In the world of marketing one of the helpful mnemonics which we may well encounter is known as The Four ‘P’s. This refers to the four factors which exist in any marketing strategy or business project. The ‘P’s are:
- Product
- Place
- Promotion
- Price
These are a bit like the Dramatic Unities which playwrights relate to in the construction of their stage works. It’s a set of values which binds everything together and makes it all work; – similarly with the Four ‘P’s.
Product: – The greatest difference between traditional marketing and internet marketing is the relatively low cost involved in starting a business. In the traditional marketplace, products have to be created and/or sourced so that the trader holds sufficient stock to deal with demand. In an internet business products can be produced for very little cost, indeed, it is possible to create high value products with almost no financial outlay whatsoever. With an internet business, products are sourced after the order is made and paid for. Most online business is built around information publishing; reports, CDs, DVDs, digital products, etc. and these can be generated very easily and cheaply as and when they are required. There is no need to hold stock. If just one DVD is ordered, – one DVD is produced. It couldn’t be easier!
Place: – In the traditional marketplace, this second aspect requires a physical outlet, a shop or office, even a market stall. With online marketing, we do not have this issue. Potential customers visit a website or possibly just a single sales page which can be created very easily and very cheaply. A webpage can be set up, hosted and maintained for less than a meal out each month. A website can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Some websites, however, can get a bit too ‘busy’ and lose the initial impact of a clear message which shows through at first glance. A website should be more than just a sales pitch, but don’t overdo it. Give your visitors interesting things to see and read but don’t let the basic message get lost in the clever technology and pretty pictures.
Promotion: – This is probably the most important of all four points. You might have a superb product and a brilliant website but if nobody visits your site and sees your product description you don’t have a business. This is one area where some financial investment will almost certainly be required. Having said that, there are ways to promote your products or services using free techniques. These include Article Marketing which I used myself when first setting up an online business because at the time money was very tight. Exchanging links with other internet business is another way to increase the exposure of your website without any financial outlay. There is a range of opportunities to promote your business on the internet which require some investment, but these are never as expensive as offline promotion would be.
Price: – Deciding on the price of your products is always a tricky decision whether you are trading on the internet or in the real world. Marketers will often sell the same product through more than one site to test pricing. In any business the aim is to get the best price possible without putting customers off buying. The ‘value’ of a product or service will obviously have a major impact on pricing. If you are selling a small item with a $1 profit margin this is fine if you are selling 1000 of them. If you sell a high-end product with a $1000 profit, you only need to sell one of them to get the same profit as the previous example. It is always a balancing act between the number of items sold and the price set.
The Four ‘P’s is a mnemonic well worth remembering as it really does itemise the building blocks in the establishment of any business whether in the traditional marketplace or on the internet.