How New Ideas In Marketing Cause Change
Posted by Abdul Vasi on 07 Sep 2010 at 10:56 am | Tagged as: Entrepreneurship
Every MBA who passes out would be familiar with the term “Marketing Mix” which basically defines the basic characteristics of a marketing plan which begins with the 4 Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. This would have been true for many companies earlier but things have been changing rapidly for marketers. This is exactly what the 4 Ps have transformed into:
Product changes to solution
At the dawn of the Industrial revolution, it was basically a producer economy. Companies like Ford could make T-model and sell these cars which were only made in color black. However, today it’s a consumer led economy. Consumers make the choices now and they have plenty to choose from, no matter which product category they look at. Companies must now look at providing solutions and not products or services.
Promotion changes to Information
Earlier, in-your-face promotion would have worked. Today, consumers seek information about products and services they are looking to buy. With the advent of Internet, all this information is available at their fingertips and they also get plenty of information from real reviews shared by buyers who share their experiences openly on Social Media sites. Imagine how fast bad word could spread?
Place changes to access
There was a degree of importance for ‘location’ at one point of time. Today, however, it isn’t about location — unless ofcourse you talk about retail businesses and some other forms of businesses that give a lot of importance to location. For almost all other businesses, it’s not about the place anymore; it’s about ‘access. How easy is to gain access to your product or service? How accessible are your products to your customers? How many options do your customers have as far as purchasing your products?
Price changes to value
Price does play a vital role in influencing consumer behavior but times are changing slowly. The markets are rather torn between price and value. While there are always a group of customers who will go with products with a low price, some profitable markets take shape when consumers see more perceived value while purchasing your products and services. When you provide more value — more benefits accrued over certain costs — the more profitable you will be.
