If you've been a marketing professional for years now, learning about the four Ps of marketing might seem like a throwback to you.
However, for those of us who work in the industry but didn't study marketing in college, it's entirely possible you haven't heard of the marketing mix.
Below, let's learn about the four Ps of marketing and how they're still relevant in today's marketing landscape.
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The four Ps are meant to help marketers consider everything about a product or service when they're deciding how to market it for their business. Framing your marketing around the four Ps will help you learn what the competition is doing and what customers want from you.
You can use the four Ps to answer questions about the product, price, place, and promotion of your product or service.
For example, you can ask yourself:
- Product: How does your product meet your customer's needs?
- Price: What is the value of your product?
- Place: Where are customers looking for your product?
- Promotion: How can you differentiate your product from competitors?
Thinking about your marketing in terms of the four Ps will help you strategize how to reach your customers. The four Ps of marketing are also known as the marketing mix.
To develop a marketing mix, you'll need to think about how you can uniquely position your brand amongst the competition. The most important part of thinking about the marketing mix — or the four Ps of marketing — is to understand the customer, the competition, and your company. You'll evaluate your product and how to promote it.
But getting started isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve created the ultimate collection of marketing mix templates you can use to visualize your marketing mix and share it with your employees or investors. Use the templates to organize your initiatives and activities by the right section.
Featured Resource: Marketing Mix Templates
Click here to download the templates for free.
Use the template to follow along with the 4 Ps of marketing below.
The 4 Ps of Marketing (Example)
1. The First P of Marketing: Product
When you think about your product, consider exactly what you're selling. Is it a specific product? Or is it a service? Your product can be a physical product, an online app, or a service such as house cleaning. Really, anything that you're selling is the product.
Then, think of your brand messaging, the services you offer, and even packaging. When you define your product, think about what problem your product solves for your customers. Consider how your product is different from competing products. What features are unique to your product?
It's important to know your product intimately so you can market it.
Product Example
We’ll use Marketing Hub as an example.
What is it? “Marketing automation software to help you attract the right audience, convert more visitors into customers, and run complete inbound marketing campaigns at scale — all on one powerful, easy-to-use platform.”
Who is it for? Modern marketers who juggle too much data and who are stuck with impossible-to-use software solutions that make their job harder, not easier.
Which features does it have? Marketing Hub offers blogging, SEO, social media management, email marketing, and ad tracking tools in a single, intuitive platform.
What problem does it solve? Marketing Hub simplifies the marketing automation process for busy marketers by bringing all data and tools under one roof.
2. The Second P of Marketing: Price
When it comes to price, you have to consider how much you're going to charge customers for your products or services. Of course, you need to make a profit.
When coming up with your pricing strategy, you also need to think about what competitors are charging for the same product or service and how much customers are willing to pay. You can also think about what discounts or offers you can use in your marketing.
When you decide on a price, you want to think about perception. Do you want to be known as a cost-effective option in your industry? Or perhaps you're a luxury brand and the price is slightly higher than competition on the market. Keep in mind that pricing SaaS products is a little different than pricing physical products.
Either way, the language you use to market your product will be greatly impacted by the price of your product.
Download a sales pricing calculator for free.
Price Example
Marketing Hub is priced to grow with you as you grow.
We offer the following subscription tiers:
- $0/month (Free)
- $45/month (Starter)
- $800/month (Professional)
- $3,200/month (Enterprise)
3. The Third P of Marketing: Place
When it comes to place, this might mean the physical location of your company, but it could also be defined as anywhere you sell your product, which might be online.
The place is where you market and distribute your product.
Remember that not every place makes sense for every product. For example, if your target market is seniors, then it won't make sense to market on TikTok. It's important to choose the right places to market your product and meet your customers where they're at.
Think about possible distribution channels and outlets you could use to sell your product. Be sure to take into account whether your business is B2B or B2C.
At this point, you'll need to think about how to market your product on all the various channels that make sense for your company.
Place Example
As a provider of a SaaS product, we offer Marketing Hub directly on our website.
Marketers can sign up for Marketing Hub by creating an account directly on our platform. We’ve created a convenient sign-up page for free subscriptions — or they can request a demo from our friendly sales team.
4. The Fourth P of Marketing: Promotion
Promotion is the bread and butter of marketing. This is when you'll think about how to publicize and advertise your product.
Additionally, you'll discuss brand messaging, brand awareness, and lead generation strategies.
When it comes to promotion, keeping communication in mind is of the utmost importance. What messages will resonate with your target market? How can you best promote your product to them?
Think about where, when, and how you'll promote your brand.
Promotion Example
We want to be where marketers are. Most importantly, we want to help them grow in their careers — as well as grow their businesses.
Our inbound marketing strategy will focus primarily on organic acquisition. We’ll promote Marketing Hub over the following channels:
Use the 4 Ps of Marketing to Create a Winning Marketing Strategy
Even though marketing has changed since the four Ps were developed, the foundational elements of the industry haven't. You can apply the concepts of the marketing mix to create winning marketing strategies that help you profitably launch and promote your company’s products.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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