The 4 Ps of Marketing – Old & New
March 2010
There has been some discussion on LinkedIn recently as to whether the 4 Ps of marketing (product, price, placement, promotion) are still valid or whether they have been replaced by a new set of 4 Ps (or possibly a fifth – positioning) for the new era of social networking. The discussion was started by a Forrester article called “Adaptive Brand Marketing” – More Than Just Four New Ps that defined the new Ps as permission, proximity, perception, and participation. You’ll find similar discussions on the Marketing Mélange blog.
There’s no doubt that product, price, placement and promotion are still key concerns. But it’s also important to recognize that social media is a different world where traditional placement and promotion do not apply. When using social media, which doesn’t replace traditional marketing but adds to it as a new outlet, the four new Ps become important. Social media marketing is more subtle, less direct, more about being there than being in-your-face visible. In fact, aggressive promotion is not only unwelcome on social media sites; it is resented and can damage your image rather than promoting your products.
The good news is that marketing through social media costs little or nothing. The bad news: it takes time and attention – someone has to lurk around the sites, post comments and blogs, respond to tweets, etc. And, since there is essentially no barrier to admission, anyone can jump in and make denigrating comments about your products and services. So you must be watchful and ready to respond quickly and appropriately.
There is great opportunity in social media marketing but also considerable risk if you are not vigilant. The new Ps summarize the important considerations – you should participate and ‘be there’ (your proximity), but only make your pitch when asked (permission) and beware of the perception that you are creating through your own actions and those of the other participants in the social environment.
And don’t neglect those other four Ps – product, pricing, placement and promotion through traditional means are still a necessary part of the marketing mix.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Dave – your points are right on. Social marketing requires the 4 p’s to be even tighter.
I did a post on this a while ago.