Strategy
Marketing
Marketing Mix
February 17, 2023
Beyond the 4 Ps of Marketing
DOI: 10.22167/2675-6528-20230016
E&S 2023,4: e20230016
Silmara Regina de Souza
Marketing strategies change as consumer behavior changes. Marketing is a dynamic discipline that adapts as changes emerge in the market and society.
The rise of new technologies has been seen alongside the consolidation of digital channels and a consumer who no longer has a standard behavior, which constitutes a challenge for marketing professionals, who seek to quickly understand the changes and look for solutions to approach this consumer[1]. This scenario of change is reflected in the way companies formulate their marketing strategies. Popularization of social networks, content production, influencer marketing, high-impact audiovisual communication, among others, force companies to develop a more strategic and proactive look at marketing.
The discussions that involved the duel between traditional marketing and digital marketing no longer exist and have given way to more relevant debates, such as, for example, the paths that marketing will adopt from now on and how brands can go beyond the conventional to ensure their permanence in the current market.
In this context, several reflections arise, for example, around the concept of the 4 P’s, also known as the marketing mix or compound, created in the 60s and referring to four marketing elements known as: product, price, place, and promotion, which combined must satisfy market needs and also achieve business objectives, being interrelated[2].
Companies and professionals have been wondering about the role of the marketing mix, recognizing the complexity and scope of current marketing and raising questions such as: is it possible to go beyond the 4 Ps in a marketing strategy that contemplates current market needs?
When considering the P related to the product, there is today in the market an infinity of similar products and services, but for a business to exist and endure, the product needs to answer basic questions such as: what need does this product meet? what value is being delivered to the customer through this product? And, how will the company manage to solve a specific consumer problem through this product? Furthermore, Pereira et al.[3] highlight other essential elements for the product, such as its presentation, design, packaging for sale, and its use.
When talking about price, this is the only component of the mix capable of generating revenue directly, it is the effort required from the customer[4]. Thus, it is necessary to find the balance when pricing, so that both the company and the customer find advantages. Costs, values already practiced in the market, and how much the customer is willing to pay are essential points to pay attention to in price definition.
The pillar known as place, or point, refers to distribution and sales, marketing channels, how the customer will access the product or service, and also includes elements such as location, storage structure, direct or indirect sales relationship with the customer, and where competitors are located. For Martin[5], channels have the function of increasing the efficiency of product distribution, which enables market availability and accessibility.
Promotion is the way all other Ps will be communicated to the market. In a very simple way, it is about how a company will tell its customer about its product or service, the price, and how the customer can acquire it, in addition to highlighting its market differentials. In the internet age, the way consumers understand communication has been transformed by the consolidation of social networks[3]. This also changes the way companies should develop their communication strategies.
With the concepts reinforced, we return to the initial question: is it possible to go beyond the 4 Ps in a marketing strategy that contemplates current market needs?
Although the answer is neither unique nor simple, it is important to understand that the concept of marketing mix continues to be the basis for conquering and maintaining market share. The phase that considers the synergistic planning of product, price, distribution, and communication remains a pillar for any company’s strategy, regardless of size or segment. What changes in the current context is how companies do this, and that is exactly what it means to go beyond the 4 Ps. The different approaches to the marketing mix lie in the decisions made regarding it[6].
What changes are the instruments, the formats, the customer’s behavior. The stage of planning marketing, defining the target audience profile, analyzing opportunities and threats, and defining strategies for each element of the mix remains the foundation. Going further means understanding precisely what adaptations are necessary according to the changes. The challenge lies in how businesses will use the diversity of transaction and communication platforms.
However, when talking about going further, it is essential to understand that product, price, distribution, and communication strategies need to be well-structured. Doing the basics well remains a relevant premise here.
It is possible and necessary to go beyond the product and the other P’s and take the customer to an experience. For companies, it is no longer enough to have a good product or service at a fair price, with some sales channels and traditional advertising.
Customer experience has become more important because it is about how the customer perceives all the interactions they have with the brand, and how these interactions happen. Kotler et al.[7] consider experience as the next step in the progression of companies’ economic value and further emphasize that experience must go beyond basic offerings, meeting the consumer’s need to experience a genuine experience. For the authors, competitiveness no longer resides in the product but in the customer experience. In this sense, to offer more than a product, the experience needs to involve added service, technology, service, environment, design, personalization, metrics, and customer knowledge.
The distribution strategy requires careful consideration, as it is not enough to simply offer two or three sales channels to customers. In this context, omnichannel emerges as an expanded strategy, which goes beyond selling at different points[8]. The authors also mention that this is an evolutionary view of the distribution P, as developing an omnichannel strategy is not just about expanding channels, but about integrating them in such a way that the customer experience is complete.
When we talk about the P of promotion, we move from an era of simply opening dialogue with the client to an era where communication strategies require building lasting relationships and, mainly, we move to an era where the client themselves produces communication about the company. Thus, going further in communication involves participating in customer conversations and delivering increasingly personalized, original, valuable, useful, exclusive, and fun content, characteristics reinforced by Arcanjo et al.[9].
Personalization stands out as an experiential element that has been highly valued by the consumer public. It is necessary to adapt the offer to the client’s needs[10], and in this way the offer is not restricted to the product or service itself, but to everything that surrounds it: service, packaging, content. Personalization serves to connect, engage, and consolidate the customer’s experience with the brand.
The more positive the customer experience, the more positive memories they have and the higher their level of engagement. And generating engagement is one of the ways to promote the connection between brands and customers. Becoming part of the customer conversation is the connection strategy that needs to be adopted by brands[10].
The focus of all experiences promoted by companies should be precisely to connect with consumers. The experience will only have value if these emotional connections exist and develop in the customer an identification and a set of positive actions in relation to the brands.
Thus, experience, personalization, engagement, and connection emerge as fundamental ingredients in what we call going beyond the marketing mix, which will continue to underpin all marketing strategy.
Understanding that the 4 Ps continue to be the basis for marketing strategy is essential; however, it will be even more important to capture all these transformations quickly and promote the necessary adaptations in the elements of the marketing mix. When this experience of connection, personalization, omnichannelity, and customer-based communication, rather than product-based, is delivered to the market, the Price P will walk alongside in such a way that, even in times of greater economic sensitivity, the consumer will prefer those brands that differentiate themselves and promote connection, even building emotional bonds with them.
References
[1] Silva M.J.F; Trigueiro F.M.C.; Thiago F. Marketing digital e comportamento do consumidor: Evidências no mercado de varejo de vestuário de Cuiabá-MT. Revista Estudos e Pesquisas em Administração. 2020; 4(2): 95-118.
[2] Etzel M.J.; Walker B.J.; Stanton W.J. Marketing. São Paulo: Makron Books; 2001.
[3] Pereira L.L.S.; Pereira Y.V.; Freire B.G.O. Estratégias e composto de marketing: descomplicando para empreender. Mossoró: Edufersa; 2017.
[4] Giuliani A.C. Marketing: estudo de caso e exercícios. Itu: Editora Ottoni; 2011.
[5] Martin J.L. Distribuição Business to Business: escolha de canais de Marketing. In: Moreira J.C.T. Marketing Business to Business: como competir em mercados organizacionais. 1 ed. São Paulo: Editora Saraiva; 2006. p.137-172.
[6] Toledo G.L.; Nakagawa M.H.; Yamashita S.S. O composto de marketing no contexto estratégico da Internet. Rev. Adm. Mackenzie, 2022; 3(1): 34-78.
[7] Kotler P.; Kartajaya H.; Setiawan I. Marketing 4.0: do Tradicional ao digital. Rio de Janeiro: Sextante; 2017.
[8] Carvalho J.L.G.; Campomar M.C. Multichannel at retail and omni-channel: Challenges for Marketing and Logistics. Business and Management Review. 2014; 4(3): 103-113.
[9] Arcanjo T.S.; Souza M.C.; Franco M.L.; Pompermayer R.S.; Costa A.S.V.; Souza A.O.; Novais A.F.O. (2020). O marketing de conteúdo em plataforma digital: análises bibliométrica e textual. Research, Society and Development. 2020; 9(10): e4159108783.
[10] Rogers, David L. Transformação Digital: repensando seu negócio para a era digital. 1 ed. São Paulo: Autêntica Business; 2018.
Como citar
Souza S.R. Além dos 4 P’s do Marketing. Revista E&S. 2023; 4: e20230016.
Sobre os autores
Silmara Regina de Souza, Mestre em Administração e Consultora de Marketing, Piracicaba, SP, Brasil.
Link para download: https://cms.revistaes.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ES_23016.pdf