The 4 Ps basically summarize the entire concept of marketing.
Putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right
time.
These Ps act as a basic outline of what needs to be accomplished for any marketing effort to
be successful. The difficulties lie in obtaining the information and implementing the idea.
This process is sometimes called the marketing mix
The Ps
Product/ service
The key requirement of this stage is that the product or
service must fulfil a consumers need and do that better
than any competiotrs
The product phase is completed once the question,
"what can I do to offer a better product to this group of
people than my competitors" can be answered in detail.
During this section, several questions should be asked and answered
What does the client want from the service or product?
How will the customer use it? Where will the
client use it?
What features must the product have to
meet the client’s needs?
Are there any necessary features that you missed out? Are you
creating features that are not needed by the client?
Place
The positioning and distribution of the product so
that it is accessible to the target market
A strong understanding of the target
market is vital for this step as a
strong understanding leads to better
ideas on how to reach out to them
The following questions should be asked and answered in this stage
Where do your clients look for your service
or product?
What kind of stores do potential clients go to? Do they shop in a mall,
in a regular brick and mortar store, in the supermarket, or online?
How do you access the different distribution channels? How is
your distribution strategy different from your competitors?
Do you need a strong sales force?
Price
The price a consumer is willing to pay for a product. For them to pay for a product they
must perceive that the products benefits are worth the cash in their pocket
Prices cause the consumer to judge the quality of a product. A lower
price generally means a lower quality inferior good while a higher price
generally means a higher quality good.
The following questions must be answered in
this section
How much did it cost you to produce the
product?
What is the customers’ perceived
product value?
Do you think that the slight price
decrease could significantly increase
your market share? Can the current
price of the product keep up with the
price of the product’s competitors?
Promotion
Promotion is all about getting your message out and has
several different paths based upon your budget, the
message you want to send out, and your target market,
Contains the elements of sales organization,
public relations, advertising, and sales promotion
Advertising is typically paid communication
methods, such as TV ads
Public relations typically is unpaid
communication, such as a press release
These questions must be answered in this stage
How can you send marketing messages to your potential buyers? When is the
best time to promote your product?
Will you reach your potential audience and buyers through television ads? Is it
best to use the social media in promoting the product?
What is the promotion strategy of your competitors?