The 4 P’s of Marketing Aren’t Enough Anymore!

10 years later, this is still relevant and worth another look.

Everyone knows the 4 P’s of marketing…

• Product
• Promotion
• Price
• Place

But Gino Biondi, vice president of sales & marketing at Zenith Products, has suggested that the 4 P’s of marketing aren’t enough anymore.  Instead, he believes it takes a baker’s dozen of P’s to represent the many facets of product, channel and brand marketing.

Gino’s 13 P’s of marketing are…

• Performance
• Product
• Place
• Placement
• People
• Projection
• Programming
• Packaging
• Public Relations
• Promotion
• Proliferation
• Price
• Positioning

P #1: Performance

No marketing plan is worth its weight without specific and measurable metrics and goals.

• Profit
• Sales
• Share

Performance should be the first P.  It lets you know how the brand is performing and allows you to set performance goals.

P #2: Positioning

This P establishes the brand road map.

• Relevant and meaningful consumer Insights
• Attributes
• Functional benefits
• Reasons-to-believe
• Emotional benefits
• Brand essence
• Brand character
• Brand tone
• Iconology

P #3: People

The idea that there are multiple targets to consider is the basis of this P.

• Primary bull’s-eye consumer – demographic, psychographic, attitudinal, & behavioral
• Secondary target purchasers or influencers – moms, kids, teachers, doctors, etc.
• Stakeholder customers/retailers/resellers – If they don’t carry it you can’t sell it.
• Sales professionals, installers, service people – sales people like to sell it, the installer prefers to hook it up and Customer Service likes to take the calls.
• Internal employees – passion and word of mouth gets generated internally first.

P#4: Product

Product is the foundation of the Brand.

• Tied to the Positioning key attributes
• Differentiated key benefits
• Innovation
• Cost base versus your competitor
• Volume
• Meeting/exceeding quality expectations

P#5: Packaging

Packaging can be the most impactful marketing tool.

• Form is a key communicator and provides key benefits – an upside down bottle of ketchup changed the industry and mustard, mayo, shampoo…
• “Green” packaging or wasteful materials impacts attitudes.
• Quality has an emotional response – sloppy fit and finish or crooked labels says a lot about the brand
• Graphics  need to be compelling – authentic, modern, innovative, nostalgic, youthful, serious, fun
• Services too – trucks, vehicles and uniforms.  Think Molly Maid, Geek Squad, UPS, Even name tags on a store clerk

P #6: Proliferation

How far should the brand extend is the thought behind this P.

• Product proliferation can be key to distribution, shelf expansion or consumer needs
  • Flavors, varieties, colors, fragrances
  • Promotions, seasonal
• Proliferation can be bad!
  • It creates operational complexity and increase the risk of underperforming SKU’s
  • What is the supply chain tolerance level in your company?
  • Non-value added features add cost that may not be recovered
• Customer exclusivity may require SKU proliferation as well.

P #7: Promotion

This famous P should get a narrower view.

• All brands need promotion strategies for both consumers and customers
• Relatively short-term or loyalty building vehicles
  • To prevent switching to another competitor
  • To induce switching from a competitor
• Promotion can be used to create excitement around seasonal opportunities.
  • Halloween, Spring cleaning, Back-to-School, Tax time
• Create brand excitement and pull-through
  • Sweepstakes, contests, themed events

P #8: Projection

Brand Communications is the theme of this P.

• Translating positioning into compelling creative and copy
• Integrated Marketing is at the core of Projection
• Every medium is different and how you use it should be treated uniquely
  • Mass media
  • TV, print, radio
  • Digital
    • Social media platforms (like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube)
    • Blog posts
    • Internet, web site, viral, e-commerce
    • Direct, outdoor, mobile, event
      • Sports marketing, sponsorships, entertainment
• Consider ethnic audiences as well

P #9: Public Relations

PR is the cherry on top of the cake.  When fundamentals are in place PR creates a genre for the brand.

• Cause-related marketing (charities) – Breast Cancer, Victory Junction Gang, Habitat for Humanity
• Major relevant events – hurricanes, storms, earthquakes, anniversaries, milestones
• Word-of-Mouth
• More realistic and relevant with real user or third-party endorsements.
• Spokespersons

P #10: Programming

This P tackles media choice.

• How much should be spent on media?
• How much should be allocated to the different mediums?
  • TV
  • Digital
  • Print
  • Radio
  • Outdoor
  • Direct
  • Non-traditional

Be sure to measure the effectiveness of each medium.

P #11: Price

Price has multiple components and needs unique strategies and plans for each.

• List pricing
• Everyday Low Price (EDLP)
• High/Low pricing
• Hybrid EDLP with opportunistic promotions

Critical to the decision is your channel and customer strategy, competitive situation, portfolio mix and consumer pricing sensitivity.

P #12: Place

With this P you need to think broadly…from global, to region, to channel.Global: International challenges require putting the previous P’s together to determine the merits and overall strategy of succeeding on a global basis.Region: Regional differences do exist.

• Economic, climate, culture, population, etc.

Channel: Requires deep analysis to determine trade-offs and if presence is needed.

• Club, mass, home improvement, grocery, convenience, sporting, industrial, electronics, specialty, hardware, dollar, drug, distributors, office, etc..

P #13: Placement

Gino considers this to be a bonus P that considers the ideal place in the store where products and services should be located.

• How do you get it there?
• Front  or back
• Which direction from the aisle?
• On the counter or checkout?
• Near adjacent categories?
• Near complimentary purchase categories?
• Which position on the shelf?
  • Quality
  • Brand block
  • Size
  • Variety

By thinking through Gino Biondi’s 13 P’s of marketing, you will thoughtfully consider your brands range of options and maximizing your marketing effectiveness.