The 4 Ps of Marketing | Arcminute Marketing
You might know about the 4 Ps of marketing, but did you know that these fundamental principles can help small, local businesses as much as larger organizations? Those Ps are:
- Products or services: What is your business offering for customers to purchase?
- Pricing: What will customers pay across the range of goods or services you handle?
- Placement: Where do you promote your products and services? Where do you sell them?
- Promotion: What’s the best language and medium for selling to your intended customers?
Below, Arcminute Marketing unpacks how small businesses can leverage the four Ps of marketing too.
Developing Products or Services
Though it may seem obvious, the first step is to clearly identify what you sell.
Dive deeper. For example, “We sell bananas” doesn’t clarify what a banana’s value is to you or your market.
Perhaps a better description would be that your company sells portable, natural snacks that nourishes the people who eat them. They don’t require plastic coverings or other materials that will never break down. So, that humble banana peel is also a natural, biodegradable packaging.
If you’re looking at this first P, products and services, you need a keen understanding of how they benefit the customer and the world. That’s how you implement SEO best practices and identify spot-on keywords or phrases to harness customer search efforts.
Pricing Your Products and Services
Next, you must price your products or services.
As the second of the 4 Ps of marketing, pricing should consider your target audience’s income, the hours needed to develop the product or complete the service, and your profit.
Prices shape the way customers perceive you, and it’s a marketing tactic many small businesses aren’t sure how to use. The prices you choose communicate more than numbers; they demonstrate your brand’s transparency, relationship with your customers, and intrinsic value.
For example, new business owners often believe that lower prices cheapen the brand. In reality, affordability drives more sales and fuels sustainable profits. You can offer a free sample or trial to attract new customers, but only accessible products or services will sustain the relationship.
How To Place Your Products
Placement examines where your customers spend their time and money.
Where do the people you want to buy your product or service spend their spare time? How do they shop? Begin at those specific locations.
As a local business, you’ll probably explore various physical locations to network. However, your knowledge should also translate into digital platforms as your business finds its niche online.
Your local customer base likely spends time online, browsing their favorite forums or social media platforms. When you pinpoint the best sites to reach them on, you’ll start to identify more relevant marketing materials and strategies to reflect what your customers want to see.
Your customers won’t always travel to you; your brand must meet them on their terms.
Product Promotion Techniques
Once you’ve nailed down the product, price, and place to market, you can begin developing your brand’s promotional methods. However, promotional efforts don’t simply involve launching your marketing materials digitally or physically; profitability is a key focus.
How can you craft a foolproof promotional plan for your products that brings in real value for your bottom line? Start with the following:
- Lingo. Experiment with the language you use to market your brand. The words should reflect authentic interactions with your customer base where they hang out.
- Timeline. Plan your promotional efforts. Do certain things sell better at different times of the year? Save promotional content for seasons with high sales, and take a more informative approach during slower seasons.
- Relevance. Craft your brand’s presence on the platforms your customers use the most. Keep your finger on the pulse as people shift with new trends, and stay relevant.
Schedule a Discovery Call to Master the 4 Ps of Marketing | Arcminute Marketing
As a top-notch marketing agency in Plymouth, MI, we can help your brand make the most of the 4 Ps of marketing with reliable small business SEO services. Arcminute Marketing team could help you with the following:
- Redefine your products or services.
- Set fair, informed prices.
- Map out the best places to promote your brand and more!
Schedule a discovery call online or contact us at (734) 768-1096 to begin your marketing journey and grow your business today.