The 4 P’s of marketing in the digital age

As marketers, we should be changing the mantra from ‘always be closing’ to ‘always be helping’ - JONATHAN LISTER

The marketing mix and the Four P’s (product, placement, price, promotion), had been circulating in the marketing and advertising worlds for over a decade. Its influence has spurned multiple theoretical offshoots, including Lauterborn’s Four C’s (consumer, cost, communication, convenience) and Shimizu’s Four C’s (commodity, cost, communication, channel).

As traditional marketing has given way to (and merged with) digital marketing, many people dismiss the Four P’s as irrelevant, outdated, fit for the antiquated consumer but not the modern one. Let’s dive into how each P can be applied to marketing in the digital age.

Product = Presentation

This first P in the 4 P’s equation is your product.

Before you can determine price, choose promotion or find a placement, you have to have a product that has potential. The modern consumer has more choices and can access them in the digital space with mind-blowing speed. There are millions of reviews, opinions, and caveats to consider, all at the click of a button. In the digital age, “Product” is no longer just about meeting demand among your customers. Every product and service has to first reflect the nuanced experiences and wishes of your customer and do it better than your competitor.

Place = Presence

The second P stands for Placement and concerns how and where you position your product or service to the public.

The place is all about knowing where your customer is, and carefully inserting your product in that space so that they will find it, be interested, and eventually buy. In the digital age, Placement can be influenced by several sophisticated research techniques, such as ethnography, vast swaths of online research, and stats on the changing tastes and trends in different geographical locations.

Price = Premise

The third P stands for Price. In the marketing mix, Price should encompass a variety of carefully researched factors.

A brand is defined by every experience around it, not just by-products. It needs to be remembered that good results are achieved through thorough planning and execution. The world of payment models, as seen through formats like freemium and premium has led some companies to believe they must deliver each and every possible option to customers. These elements will help you arrive at the cost that is most attractive to your customer while also being optimally profitable for your company.

Promotion = Personalisation

Finally, we arrive at the last P of the Four: Promotion.

Promotion is another element that is heavily influenced and transfigured by the unique environment of the digital age. In the past, promotion consisted of brand-created messages, with every brand claiming its products were the best. But today, a brand is what consumers say about it.

When you’ve conceived a great product, determined the right price, placed it appropriately, and promoted it well, the sky is the limit for your success.