The Times are Changing: The Four P's are Dead

The Times are Changing: The Four P’s are Dead

A lot of business owners would know about the 4 P’s – Product, Promotion, Price and Place – but in these challenging economic times say goodbye to the conventional way of doing marketing. The four P’s are DEAD!

The four P’s ‘push’ approach is finished. In an ever so complex marketplace and uncertain economic climate how can this conventional way of pushing customers to the sale be justified? The truth? It CAN’T! The age of instantaneous and interactive informations has turned the four P’s on its head. The speed of transactions is faster, more dynamic and happening real time. The world is moving into a more demand-based view. Customers are exposed to large amounts of ads every day. So how do you make your product stand out and above the rest?

EASY. You customize your product to suit each customer’s needs.

How to Change to the New Era of Marketing – The 4 C’s:

• Product ¡ Co-created solutions and experiences. Work with the customer to captivate and engage them.
• Promotion ¡ Communication with communities. Customers want interconnected. interactions with like-minded people not just information. Social communities are the new-age promotion channel.
• Price ¡ Customisable personal value. Give each individual customer something that they want and suits them.
• Place ¡ Choice and convenience. Make sure your product can reach your customers. Use the internet and be online 24/7.

The customer is no longer the object of a sale, selling a service, or the subject of some department loyalty scheme. You as a business owner must capture what is important to the customer and understand the shift from the 4 P’s to the 4 C’s.

Here’s a good example...
Dell, the computer manufacturer, offers basic to customized computer packages at reasonable prices for personal, home or business use. With no actual Dell store you don’t need to worry about opening or closing hours. They are 24/7 as you can order from their website. Not only do they cater for your basic needs but you can customise your computer by adding more advanced hardware at the click of a mouse. If you want it they will give it to you.
As business owners you must act as servers of customers not suppliers of products/services. Create customisable value and keep on giving.

10X Tips for how you can incorporate the 4 C’s into your business:
1. Work with customers to create products that they want.
2. Go online and create a group on a social network site about your product or business.
3. Give the customer more choices of your product whether it be colour, shape or size.
4. Get you business operating 24/7 worldwide – make a website where customers can buy your products.
5. Build your products so customers can customise it to suit their budget.