The 4 Ps of Marketing: What They Are and How to Use Them

Product Price Place Promotion. These are the four marketing mix elements. The four elements are factors that business owners must consider to launch a successful marketing campaign. They are sometimes referred to as the marketing mix or the 4 ps of marketing. This article discusses how to use the marketing mix to sell your products […]

Product

Price

Place

Promotion.

These are the four marketing mix elements. The four elements are factors that business owners must consider to launch a successful marketing campaign. They are sometimes referred to as the marketing mix or the 4 ps of marketing.

This article discusses how to use the marketing mix to sell your products or services effectively.

 

4Ps as Product, Price, Promotion and Place Marketing assessment tools written on yellow paper note pinned on cork board with white thumbtack. Business concept image with copy space available

What are the 4 Ps of Marketing?

The 4 Ps of marketing are the essential elements that business owners must consider for a marketing campaign. They serve as a strategic backbone for planning a marketing strategy for a brand.


One of the questions people ask is, “
are the 4 ps of marketing still relevant?

And the simple answer is yes. 

Although marketing has changed a lot since the 4 Ps were introduced, you can still apply the concepts to develop an effective marketing strategy for your brand. 

Understanding The 4 Ps of Marketing

The 4 Ps of marketing entail (Price, Product, Place, and Promotion). The marketing mix is like a chain in which one P links to the other and it was popularized in the 1950s.

While there have been many variations of these Ps of marketing over the years (you might have heard of the 7 ps of marketing), the basics are still the same. 

1: Product

Product in the marketing mix is the first step of every successful marketing strategy. A product refers to the item you intend to satisfy the needs of your target audience.

What exactly are you trying to sell? 

It could be a physical product like a book, a digital product like an online app, or an intangible product like a service or experience.  Your product is anything you are trying to sell to people. 

As a business owner/marketer, you must ensure that you have the right product (or the right idea for a product).  You need a complete picture of how your target audience will interact with your product before you can market them effectively. 

Here are some questions to help you find out if your product is marketable: 

  • Who is your target audience?
  • How and where will your customers use the product?
  • How will the product meet the needs of your target audience?
  • Are there some features you’ve left out on your products? 
  • How is your product different from that of your competitors?
  • How will you brand it? (Think of packaging, brand messaging, and value proposition; as these all define your products)
  • What is the most it can cost to get your profit?

4Ps of marketing for business owners:

2. Price

After the product comes the price in the marketing mix. Price strategy involves determining the value of your product among your audience and making careful calculations so that it is not too low or too high. A price that is too low will affect your profit making, and a price too high can turn off customers. 

Also, note that your price should involve the monetary value of your product and the effort and operation costs. The best pricing strategy is understanding how your customers will perceive the value of your product and connecting it with your business costs. 

Some questions to answer include: 

  • What is the value of your product or service? 
  • What other costs do you need to consider? (i.e.,  operational costs, supply costs, employee wages.)
  • Can your target audience afford to pay the price?
  • How does your price compare to your competitors? 

3. Place

A major part of the business is knowing where and how you can reach your customers and where they can buy your products. Place in the marketing mix is about figuring out how to provide easy and convenient access of your products to your customers. Consider a place in terms of brick-and-mortar stores, logistics methods, the cloud, online, and delivery fees. 

With the increased popularity of digital shopping, many business owners now focus on reaching their customers through the internet. However, that doesn’t come without its challenges. 

Some of the questions you need to answer when figuring out a place in the marketing mix include the following: 

  • Who is your target audience, and where are they based geographically? 
  • Where does your target audience shop? 
  • Where do your consumers spend more time?
  • Do they use mobile devices and the internet? 
  • What social media platforms or digital channels do they use? 
  • Would they rather shop online or in physical stores? 

Note that place also depends on where you will interact with customers and how this will influence customer experience. 

4. Promotion 

Promotion is the last of the 4 ps of marketing and one of the most important. You may have the right product at the right price, but if you don’t know how to reach your target audience, there’s a problem. Promotion refers to your brand’s marketing communications. How do you advertise your products, and which platforms will you use to disseminate the information you have to your customers? 

Marketers now have many options for advertising, including social media marketing, word of mouth, blogpost, PR, email marketing, Ads, and so on. 

Some questions you should ask when figuring out a promotion include:

  • Who is your target audience?
  • Where and when can you get your marketing message to your target market
  • When is the best time to reach your customers? 
  • What are the buyer’s persona and buying journey of your audience?
  • How do your competitors promote their products? What can you learn from them? 
  • What marketing strategy can you use to attract your target audience?

Stickers with 4Cs and 4Ps of the marketing mix on a notebook.

The 4 Ps of Marketing Example 

Now that you know the elements of the marketing mix, let’s look at some examples of the 4 Ps:

– Product

The product a company offers often depends on the type of company.Coca-Cola, for example, is a food company that provides only one kind of product: the Coca-Cola drink. 

Some companies offer multiple products. A skincare company can offer a variety of products suitable for skin health. 

Also, some brands provide services or intangible products like Netflix’s streaming services and SaaS companies’ software.

A clothing item, a bottle of coca cola, a streaming experience, and software are all examples of a product. 

– Price

Price refers to the cost of your product, services, or what you have for sale. There are various pricing structures, including one-time payments and subscriptions. 

– Place

The place is where you market your products and where your consumers buy them. In other words, place in the marketing mix the location of your business. Examples of places include social media, websites, B2C e-commerce platforms, and brick-and-mortar stores. 

– Promotion

Promotion explains how your products are marketed depending on the characteristics of your target audience. For example, a company can use influencer advertising, email campaigns, PR, social media, Google Ads, or a combination of different strategies. 

Why Are the 4 Ps of Marketing Important?

While the 4Ps of marketing may have taken different names and variations of Ps, the concept remains the same. It’s about having a great product, understanding your target audience, and promoting your products effectively. These are the basics of every marketing strategy and are necessary to help companies make strategic decisions to launch a successful product.

4Ps of marketing for business owners

Extension of the 4 P’s of Marketing

A typical marketing mix consists of four elements. However, there have been some variations of the 4 Ps over the years. One of the most popular variations is the 7 Ps of marketing which includes the original four Ps of marketing alongside three new elements. 

These three new elements are:

1: People

This involves your consumers and target audience. People explain everything about your target audience, including their behaviour, needs, appearances, buying persona, and demography. People also describe the people representing your products, including employees, sales representatives, and influencers promoting your brand. 

2.Processes

This involves your logistics and delivery strategy as customers are demanding fast delivery of what they buy. 

and

3. Physical Evidence

Physical evidence consists of your brand image and the design and layout of your workplace/website. For example, if you are selling luxury items, it must be immediately clear from your website and branding that you will deliver what you promised.

 

4Ps of marketing for business owners

How to Use the 4 Ps of Marketing

Implementing the 4 Ps of marketing is about creating the right product for the right price at the right place at the right time in front of your target audience. 

In summary, some of the ways to use the 4 ps of marketing to improve your business strategy include: 

Product: What kind of product do your customers need? If you already have a product, figure out how your product can meet your prospects’ needs. 

Price: What is your product worth, and how do your customers perceive the value of your product?

Place: Where are your customers going to get your product? What is the most convenient way to shop for your product? 

Promotion: How will you advertise your products to your target audience, and how do you differentiate your product from your competitors? 

Create a Winning Marketing Strategy 

The 4 ps of marketing is one of the oldest strategies to promote your products to your target audience successfully. 

When approaching your next marketing campaign, consider implementing the marketing mix concept by outlining the 4 Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion).

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