The 4 Ps are part of the already famous marketing mix that represents the set of actions that a company in any field uses to define its marketing strategies to promote its products or services. Currently with the arrival of digital marketing , these 4 Ps have fallen short, and now we talk about the 8 Ps of marketing.
Do you want to know how to apply the 8 P’s of Marketing to increase the success of your company? Today we will know the function and importance of each of them.
Marketing Mix
All the elements of the Marketing Mix influence each other and make up the marketing or commercialization plan of a company . If promoted correctly, they can bring great success to the brand.
And in the 1960s, Edmund McCarthy, a professor at the University of Michigan, proposed a classification of the Four Ps: product, price, promotion and place.
These building blocks are something marketing managers still use to focus and identify the building blocks they need to be accountable for to ensure business growth.
However, this mix now adds up to The 8 P’s of Marketing , as an adaptive way to include all of the relevant functions when marketing services in the digital age.
The 8 P’s of Modern Marketing
1. Product
The product must be something that customers want and satisfy their needs. Therefore, the marketing manager must understand how the product helps the customer solve a problem or achieve a goal.
We must also understand the relationship of the product in the market, regardless of whether it is an intangible asset. To what extent is the service superior to the competition? And how can we increase its value?
2. Price
Price is not the main reason customers buy. Since mainly their decisions are made by their emotions and desires. However, improper pricing can cost a great deal of money, in decreased sales or losses.
That is why it is important to verify the most competitive price to position the product, as well as the purchasing power of each client, in order to validate which services are appropriate for the reality of the market.
3. Promotion
Promotion is a fundamental marketing methodology. And it covers all aspects of packaging, advertising, and sales. As well as all the strategies and offers used to market the product or service are included.
During the application of new promotion strategies, drastic changes in the results of the organization can be generated. But to achieve this, it’s important to understand the 8 P’s of Marketing and develop a cohesive plan.
4. Place or point of sale
The plaza is the place where the brand and the buyer converge to exchange goods and services. The most common places are physical stores, company offices, and currently, websites.
Other businesses use retail establishments or trade shows as their plaza, and in many cases, companies choose to have multiple plazas or sales outlets, which can also vary depending on the season and types of service they offer.
So far we have already reviewed the traditional 4 P’s , proposed by McCarthy, but there are still four essential elements to market a service successfully. Let’s continue!
5 people
In service companies, the work staff has been essential to guarantee the image and quality of the goods. And their role is critical in satisfying the customer.
Given this, one of the most important parts of business is recruiting, hiring and educating the people who will execute each of the roles and responsibilities of the business.
Managing a high level of staff turnover, or unskilled labor, can affect the rest of the elements that make up the 8 P’s of Marketing.
6. Processes
Determining the marketing process is designing the path and the experiences that your customers will live. The problems and inconveniences that consumers have along the way are the factors that could keep them from making a sale.
Create a marketing and sales process that prevents the loss of customers for your business.
7. Tests
All the tests and evidence of the brand’s reputation are the steps that will build the image that each consumer has of your organization.
The reputation and respect for the brand will guarantee the effectiveness of any service distributed by the company.
Enhance the brand, and maintain its presence in both physical and digital channels, are essential strategies, with the 8 P of Marketing to demonstrate the quality and value of the services that your company provides.
8. Productivity
Productivity is the last element integrated into this methodology, and is determined through the management of the necessary resources to carry out the sale of the product or service.
Optimizing costs to reduce the Price, reduce the work time of People, or implement automated systems to improve Processes, are effective ways of integrating the 8 P’s of Marketing through planned development.
How to apply the 8 P’s of Marketing in a service company
Services tend to be produced and consumed in an almost ephemeral moment, but these experiences can last for years in the memory of customers, and their experiences have an impact on the positive or negative reputation of the brand.
And although at first we highlighted that the main factor when making a purchase decision is emotions, the 8 Ps of Marketing encompass all the fundamental aspects to successfully market a service.
But since there is no magic formula to apply all these elements, we recommend that you start by developing the areas that require the most attention.
Points such as Processes and People, can be the first steps to generate an organizational change that allows you to improve each of the other P, in order to conquer all business objectives through the Marketing Mix in a given time.
Conclusion
The 8 P’s of Marketing are an updated and functional methodology that will allow us to manage the fundamental elements when implementing a marketing strategy.
Fortunately, new technologies allow us to discover different ways of mixing these elements to carry out a successful and personalized plan, which helps us to promote the general objectives of the company step by step.
