The Four P's of Marketing

The four P's of marketing are a "marketing mix" created by E. Jerome McCarthy in the 1960s, soon becoming a timeless marketing strategy used by all. It covers all bases for the perfect marketing campaign if used correctly. Instead of one being considered more important than the other, McCarthy theorized them all to be of the same level of priority. These four P's are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Product

The product is what your business is offering. It can be anything from a sweater to a car, but it has to be something that is in demand with the public, otherwise it probably won't sell that well. Entering an oversaturated(more supply than demand) market will be less likely to make a profit compared to a more balanced or up-and-coming one. Some things to think of when evaluating your product might include:

What problem does this solve?
Is my product unique compared to my potential competition?
Who is your target audience?

Price

Price isn't too hard, you essentially evaluate the worth of your product and how much it should be sold for. If it's too high you probably won't attract many customers, but if it's too low people will worry about the quality of your product and won't make very much of a profit.

To make sure you have a price right in the middle some things you should consider are:

What is your product's price range among your competitors?
How much do you have to invest to put your product together?
What is the minimum price you can offer without going into loss?
What is the maximum price you can put on the table without distancing yourself from your customer base?
Make sure you take into account the things that may make your product different from others, such as sustainability or added features.

Place

Location is a big factor for your product, and so is how you deliver it. You want to advertise it somewhere you know your clients will go to maximize your sales.

Let's say you're trying to sell a book, where would you see most of your audience? At a library or bookstore probably, or maybe where you would find stationery. These places would better suit your needs than some of the other available areas.

Promotion

This is how you market your products. It can be through a poster or flyers, or maybe you set up a booth somewhere to hand out freebies. Of course, in our time where everything is computerized, your options are expanded to allow for more free-flowing or hassle-free techniques. These can range anywhere from sending PR packages to influencers or an advertisement on TV. Of course, with all these options it's also important to make sure you pick the right one. If you are trying to appeal to the older generations then you might pick a more traditional form of advertisement although it would be a bit more inconvenient.

While the Four P's are the classic marketing mix, there are some others that you might find easier to work with or to be more effective based on your needs. You might have heard of them-the five C's (Customer, Company, Competition, Collaborators, and Climate), or the seven P's (Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Processes, and Physical evidence). These might be worth looking into for a different approach or if the Four P's aren't specific enough. But no matter what mix you choose, if done correctly, they should lead to the perfect advertisement campaign for you and your company. I wish you good luck on your journey. :)

Sources:

Coursera. "The 4 Ps of Marketing: What They Are and How to Use Them." Coursera, 27 July 2023, www.coursera.org/articles/4-ps-of-marketing.

Coursera. "What Is a Pricing Strategy? + How to Choose One for Your Business." Coursera, 16 June 2023, www.coursera.org/articles/pricing-strategy.