Marketing Basics Price Product Promotion And Place
4 P’s of Marketing
The 4 P's aren't new. They've been around since the 1950's and you probably learned them in school. But they're easy to forget once you're deep in campaigns, dashboards, and day-to-day operations. This is a quick reminder: product, price, promotion, and place are still the foundation everything else is built on.
Marketing tactics and channels will change. These four principles won't.
As the example throughout the rest of the article, a kayak manufacturer will be used.
Product
This is what a business sells, either a physical item, a service, or both. From a marketing perspective, the following will need to be determined:
How many different product variations or product lines should be sold?
Our kayak manufacturer may have determined what kayak options they would bring to the market. Some variations may include: single or tandem (for two people), sit in or sit on, use of the kayak like fishing, rapids, seafaring. Colors, lengths and accessories can also fit into this category.
How should the product or service be packaged or presented?
Perhaps the manufacturer wants to market their kayaks for everyday families. So they make their marketing material relevant to families. While kayaks are generally long, they may have a specialty line for inflatable kayaks.
As a service, they may also offer credits for their customers if they want to upgrade their kayak and offer the returned kayaks as a demo for a more affordable price.
How will it be serviced?
The kayak manufacturer may have a warranty or satisfaction policy. They may also have an extensive website with detailed information on their kayaks and other products to allow their customers to understand every aspect of their kayak or accessories.
Sometimes marketers might have involvement in products are design and which features are included based on their market research.
Price
A product's or service's price isn't just “how much stuff costs". There is more to think about than that.
If marketing is all about driving profitable action, then prices need to be set at a level the market will support.
Here are some marketing considerations with prices that the kayak company will need to consider:
What is the market rate per unit of a product?
Pricing policies requires market analysis and competitive research to determine what is a fair price for a product while considering production costs and what consumers are willing to pay. If the kayak is sold at high prices, does it match with its perceived value
How should discounts be applied and timed?
The kayak manufacturer may have promotional activities and/or promotional pricing for its partnered retailers. Should the product be put on sale at certain times of year?
Does it make sense to give customers options for payments?
A retailer for the kayak may offer financing options through their website with the help of 3rd party payment processors or other payment plans.
However the kayaks and accessories are priced, as long as they are at the right price for the customer needs, they will be purchased.
Promotion
If a product is launched but no one sees it, does it exist? Technically it does, but only taking up space.
If there is a new kayak design or accessory, it needs to be marketed so customers know it exists.
Which channels will be used to promote the product?
A marketing channel the way the product or service is being marketed from the start at the company to end at the intended consumer.
This includes online and offline channels.
Some examples of traditional marketing include: print, television, and radio. For our kayak company, television or radio may not be optimal, but printed brochures or promotional displays at outdoor fitters may work instead.
Where will it be promoted?
Online promotions include social media and Google Ads for example, but are not limited to these. Offline promotions include the traditional marketing tactics that were previously discussed. It also includes in stores promoting and at relevant events.
What message needs to be communicated?
The text, images, and imagery that is used will to tell the audience what the product is all about, and encourage them to buy it.
Some examples of the promotion strategies may include, email marketing, content marketing, or advertising with local groups that have active families.
Place
The right product needs to be in the right place for customers to find it and purchase it.
How you get the product in front of people is where marketing strategy comes in—and there are several frameworks worth understanding before choosing your channels.
Where is the product distributed?
Online then shipped or sold in retail locations.
As far as retail locations, will it be big box, like Cabela's or Academy Sports.
Will specific locations get the product?
For example, the kayaks wouldn't be sold in areas that are typically frozen year round. That wouldn't make sense at all and would be a complete waste of time, money, and resources.
Conclusion
The 4 P’s give you a framework for thinking—but turning that thinking into action is what a marketing plan is for. Here’s how to build one.
If you’re applying this to your own business and want expert support, here’s what I offer.
The 4 P's aren't glamorous. They don't make for flashy conference talks or viral LinkedIn posts. But they work. If a strategy isn't landing, going back to basics and running through these four questions usually reveals where something got missed.
It's a framework worth keeping in your back pocket.
If you've never worked on business process improvement, it's easy to think it's not worth your time or that it's too hard.
Process improvements do not have to be hard and it doesn't have to be for large or corporate companies with multiple warehouse and/or locations.
Even small businesses can benefit with simple improvements.
Simple and Easy improvements
Condense your sales cycle: At a small swim shop I worked at, we had a process for supplier labels and inventory sheets that technically worked, but we had done it so many times on autopilot that nobody stopped to ask if it could be better. A few simple changes: consolidating the labels, updating and organizing the sheet: cut down the time spent on something we were doing repeatedly. Sometimes the process that works is still worth a second look.
Excel and Google Sheets automations: Beyond filtering, functions like VLOOKUP and index matching can combine datasets automatically instead of manually cross-referencing and printing things out. If you're regularly pulling data from two sources and comparing them, that's a good candidate for automation. Less paper, less manual entry, fewer errors.
Checklists: I kept quarterly and monthly checklists for SEO tasks and competitor analysis. Repetitive work like that is easy to let slip or do out of order without a list keeping you on track. It doesn't have to be complicated: even a simple Google Sheet with checkboxes gets the job done.
Larger scale: PIM integration: A PIM (Product Information Management) system is essentially a central database for large product data sets. Instead of managing product details across multiple spreadsheets and systems, everything lives in one place and can be pulled from there. Even with a PIM in place, the day-to-day still involved importing, exporting, filtering, and working in batches: but having that single source of truth made the whole process cleaner and more consistent.
I'm a big believer that Adventure doesn't have to be those escapes to Maldives or all exclusive resorts. They are nice and no hate to them, but realistically it's not for everyone.
It's all in what you make of your current surroundings.
I often hear from people I know, “You go to all these cool places” or “You’re always doing something”. I still have down time, a full-time career, this website takes time, and I’m working on some side hustles. So keep in mind that what you see in the internet isn’t always as it seems. Again, it’s not 100% reality and as people we tend to forget that.
The Ten Adventure Tips
Tip One - Start locally and expand from there.
There are so many people that live in an area but they simply never go out and that is mind boggling to me. Take for instance, the Metro Atlanta area. There are so many things to see in and around Atlanta to do that range from yearly festivals to one-time events.
Unless you live in the middle of nowhere I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to go out and see what is beyond their four walls.
Tip Two - Timing - Take a half day and go to local festival. In my area, they typically have a Summer Concerts on Friday Nights and Thursday Movie Nights at the downtown amphitheater.
Tip Three - Do something you haven't done before as an indoor activity. Try a painting or pottery class. If that's not your thing, try axe throwing. I went with a group and it ended up being one of the more fun nights out. You don't know until you try.
Tip Four - Do something you haven't done before as an outdoor activity. One of the things on my list is a twilight hike at Sweetwater Park. I wrote this in 2019 and it's still on my list. Some things just stay on the list until they don't. The point is to keep adding to it.
Tip Five -Take mini-vacations instead of long ones throughout the year. If you're up for a weekend excursion, take an overnight trip to a local city. I'm located in the Atlanta Metro Area and my choices would be Chattanooga, TN or Asheville, NC. Up for a longer trip, take a Friday and/or Monday off. Use Google Flights or your favorite airline for cities that are just a tad farther. For me a recent trip to New Orleans was a much needed extended weekend.
Tip Six - Get creative with your money. Being adventurous, may sometimes require you to be creative with your money beforehand. I'm not talking about getting a side hustle or anything like that. If you have unlimited amounts of funds good for you, but if your funds are limited, you can still do the little things that add up. Some people car camp when they go places while others may meal prep when they are not adventuring. These are some things that allow you to have more cash to go visit places. Plus it's a good thing for your wallet anyways.
Tip Seven - You've got to be open-minded. Don't have your idea of your adventures are going be all blue skies. Expect the unexpected and when it occurs, roll with it and make the most of it. After all, anything that happens is part of the adventure.
It's the journey and not the destination.
Tip Eight - Use social media to your advantage. There are plenty Facebook Groups that are local to your city, surrounding counties or state and by interest. Some of them might be more active than others, but once you find them you'll be able to network with others and expand your adventure friends and adventure list.
Tip Nine - Be aware of your surroundings and trust your gut. There have been several times I had plans to go somewhere and something just didn't sit right, so I didn't go. That instinct is worth listening to. Do your research beforehand and play it smart.
Tip Ten - Be flexible and be prepared. Things happen: a campsite falls through, plans change, the weather turns. Keep your options open and pack for the unexpected. A small poncho takes up almost no space and the one time you leave it behind is exactly when a popup shower shows up. But when things do go sideways, roll with it. That's part of the adventure. Some of the best moments come from the plans that didn't work out.
None of this requires a big budget or a packed schedule. Start with what's around you, say yes to something new, and go from there. The rest takes care of itself.
The same framework in these tips -- start where you are, take small steps, track what is working -- is how I approach marketing strategy. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Cathy Gray is an eCommerce and digital marketing professional based in Atlanta, GA, with nearly a decade of experience helping B2B businesses sell more online. Outside of work she's chasing waterfalls, kayaking rivers, and finding dark skies to camp under.
