You might be building a product using cutting edge technologies, writing a bestseller book or breaking into a new market withholding great potential. No matter what you are doing, it is all in vain if the product is not brought to the notice of your target audience. The need for a killer marketing strategy is extremely important for the success of your product or service.

Even Though the process of rolling out a product in the market seems straightforward, it is not so in reality. Having a product in the market does not solely entail serving a group of people, informing them about the existence of your product and pricing it at a value that is acceptable to them. It is much more than that.

It is important to have a solid marketing strategy which takes into consideration detailed account of

• WHO your customers are?
• WHAT are the NEEDS & DESIRES of your customer?
• WHAT are the SOLUTIONS used by your customer currently to solve their problem and the CHALLENGES faced by them while using that solution?
• In case the customer faces challenges, WHAT can be done to help them OVERCOME those CHALLENGES?
• HOW do you DISTINGUISH yourself from the competition?
• HOW does your consumer INTERACT with the product? You can only have a marketing strategy on the road to success once the answers to these questions are researched in detail.

If you don’t identify your customers, their needs from the product you are offering and the price they are willing to pay for your product, you might see your sales declining even before they pick up. An example would be selling a luxury item at a low price so that more people can buy it. However, by pricing a luxury item too low and making it accessible to a mass audience, it would lose its target customers who would want to buy the product for the status symbol associated with the product. The 4 Ps of marketing is a great tool to avoid such mistakes.

The key factors that are to be taken into account while positioning your product or service in the market and influencing customers to buy your product are -

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

PRODUCT

• A product or a service that solves the problem or need of a consumer. It can be a book in a bookstore, SaaS like Slack or Salesforce or even a service like a club membership.
• The product should have a USP (Unique Selling Point) or so to say a competitive edge over your competitors.
• There has to be a differentiating factor between your product and what your competitor is selling for your product to stand out and your customers to choose your product.

PRICE

• The monetary value the customer pays for the product
• It is very important to determine the right price for your product in order to get enough profit for your product
• Pricing decides the customers that will come to your brand. A higher priced product would attract customers who want status value attached to the product and a lower priced product would attract customers who don’t care as much about the status as about getting their problem solved at an economical price.
• Pricing should also be determined by the kind of market your product will be operating in and the pricing your competitors offer for their product. If it's a newly discovered market you can charge a premium amount for the product. However if the market space is already saturated, the product is best sold at a cheaper price.

PLACE

• To bring the product to the notice of your target audience , it is essential to define WHERE the product will be
  - marketed (email, website, social media, hoardings, etc)
  - sold (Online or offline)
• If your targeted users prefer online shopping over visiting stores, the more viable option would be to sell the product or service online.
• It is important to research the demographics of your customer as well as where your competitor operates. Asking the following questions can help -
  - Where are the customers and where do they usually look for your service or product (online/ offline)?
  - Is the product sold to businesses or directly to customers?
  - Where are the competitors based? Can you operate away from them?

PROMOTION

• This factor defines how to reach out to the target audience and inform them about your product or service.
• It includes the strategies you use to bring your product to the notice of your customers. Some ways to promote your product include Direct emails, Influencer marketing, TV, Magazines, Billboards, Blogs, etc.
• Instead of going for all the possible promotion strategies , it is more useful to identify the strategies that will work the best for your target audience. For example - Promoting your product via a mailing list won’t be a viable strategy if your target audience is not tech savvy.
• Every business should have its own promotion strategy tailored according to the target audience.

How to use the 4 P's of Marketing?

1. Know your product inside out - It is important to know about the WHY behind every feature that your product offers or the service that you provide.

2. Research about the customers, competition and the market before going through the 4 P’s in a detailed manner.

3. Ask questions while deciding about the 4 P’s and keep asking these questions till you are satisfied with the facts and figures related to the product.
   

   • Does the product meet the needs of the target audience?
     
   • How different is your product from your competitors? What is its unique selling point?
     
   • What will your target audience think about the price of the product?
     
   • Will you position the product as a luxury product or an economical budget friendly product?
     
   • Where will your customers shop for the product? How is the product going to reach them?
     
   • How will your customers get to know about the product? What will be the most effective promotion strategies for your target audience?
     

4. Review the marketing mix regularly as the market may change as the product matures.

While the 4 P’s of Marketing might look like a theoretical concept only to be read in books and articles, it provides a great insight while developing a marketing strategy for your product or service and differentes your business from that of your competitors.