The ‘P’ rinciples of Marketing

By Monika Simans, Arkimedes Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia

This is the second of three marketing articles. This article will present the P’s of marketing and be directed to those in private practice and professionals wishing to market their services. The last article will be focused towards individuals wanting and needing to market themselves to source and secure work. Read the first article: Marketing – An Art and Science.

The ‘P’ rinciples of Marketing

As both an art and science, marketing requires a methodical gathering and review of information whilst putting yourself into the shoes of the customer during the entire process. The process to identify a potential customer base, their wants and needs, then create the appropriate strategies and level of preparedness for responding is known as defining the P’s of marketing.

This is a system of research and analysis to develop something that people want and are prepared to pay for, preferably on a regular basis. The P’s of marketing are what shape your marketing plan and provide you with the biggest P’s of all — PLANNING and PREPAREDNESS.

What are the P’s to research & analyze for Profitability?

When marketing first became a business practice that grew out of mass production and competition for buyers, there were only four P’s researched and analyzed – product, price, position & promotion. By the early 1990’s, a fifth P – people – was recognized as a key factor that made the difference to success or failure, profit or loss.

As marketing advances there has been an additional dimension added to the process to try and reduce over-reliance on advertising, and the tendency to focus on what the service can do rather than on what the customers want. The assumption audit which I factor into my marketing work is a simple strategy to identify and keep the good information, recognize then discard the stupid stuff, and always return to the basic question — is this what the customer wants?

The current P’s you need to define are:

1. PRODUCT – What is the actual ‘product’, also known as service, you are offering – (Florist, engineer, builder, naturopath, dentist, delivery person, writer etc?)Assumption Audit – Are there any others around? Who said one of those was needed? Is this what the customer wants as a product or service? What sort of florist or engineer etc. does the customer want?
2. PROOF – What situations can you describe (where), actions taken (what you did) for the purpose of (why you did it) to justify why you can / should provide the ‘product’? – (the knowledge, skills, experience, expertize, & distinctive competencies you have)Assumption Audit – Have you factored in extra curricular activities, memberships, committee and volunteer work? Have you checked on what skills are currently being sought in conjunction with the work you are / have been doing? Is this what the customer wants from you to prove your credibilty?
3. PEOPLE – Who is going to need and buy the ‘product’ – your target markets? (Teenagers, sports people, campers, mechanics, teachers, nurses, high school or mature age students etc.)Assumption Audit – Who told you this? Have you talked to these people? Who haven’t you thought of? Have you considered the different generational perspectives? Does this customer want your product?
4. PERCEPTION– How does the audience currently judge your type of ‘product’ and your range of services? (Expensive, economical, functional, trendy etc.)Assumption Audit – Who told you? How can you be so sure their information is correct? How far afield have you checked to confirm this information? Is this perception of your ‘product’ what the customer wants?
5. POSITION – Where do you want your ‘product’ to be placed in the minds of the consumer in relation to similar products or service providers? (Number 1, equal to, better than, one of a kind etc)Assumption Audit – How did you determine that position? Did you factor in biases, prejudices, gender issues? Who do you consider to be your competition that you are measuring yourself against? Do you know them? Does your potential customer know them? Is this the positioning the customer wants?
6. PRICE – What should a fair and competitive cost range be for your ‘product’? ($30 p/h, $150 p/consultation, $15,000 p/a – $99,000 p/a & anywhere in between)Assumption Audit – Are you sure all customers can afford this? Is it what the market can bear? Have you undercut / undervalued yourself? Is this what the customer wants to pay?
7. PROBLEMS & PITFALLS – What can hinder the success of your ‘product’ being accepted by the customer? (Competition, mis-representation, economic decline, government policy, overhype, under delivery etc.)Assumption Audit – Is this current information you are working on or the result of kitchen table politics or personal perspectives? How much factual information has been utilized? Have your prepared a SWOT analysis? (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) What does the customer see as potential problems or pitfalls?
8. PROMOTION & PERSUASION – What actions and activities will you undertake to inform people of your ‘product’ and let them know it is available? (Advertising, networking incentives, public relations, work trials, cold call selling, telemarketing etc.)Assumption Audit – Who is going to do all this — are you doing it yourself? How is it going to get done, especially if you are providing the ‘product’ yourself? Are you comfortable in a networking role? Have your identified targets or will it just be random? Is this how the customer wants to be approached and persuaded?
9. PRO-ACTIVE FOLLOW-UP – What will you do to check on the progress of the ‘product’ and gather feedback regarding your promotion and the delivery of your ‘product ‘? (survey, follow-up phone call, return visits etc)Assumption Audit – Have you indicated you would appreciate this information at first contact? Are you sure your customer is prepared to provide it? Can the customer provide feedback well and constructively to assist you? Are you ready to hear what the customer wants and has to say?

Nine P’s to research, analyze and define. It is the P’s of marketing that will enable you as a service provider to:

• identify what the customer wants
• prepare for the customer
• create a demand to suit the customer

Working through the P’s of marketing will guide you in creating the right message and crafting persuasive communication strategies – explaining ‘WHAT you do and HOW it can help them‘. A simple formula I use to check if I have it right is A + I + D = A. This means does my ‘product’ get their ATTENTION, hold their INTEREST, arouse DESIRE and then obtain their ACTION to buy.

So how are you going with the marketing process? Have you defined your P’s? Do you have an intimate knowledge of the wants of your customers? Have you been working from your customer’s perspective?

Many of you want your cake and eat it to. In Australia we want our pie and peas. So if you want your profit, you will have to have to do your marketing P’s.

If you have any comments or specific questions that you would like to see addressed in the next article, please contact the writer by fax on (61 7) 3298 6058 (Brisbane Australia) or at her new email address – arkimedes@bigpond.com

Monika Simans is in private practice as a Careers & Work Life Coach as well as a ‘People Strategist’. She has over 15 years experience in marketing, communication and human resources management within large specialist organizations. In addition to post graduate qualifications in business administration, communication and human resources management, Monika is a certified member of the Australian Association of Career Counsellors and an accredited practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming.