{"id":324,"date":"2020-06-04T18:15:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T18:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketersincharge.com\/?p=324"},"modified":"2021-02-10T14:11:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T14:11:56","slug":"the-5-ps-of-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketersincharge.com\/the-5-ps-of-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 P\u2019s of Marketing: What They Are and Why You Should Care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1960, Edmund Jerome McCarthy proposed the four Ps of the marketing mix in his book Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach<\/em>. His four Ps were price, promotion, product, and place. In 1980, Philip Kotler\u2019s book, The Principles of Marketing<\/em> expounded on McCarthy\u2019s proposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, several marketers have proposed a fifth P. Some have proposed<\/a> \u201cpeople\u201d as the fifth P, others have suggested<\/a> \u201cpersonalization,\u201d and Kotler himself is rumored to call his fifth P \u201cpurpose.\u201d A brave few have even recommended \u201cprofit\u201d as the fifth \u201cP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the original four Ps, and I think \u201cpeople\u201d is a fitting fifth P. But only because I\u2019m not a misanthrope, so don\u2019t take my word for it. So if you’re still reading this after my indisputable bias, let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Product<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Without a product, there won\u2019t be any marketing. Talk about a marketing mix would be wishful thinking at best, and a hallucination at worst. And products here apply whether you\u2019re a manufacturer or retailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider some quotes from business experts to support this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrice is rarely the most important thing. A cheap product might sell some units. Somebody gets it home and they feel great when they pay the money, but then they get it home and use it and the joy is gone.\u201d<\/p>Tim Cook<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.\u201d<\/p>Henry Ford<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.\u201d<\/p>Seth Godin<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Granted, if you\u2019re willing to do some research, you\u2019ll find other great quotes on why promotion, people, price, or place are the most important \u201cP\u201d in the marketing mix. It\u2019s like performing a Google search for \u201cthe most important finger.\u201d<\/em> Just so you don\u2019t run off to check, here\u2019s an overview:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
No surprise really<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some say it\u2019s the pinky finger, others say it’s the index finger, some say it\u2019s the thumb. And you know the best part? Some of these are based on studies or expert opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do you need an expert to tell you that all your fingers are important and you\u2019d rather not have any chopped off? Yeah, I thought so too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you create an excellent product people need and are willing to buy, it simplifies the other Ps in the marketing mix for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, people buy luxury cars because of their build quality and overall consumer experience. And let’s admit it, sometimes they buy it to show off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re creating or selling quality products, the price will not deter your customers, but more on that later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, research your market to identify what problems your products solve better than the competition. That will help you decide features of the product that are most valuable to your customers. Additionally, you’ll determine how to make it better than the competition and endear your customers to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever you do, don\u2019t skimp on creating a great product. You\u2019ll be happy you didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Price<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The price of your product determines what type of people will be drawn to it. And by extension, if they\u2019ll buy your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The right price for your product also enables you to decide what additional features, if any, will be made available at a particular price point or with a particular plan in the case of Saas businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the details on the pricing page for the popular project management tool Trello.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Trello
Trello pricing<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though the free plan is useful and usable, it has limited features when compared to the business class plan or enterprise plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For software or most subscription-based businesses, their price will often be determined by the features or value you\u2019ll get from your subscription. For manufacturing companies, I like to think that the prices differ because of the components used in creating the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, in the real world, it\u2019s supposed to go this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-quality products=high prices<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Low-quality products=low prices<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, that isn\u2019t always the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because some businesses can consistently maintain low production costs, so they can efficiently compete with other businesses on price. Again, this isn\u2019t a reason to underprice your products if you\u2019re sure they\u2019re valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the average cost of producing the iPhone 11 pro max<\/a> released in 2019 was an estimated $490. But the phone, depending on its storage size and whom you\u2019re buying from, sells for anywhere between $1,099 to $1,449. So while they only control 14.5% of the global smartphone market share, they took home 66% of the profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always remember:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. it is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for. A product is not quality because it is hard to make and costs a lot of money, as manufacturers typically believe.\u201d<\/p>Peter Drucker<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Still, I know, you\u2019re not Apple Inc., but when you\u2019re pricing your products, always realize you don\u2019t need to be cheap even if your cost of production is lower than the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And remember that no matter what you sell, there’s always going to be someone who charges more for an inferior product or service. Or just charges more for the same products or services. Sometimes way more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once had a client who paid an agency $20,000 monthly for content marketing services for three months. At that price they got eight blog posts of 1,500 words at most, and one lead magnet in the three months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No strategy. No promotion. No SEO. Nothing else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, on the plus side, I learned that I was seriously undercharging for my services. But at my current rates, I’m still not charging $1.67 a word\u2014at least not yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of a pricing strategy<\/a> that\u2019s most fitting for your product. Sometimes you can just simply model your base price after your competitors. That\u2019s probably why Moz, Ahrefs, and SEMRush all have their lowest plans pegged at about $100 per month if you\u2019re paying monthly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Moz
Moz pricing<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Ahrefs
Ahrefs pricing<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"SEMrush
SEMrush pricing<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, not all SEO software is priced this way. So don\u2019t copy your competitors<\/a> just because you feel like doing it, or you feel they\u2019re doing the right thing. Test different price points to determine what works best for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you create your product, you likely may know what roles other people will help you play in your business. Think manufacturers, developers, engineers, salespeople, marketers, customer service reps, contractors, freelancers, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you\u2019re launching a new product, you may need more customer service reps to handle the influx of calls and messages you\u2019ll get from customers and prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t necessarily require hiring more customer reps per se, because other members of the team who are less busy during the launch can often pitch in to help. But this will vary from business to business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It reminds me of this excerpt from a post<\/a> I wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes your competitors are not doing better than you are because of the tools and software they\u2019re using or the blogs they\u2019re reading; they\u2019re doing better because they have a better team. <\/p>

If you have a mediocre team, even if you use all the tools and software your competitors are using, you\u2019ll still get terrible results. And this applies whether you\u2019re working with an agency, freelancers, or in-house employees.\u201d<\/p>Iniobong Eyo<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Research from PWC<\/a> (opens as PDF) shows that customers are willing to pay up to 42% more for a friendly, welcoming experience. And 32% of customers will stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hire the best people. Keep them happy. You\u2019ll have happy customers. And they\u2019ll keep coming back to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Promotion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a gazillion ways you can reach your customers including but not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n