If you've been in business for a while, you've probably heard of the 4 Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. These elements were introduced in the 1950s by an advertising professor named Neil Borden. They were later refined by E. Jerome McCarthy and were given the name "the marketing mix."
Product refers to the good or service that a business is selling. Price is, of course, the price or cost that a consumer is paying for said good or service. Place refers to where the consumer is buying the good or service. Although this used to be in an actual place of business, online shopping grows more and more prevalent each year. And finally, promotion includes the marketing and advertising done to promote the good or service.
As we mentioned, these Ps were introduced in the 1950s. Marketing has evolved exponentially since then, so it makes sense that the 4 Ps would evolve, too.
When we look at modern marketing, especially when it comes to digital marketing, there are 4 different Ps that we prefer to look at: permission, preferences, profile, and persona.
And although the 4 original Ps are still prevalent when it comes to commerce and traditional marketing, the scope of promoting your business has grown so huge that it simply doesn't encompass everything anymore.
Let's dive into the new 4 Ps of marketing and how your business can implement them to satisfy your customers and, most importantly, increase profits.
Permission
Why is this such an important P in the age of digital marketing?
It's the basis of every inbound marketing strategy, and it's been the cause for some serious privacy policy changes recently. (You remember the pouring of privacy policy change emails into your inboxes from every business you subscribe to, right? Circa May 2018 due to the GDPR? Even if you weren't located in the EU, this was still some pretty serious regulation.)
This was all due to the level of user data that companies can easily get access to online about consumers. And not just their own consumers, but all consumers. Without the consumers knowing.
So the number one P in the new age of digital marketing is permission.
It is essential for you to get permission to market to your audience. In the United States, we've already had the CAN-SPAM Act in place that requires businesses to have explicit consent before sending any email marketing materials. The GDPR in the EU takes that even further. It's currently only applicable to businesses within the EU, or businesses who sell to people within the EU, but it lays out guidelines that pretty much every business should follow.
Don't send marketing materials without consent. Don't be shady when getting consent. Make sure someone is explicitly submitting the information in an opt-in or checking a box when filling out a form.
Put a privacy policy on your website that states exactly what you intend to do with the information you are given in your forms, whether it's a contact form or an opt-in form.
Preferences
This is a great way to cater your marketing even more specifically to your audience. There are some businesses who have such a specialized product or service that they only have one target audience, like a downtown boutique targeting upper-income level women. Your preferences won't vary much.
But there are other businesses who sell lots of different things (like department stores, or shops carrying both men's and women's clothing), and because your customer base consists of individuals with unique wants and needs, the items they are interested in will vary.
It's good to have preferences. Does someone want to hear from you whenever you're offering sales on appliances? Do you have a newsletter for menswear and a newsletter for womenswear? Do you have a daily newsletter and a weekly newsletter?
Offering preferences when people sign up for your marketing materials is a great way to ensure you're only sending out information that pertains to them, and you're not crowding their inboxes with products and services they will never care about.
Profile
Can your customers create their own profiles on your website? This can be a powerful tool, not just for your customers to have a place to keep all their fave items, but for you to get an inside peek into what your customers are loving so you can cater your marketing even more specifically.
If you allow customers to create profiles within your business website, capitalize on this by having a section where each user fills out their likes. What are their favorites of the things you sell? Favorite colors, favorite decor style, restaurants, clothing styles, etc.
Use this information in your retargeting campaigns and email newsletters by segmenting like users together.
Persona
Last, but not least, is persona. Buyer personas are a combination of facts and fiction. You create the persona that represents a fictional person in each of your buyer groups. The details you add are factual. The more detailed the persona is, the more helpful it will be.
A well-developed buyer persona can provide structure for everything from marketing content to product development. The persona can help you understand the type of person you're targeting and helps ensure that sales and marketing will be aligned in efforts to attract your target audience(s).
Consider your customers' views of their wants and needs. Use this to your advantage. What makes your person make a purchase? This is incredibly important to a person's buyer persona, and you need to understand this about your customer.
Understanding these 4 Ps of modern marketing and how essential they are to a marketing strategy in the digital age is one of the best ways to improve your marketing strategies and increase profits. Contact us to learn more about the 4 Ps of marketing and how they can help your business.
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