The 4 Ps Framework

Product: This is what is being sold. The product or service should fulfill a certain demand. If a marketer understands this demand, who wants it, and why, then they will be better at selling it.

Price: This is the cost to purchase a product. Price depends on the customer’s perceived value of the product, and it can dramatically change the marketing strategy. A lower price makes a product accessible to more customers, while a higher price appeals to customers seeking exclusivity. Either way, the price must be greater than the cost of production so your business can make a profit.

Place: This refers to where you decide to sell a product or service. Will you sell it online, face to face, in a shop, or through a mail-order? In some organisations, senior marketers refine this based on customer understanding.

Promotion: This covers advertising, direct marketing and sales promotion. Broadly speaking, promotion encompasses what is communicated, who it is communicated to, how that audience is reached, and how often promotion happens.

People: Understanding customers and prospects is vital in any effective marketing. This section was overlooked in McCarthy’s original framework but modern opportunities to target audiences have heightened its importance.

Performance: You can have the perfect campaign on paper, but you need to make sure it’s working in the real world. Every campaign needs a set of objectives to measure against, otherwise, how will you know if it’s succeeding? This could be return on investment, market share, or customer satisfaction. Whatever it is, it needs to be measurable.