One of the major concepts in modern marketing is the marketing mix. In Principles of Marketing, Kotler and Armstrong describe the marketing mix as “the set of tactical marketing tools— product, price, place, and promotion— that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market.” These 4Ps of a product-oriented market— product, price, place, and promotion— are matched by the 4Cs of a more client-oriented market— customer needs and wants, cost to the user, convenience, and communication. Each was useful in helping my team build a good marketing strategy for our Marketing Plan Assignment.
Before evaluating the 4Cs, it is important to understand the 4Ps.
Product: the right product for customers. It is important to know what the customer wants, what needs the product satisfies, what the product looks like, what it is called, how it is branded, and how it is differentiated from competitors.
Price: the right product at the right price. It is important to know the value of the product to the buyer, the established price points for similar products, if customers are price sensitive, what discounts can be offered to segments of the market, and how price compares to competitors.
Place: the right product available in the right place. It is important to know where product should be sold and how product should be sold: directly from the company, through retailers, or through the Internet.
Promotion: the right methods to influence consumers to purchase the product. It is Important to know how product is promoted, advertised and sold, how competitors do their promotions, what the best time is for product to be advertised.
The 4Cs are extremely similar to the 4Ps but the 4Cs are customer-based. In order use these elements with success, the marketer has to think like a customer. Customer needs and wants are equal to “Product” but the product should be personalized, rather than mass marketed, to attract each customer. Also, the cost to the user should be lower than the value of satisfaction they will receive from the product. The third C is convenience; the product should be easy for the customer to access and buy. Last is communication, which is developing more compromise between the buyer and seller. Instead of marketers manipulating data to attract customers, offer availability to answer questions to increase customer’s overall satisfaction. In my marketing plan, all of these factors were useful to know because I needed to make sure my team’s product could attract consumers. Also, when we evaluated our product for the 4Cs, we found a useful marketing strategy to use in Part 2 of the Marketing Plan Assignment. Understanding and utilizing all of these Marketing Mix elements can help businesses with setting up, starting or expanding, or selling any product or service.
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