If you’ve been a marketing professional for years, learning about the four Ps of marketing may be an old thing for you.
However, for those of us who work in the industry but did not study marketing in college, it is entirely possible that you have not heard of the marketing mix.
Below, let’s learn about the four Ps of marketing and how they are relevant in today’s marketing landscape.
What are the 4 Ps of marketing?
The four Ps of marketing are product, price, place and promotion. These are the major factors that are involved in marketing a product or service. You keep the four P’s in mind when creating a strategy for marketing, promoting, advertising and positioning your product or brand.
The purpose of the four P’s is to help marketers consider everything about a product or service when they are deciding how to market it for their business. Building your marketing around the four P’s will help you know what the competition is doing and what customers want from you.
How to Use the 4 P’s of Marketing
You can use the four Ps to answer questions about product, price, place, and promotion of your product or service.
For example, you might ask yourself:
- product: How does your product meet your customers’ needs? What problem(s) does it solve? What unique value or features does it offer?
- price:What is the price of your product? What are my competitors charging?
- Place: Where are customers finding your product?
- promotion: How can you differentiate your product from competitors? Where can you reach your audience?
Always consider the needs and preferences of your target audience. Ultimately, your product, its price, its delivery location and its promotion strategies should be what appeals most to your customers.
Thinking about your marketing in terms of the four P’s will help you create a strategy to reach your customers. The 4 Ps of marketing are also known as your marketing mix – more on this below.
What is marketing mix?
The marketing mix is also known as the four P’s of marketing. It refers to the four key elements of marketing strategy: product, price, place and promotion. These elements guide marketing initiatives, wording, and positioning for a product or brand.
To develop a marketing mix, you need to think about how you can uniquely position your brand among the competition. The most important part of thinking about the marketing mix – or the four P’s of marketing – is understanding the customer, the competition, and your company. You will evaluate your product and how to promote it.
But getting started is not easy. That’s why we’ve created the ultimate collection of marketing mix templates that you can use to visualize your marketing mix and share it with your employees or investors. Use the template to organize your initiatives and activities by the right section.
Special Resource: Marketing Mix Templates
Click here to download the template for free,
Use the template to follow along with the 4 Ps of Marketing below.
4 Ps of Marketing (Examples)
1. The First P of Marketing: Product
When you think about your product, think about 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 like home cleaning. In fact, whatever you are selling is the product.
Then, think about your brand messaging, the services you offer, and even the 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 is important to know your product deeply so that you can market it.
product example
We’ll use Marketing Hub as an example.
What is this? “Marketing automation software helps you attract the right audience, convert more visitors into customers, and run entire inbound marketing campaigns at scale – all on one powerful, easy-to-use platform.”
who is it for? Modern marketers who manage too much data are stuck with impossible-to-use software solutions that make their work harder, not easier.
What features does it have? Marketing Hub provides 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 the data and tools under one roof.
2. The Second P of Marketing: Price
When it comes to price, you need to consider how much you will charge customers for your products or services. Of course, you need to make a profit.
When creating 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 set 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 are a luxury brand and the price is a little higher than the competition in the market. Keep in mind that pricing SaaS products is a little different from pricing physical products.
Either way, the language you use to market your product will greatly impact the price of your product.
Download Free Sales Pricing Calculator,
value example
As you grow, the price of Marketing Hub grows with you.
We offer the following membership levels:
- $800/month (professional)
- $3,200/month (Enterprise)
3. The Third P of Marketing: Place
When it comes to place, it can mean the physical location of your company, but it can also be defined as the place where you sell your product, which could be online.
Is where you market and distribute your product.
Remember that not every location makes sense for every product. For example, if your target market is senior citizens, it wouldn’t make sense to market on TikTok. It is important to choose the right locations to market your product and meet your customers where they are.
Think about potential distribution channels and outlets you can use to sell your product. Be sure to keep in mind whether your business is B2B or B2C.
At this point, you’ll need to think about how to market your product on all the different channels that make sense for your company.
location 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 have created a convenient sign-up page for a free subscription – 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 the time when you will think about how to promote and advertise your product.
Additionally, you will discuss brand messaging, brand awareness, and lead generation strategies.
When it comes to promotion it is extremely important to keep communication in mind. What messages will resonate with your target market? How can you best promote your product to them?
Think about where, when and how you will promote your brand.
promotion example
We want to be where the marketers are. Most importantly, we want to help them advance their careers – while also growing their businesses.
Our inbound marketing strategy will primarily focus on organic acquisition. We will promote Marketing Hub on the following channels:
The 4 Ps of Marketing Examples: Apple and Elf Cosmetics
Let’s break down the 4 P’s of marketing for Apple and Elf Cosmetics.
Apple
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- product: iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watch, AirPods, software and services (i.e., Apple Music, Apple TV, iTunes, etc.).
- price: Apple products are often priced high in the market. The brand commands premium pricing due to its reputation for innovation, quality and design.
- Place: Consumers can purchase products online and from retail stores. Apple products are sold worldwide and have a significant presence in the global market.
- promotion: Apple places emphasis on building a dedicated and loyal consumer base. Their marketing campaigns reinforce the idea of being part of the “Apple ecosystem”. Once users buy one product – such as an iPhone – they are more likely to choose other Apple products such as MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch and others. This ecosystem fosters deep brand loyalty. This sense of loyalty is evident in their product launches, which are a must-see event in the tech industry.
Yogini Cosmetics
,image Source,
- product: Elf offers a wide range of makeup and skin care products, brushes and beauty tools.
- price: One of the main value propositions of Elf is its affordability. Many of their products are low priced, making the brand accessible to a wide range of consumers. Its low price sets it apart from other brands in the beauty sector.
- Place: Elf products are widely available in drug stores and big-box retailers like Target and Walmart. It also has a strong online presence, selling products directly on its website and through other online retailers.
- promotion: As a challenger brand in the beauty sector, Elf wants to establish itself as a recognizable and reliable option in drugstores and beyond. The brand is active on social media including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to connect with the youth demographic. Additionally, their campaigns often include user-generated content to foster a sense of community with their audience.
back to you
Even though marketing has changed since the four P’s were developed, the fundamentals of the industry have not. You can apply the concepts of the marketing mix to create winning marketing strategies that help you launch and promote your company’s products profitably.