What Are the 4 Ps of Marketing?

What Are the 4 Ps of Marketing?

Let me explain the 4 Ps of marketing to you directly: they cover the key decisions you make as a business to get your product or service to market—what you're offering (product), what you're charging (price), where it's available (place), and how you're promoting it (promotion).

We often call this the marketing mix, and it's a framework I've seen businesses rely on to succeed. It started in the 1950s and laid the groundwork for marketing strategy. Over time, we've added three more Ps—people, process, and physical evidence—to handle today's marketing realities.

Key Takeaways

You need to know that the 4 Ps are the essential factors for marketing any product or service to the public. They consist of product, price, place, and promotion. This concept dates back to the 1950s, and as marketing has changed, we've identified additional Ps like people, process, and physical evidence.

Understanding the 4 Ps of Marketing

I want you to understand that Neil Borden, a Harvard advertising professor, popularized the marketing mix idea in the 1950s, including what later became the 4 Ps. His 1964 article showed how companies use advertising to engage consumers.

These ideas still hold up today, as companies use them to advertise goods and services. Borden's concepts were refined by others, like E. Jerome McCarthy from Michigan State University, who named them the 4 Ps in his book Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach.

When this concept emerged, it helped companies overcome physical barriers to product adoption. Now, with the internet, those barriers are even easier to bypass. Remember, people, process, and physical evidence extend the original 4 Ps for current trends.

Here's a tip for you: revisit your marketing strategy regularly. Your marketing mix isn't set in stone; adjust it as your product evolves and your customers change.

1. Product

You start a marketing campaign by understanding the product itself—who needs it, why, and what sets it apart from competitors. Maybe it's innovative in design or function, compelling consumers to want it.

As a marketer, your job is to define the product and its qualities, then introduce it to consumers. This definition affects distribution too—you need to grasp the product's life cycle and plan for each stage.

The product type influences its price, placement, and promotion. Successful products often pioneer their category, like Apple's touchscreen smartphone that played music, browsed the web, and made calls. Apple reported $201.1 billion in iPhone sales for FY 2024, and by 2021, they'd sold two billion iPhones with the iPhone 13 rollout.

2. Price

Price is what consumers are willing to pay, and you must link it to the product's real and perceived value, considering supply costs, discounts, competitors' prices, and retail markup.

Sometimes, you raise the price for a luxury feel or lower it to attract more buyers. Decide when discounting fits—it can boost customers but might make the product seem less desirable.

Take UNIQLO, a Japanese casual wear maker competing with Gap and Zara. They offer low-priced, fashion-forward clothes for younger buyers, but stand out with innovative, high-quality products. They buy fabric in bulk, seek the best materials globally, negotiate directly with manufacturers, and build partnerships. Outsourcing production gives flexibility, and their textile artisans ensure quality control with weekly factory visits.

3. Place

Place means where the product is available—in physical stores or online—and how it's displayed. For a luxury cosmetic, you'd aim for Sephora or Neiman Marcus, not Walmart, to reach likely buyers.

Your goal is to position products in front of the right consumers, in select stores with optimal display. Placement also covers advertising in the right media to grab the target audience.

Consider the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, which featured a BMW Z3 instead of an Aston Martin. Even though the car launched months after the movie, BMW got 9,000 orders in the following month.

4. Promotion

Promotion communicates to consumers why they need the product and that it's priced right. It includes advertising, public relations, and media strategies.

You tie promotion and placement together, especially online in the digital age—think product placement on websites, social media, and targeted ads via search functions.

Absolut vodka sold just 10,000 cases in 1980, but by 2000, it was 4.5 million, thanks to its iconic campaign with surreal bottle images like a halo or stone bottle. That campaign ran from 1981 to 2005, one of the longest ever.

How to Use the 4 Ps of Marketing in Your Marketing Strategy

The 4 Ps give you a framework to build your strategy—think through each one, and don't worry about overlaps.

Analyze your product's appealing characteristics, compare to competitors, and highlight unique qualities like durability or eco-friendliness for your target consumers.

Set the price beyond just costs plus margin—position it as premium or budget-friendly. For placement, choose stores that match your product and consumers. Promotion must reach the right audience with the right message, whether for young hipsters or professionals.

Example of the Four Ps of Marketing

Imagine a fictional organic skincare company: their products include cleansers, moisturizers, and serums made with natural ingredients, free of harsh chemicals, for healthy skin.

They price as premium to reflect quality and sustainability. Products sell via their website, organic retail stores, and high-end spas for eco-conscious buyers. Promotion highlights benefits like nourishment through social media, influencers, and educational content on non-toxic skincare.

What's the Difference Between the 4 Ps and the 4 Cs of Marketing?

You might hear about the 4 Ps as core to marketing plans, but in 1990, Bob Lauterborn proposed the 4 Cs—consumer, cost, convenience, communication—to focus on customer wants instead of company sales.

This shifts to buyer personas for consumer (product), total costs for cost (price), easy access for convenience (place), and two-way engagement for communication (promotion). There's also the 4 Es—experience, exchange, evangelism, everyplace—for memorable brand connections.

How Does Apple Use the 4 Ps of Marketing?

Apple applies the 4 Ps through product innovation in devices like iPhone and MacBook, premium pricing for affluent buyers, distribution via their stores and partners, and promotion emphasizing design and exclusivity.

How Do You Use the 4 Ps of Marketing?

Use the 4 Ps for new launches, evaluations, or optimizations—analyze product, price, place, and promotion to devise a strategy that introduces or reintroduces your product effectively.

When Did the 4 Ps Become the 7 Ps?

The 4 Ps have been central since the 1950s, but three more—people, process, physical evidence—expand it for the 21st century. People focus on representatives like influencers; process covers logistics for efficient delivery; physical evidence proves legitimacy, like a professional website and packaging.

What Are Some Examples of the 4 Ps of Marketing?

Place is where consumers discover or buy, online or in stores. Price involves competition, demand, and costs, with models like subscriptions. Product depends on the company's strengths, like McDonald's fast food. Promotion uses targeted advertising, such as Instagram or email, to reach the audience.

The Bottom Line

The 4 Ps—product, price, place, promotion—are the marketing mix, key for planning and interacting elements in your strategy. Consider them all for a holistic approach.