Does your marketing start and end with promotion?
Toss out the word marketing, and it’s nearly a sure thing that, while those around the table smile and nod, each has a different idea of what you’re talking about.
In decades of leading strategic marketing discussions, I’ve found many view marketing as synonymous with sales. While for others, the mention of marketing sends visions of advertising and PR campaigns dancing through their heads. Neither is wrong, and neither is completely right.
Promotion is an essential part of marketing’s four Ps. But leave it there, and you’ll be three Ps shy of a full load.
What are those four Ps? They’re Product, Pricing, Place, and Promotion.
The concept of marketing’s four Ps evolved through the 1940s. And, while some today suggest the concept is out-of-date in the modern world, I believe they’re foundational and completely relevant. Though in a modern digital and service-oriented economy, they are approached in new ways.
This may be a good place to remind my friends in public service that the four Ps are relevant to achieving your mission even if you don’t use the word “marketing” in your planning.
So, let’s walk through the four Ps and discuss why each is essential to your success.
1. Product
Mention product, and we’re likely to think of something tangible, such as a smartphone, new car, or cheeseburger. We may also think of services provided by lawyers, accountants, and retirement plans.
We’ve talked a lot on this podcast about the need to listen to the voice of your customer. Never is this more relevant than in developing products, services, and education programs for those you wish to serve.
What problem are you solving for them? And, as we discussed in our Gloves & Socks for Christmas post, do your targeted customers want what you know they need.
Often, I’ve seen more resources thrown at promotion – sales, PR, and advertising – after a product fails to meet expectations. While promotion can help a consumer discover a real need for your product, it cannot overcome weak product design decisions, including failure to understand the demographics and psychographics of those you wish to serve.
Get the product design right, and the other four Ps often can be adjusted to make it successful. Get it wrong, and you may not be able to give your product or service away.
2. Price
On its face, pricing strategy may seem relatively simple: How much to charge for a product or service, based on the cost to provide it, plus an acceptable margin.
But the real issue is one of value for the resources people must exchange to access your product or service. This includes both the out-of-pocket expense and the required level of effort and engagement.
We all have finite resources – time, talent, and treasure – balanced against the tyranny of our demanding needs and the gratification of our wants. What are you asking your consumer to give up in exchange for your product or service?
A consumer holding down two jobs to support a household of hungry children is likely to have a shortage of both cash and time. Even a free service that requires a considerable time commitment could be a non-starter for this struggling parent.
Even those with an abundance of both cash and time must trade some of these resources for your product or service. Their question may not be whether you have an excellent product, but if the price is worth it to them.
Understanding this trade-off of value for resources is essential, and choice modeling market research can be effective in helping you get the product and price right.
3. Place
Up until the pandemic hit, there were those who said the old-school concept of place – delivering the product to the consumer – had been made obsolete by the world of digital shopping and just-in-time inventories delivered straight from overseas to your front door.
Consider all the ways you accessed goods and services before 2020. You probably met your insurance agent face-to-face and bought the bulk of your groceries in a brick-and-mortar store. Retirement counseling and workshops were primarily in-person. Yet, in a matter of weeks, the world scrambled to make services available via Zoom meetings and webinars.
The logistical challenges that brought us shortages in everything from Fritos to toilet paper underscore just how essential the discussion of place – the delivery of goods and services – is to marketing.
This is all about consumer convenience — the effort required to take delivery of the good or service. In retirement services, some segments readily adapted to online counseling and webinars. Others reluctantly used online services. And some chose to receive no services rather than accessing them online.
It is hard to say which parts of the product and service delivery revolution are here to stay and what changes are yet to come. But clearly, the P of place requires extreme adaptability and flexibility now and in the future.
4. Promotion
Much of what you need to know about the promotional stage is included in two posts: Four steps to successful campaigns and Awareness is not enough. You can find both on my website or wherever you access podcasts.
While this is often the first step committees jump to when considering marketing, promotion is completely dependent on the success of the product, price, and place stages. So, get your promotional team leaders involved from the beginning.
Make sure your marketing plans begin with a solid foundation in product, pricing, and delivery strategy. Don’t let your promotion stage be three Ps shy of a full load.
