Question

Why and how should the four positions of marketing be aligned to support the organization's business strategy?

Answer 1

When developing your next marketing strategy, consider the four Ps of marketing, much like links in a chain. When one link moves, it affects all other parts of the chain, leading to other movements. The links work in relation to each other. While other Ps have been developed over the years by business and economic experts, these four Ps are respected as the foundation for marketing programs. The four Ps are: product, price, place and promotion. Because they work together, their order is of no consequence.

Product: Products exist to solve a problem or a need that a consumer has or may realize that he has. The iPhone makes life easier by having everything you need to access in one small unit that accompanies you everywhere. Until the iPhone came along, people didn't realize they needed one, but Apple has excelled at helping consumers discover their need to simplify life by having a phone, calendar, search engine. camera, calculator, GPS, voice, weather guide, and more, all in one product.

Price: Price is what the consumer pays. Some industries garner only a small markup on price, while others have huge profit margins, because they are highly sought after. Price is affected by sales cycles, product life cycles, supply and demand. Business strategies might consider a cost leadership strategy by trying to beat the market with the lowest price, or a business strategy might choose to inflate the price, based on a luxury component or brand image.

Place: As a strategy, place has become a more significant component of marketing success. Place involves where the product is stored, perhaps even where it is manufactured. The internet has created a dramatic evolution of where products are sold and distributed, from small, local companies to global. This strategy also considers where the product is advertised and in which format, including radio, infomercials, magazines, online ads, and even in film product placements.

Promotion: This strategy component is tied directly to the other three Ps. The promotional strategy aims to show consumers why they need to buy this specific product over others. Timing heavily influences the amount of promotional marketing, and when. It may also adjust the location, such as commercials during football season games that target pizza delivery deals. It may try to entice consumers to try a product with an irresistible promotional or introductory offer.

These Four Ps really boil down to what you're selling for how much where, and what methods you will use to let consumers know about it. Building the marketing mix with these in mind is the next step.

Building Your Marketing Mix
When building your marketing mix, consider the target consumer. By asking the right questions in the Four Ps, you will develop the right consumer profile. For example, if the Product is a new fat-burning supplement, you will consider the demographics and who is most likely to want to lose weight, using a supplement. Assuming that this group consists of women, you may need to consider the timing before you consider the price, place and promotion.

Assuming that women want to get rid of holiday weight and get ready for the summer bikini season, the sales cycle would revolve around New Year's resolutions, as well as late Spring, when women are thinking about summer vacation. If you are selling the product online, you might consider a higher price with free shipping, so women will feel that they are getting a better value. With Place being online, you are free to market on national television commercials, perhaps even putting an infomercial on specific networks that women primarily watch. You could also do targeted ads on social media and on various websites, discussing women's topics.

This strategy incorporates all the components of the Four Ps in marketing. But it does so in a very specific way that's tailored to your specific product's ability to serve a highly targeted consumer. All marketing must target how a product or service solves a customer need.

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