In addition to my previous article about Features, Needs, and Benefits, I wanted to write an update for Marketing Mix Strategies – this time speaking briefly about the 4 P’s of Marketing.

The 4 P’s consist of Price, Place, Product/Service, and Promotion. These four parameters in the marketing mix are crucial to providing the right elements to marketing success.

Price: This consists of determining the right pricing for your product or service. It is important to ensure that your price reflects the various parameters in your selling environment that could affect pricing, such as your target market and what they are willing to pay, as well as what your competition is doing. After taking all of this into consideration, you also have to ask yourself whether you can remain profitable with pricing at that level. You have to be conscious of all of these various factors in order to price your product or service correctly.

Place: Place deals with distribution and the selling channels that you would be accessing in order to get your product to your customer. For services, it is important to make yourself accessible to your customer, either by having an office that is in a good location with good exposure and parking, or if you are home based, to be accessible so that your customers can find you such as via a website, contact phone number, and so on.

Product/Service: With a product or service, the basic thing to remember is to find something to sell that fills a need. For example, if you are providing a product, then selling one that is unique or made in a better way, that can fill the needs of your customers. If you are selling a service, then providing something to your customers in a way that your competition cannot. For example, providing quality service on a more personal basis to your customers than your competition, will make you sought out by customers who would like this kind of service.

Promotion: Finding the right promotion channels for your product or service is important to get the word out about what you do, and what you are selling. There are many ideas as to what promotions should be done, however I am a firm believer in trying to get as much free promotion as possible. Why not? You might as well exhaust those options before finding out what cost effective advertising methods you can use. Word of mouth advertising and referrals are priceless – specifically because they are traditionally more trusted than paid advertising.

Some other links you might find interesting to go into more detail on the 4 P’s of Marketing are listed below – enjoy!

The Marketing Mix and 4 Ps from MindTools.com

The Marketing Mix – The 4 Ps of Marketing – by NetMBA.com