe it's a brand new thing and it's so attractive in its design or function that consumers just have to have it when they see it.

The marketer's job is to define the product and its characteristics and present it to the consumer.

The definition of the product is also the key to its distribution.merchantthey need to understand a product's lifecycle, and leaders need to have a plan for handling products at each stage of the lifecycle.

The type of product also partly determines how much it will cost, where it will be placed and how it will be advertised.

Many of the most successful products were first in their category. For example, Apple was the first company to develop a touchscreen smartphone that played music, browsed the Internet, and made phone calls. Apple reported total iPhone sales of $71.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022.In 2021, Apple reached the mark of 2 billion iPhones sold.

2. Preis

Price is the amount consumers are willing to pay for a product. Marketers must link price to the actual and perceived value of the product, while also considering acquisition costs, seasonal discounts, competitor pricing, and retail profit margin.

In some cases, corporate decision makers may increase the price of a product to give it the appearance of luxury or exclusivity. Or they can lower the price for more consumers to try.

Marketers also need to determine when and if discounts are appropriate. A discount can bring in more customers, but it can also make the product seem less desirable than it once was.

Headquartered in Japan, UNIQLO is a global casual wear manufacturer. Like its competitors Gap and Zara, UNIQLO creates stylish, affordable clothing for younger shoppers.

What makes UNIQLO unique is that its products are innovative and of high quality. This is achieved by purchasing fabrics in bulk, constantly seeking out the highest quality and most affordable materials in the world. The company also deals directly with its manufacturers and has established strategic partnerships with innovative Japanese manufacturers.

UNIQLO also outsources its production to partner factories. This gives you the flexibility to switch production partners if your needs change.

Finally, the company employs a team of experienced textile artisans that it ships to its partner factories around the world for quality control. Production managers visit factories once a week to resolve quality issues.

3. Platz

Location is a consideration of where the product will be available, in stores and online, and how it will be presented.

The decision is critical: Luxury cosmetics makers want to be listed on Sephora and Neiman Marcus, not Walmart or Family Dollar. The goal of business leaders is always to get their products in front of the consumers most likely to buy them.

It just means putting a product in certain branches and displaying it in the best possible light.

The term positioning also refers to promoting the product in the right media to grab the consumer's attention.

For example, the 1995 filmgolden eyeit was the 17th installment in the James Bond film series and the first without Aston Martin. Instead, Bond actor Pierce Brosnan got into a BMW Z3. Although the Z3 wasn't released until months after the film left theaters, BMW received 9,000 orders for the car in the month following its theatrical release.

4. Promotion

The purpose of advertising is to convey to consumers that they need this product and that it is reasonably priced. Promotion includes advertising, public relations, and the overall media strategy for launching a product.

Marketers tend to combine promotional and positioning elements to reach their core audience. For example, in the digital age, the factors “location” and “funding” are as online as they are offline. Specifically, where a product appears on a company's website or social media and what types of search features trigger targeted ads for the product.

Swedish vodka brand Absolut sold just 10,000 cases of its vodka in 1980. By 2000, the company had sold 4.5 million cases, thanks in part to its iconic advertising campaign. The campaign images featured the brand's signature bottle in a series of surreal images: a bottle with a halo, a bottle made of stone or a bottle shaped like a tree on a ski slope. To date, Absolut's campaign remains one of the longest running ongoing campaigns of all time, running from 1981 to 2005.

How to Use the 4 Ps of Marketing in Your Marketing Strategy

The four Ps provide a framework on which to base your marketing strategy. Think about each factor. And don't worry if the factors overlap. This is unavoidable.

First, analyze the product you are going to market. What qualities make you attractive? Consider other similar products already on the market. Your product could be stronger, easier to use, more attractive, or more durable. The ingredients can be ecological or from natural sources. Identify the qualities that make you attractive to your target customers.

Think about the reasonable price of the product. It's not just the cost of production plus a profit margin. You might be positioning it as a premium or luxury product, or as a cost-effective alternative.

Positioning is about identifying the type of online and offline businesses that offer products like yours to customers like yours.

Ads can only be viewed in the context of your target consumer. The product could appeal to a younger crowd, or luxury professionals or bargain hunters. Your media strategy needs to reach the right audience with the right message.

the end result

The four Ps of marketing - product, price, location and promotion - are often referred to as the marketing mix. These are the key elements involved in planning and marketing a product or service, and they interact significantly with each other. Taking all these elements into account is one way to:holistic marketing strategy.