The 4 P’s Of Marketing – Explained

So you’ve formed your Limited Company, your product is ready, now it’s time to think about the 4 P’s of marketing:

Product

Product covers the physical aspects or intangible characteristics of the product or service you are planning to sell. It can include packaging, appearance, warranty etc.

Pricing

Pricing should take into account profit margins and the pricing of your competitors. It should also include areas such as discounts and financing options. Understanding your margins is a critical area for every business. The margin, sometimes referred to as your ‘Gross Profit’ is the difference between the selling price of an item and the price you paid for it. The price at which you sell your product/service has got to be sufficient to generate enough profit to at least cover your anticipated overheads based on your estimated volumes. Of course, the price you set has got to take account of the prevailing prices in the market i.e. the prices that your competitors are selling the same product at.

Placement

Placement covers everything necessary to distribute your product/service to your total market. Typical questions you will need to ask yourself might include:
• Are you going to sell online, from a shop, door to door?
• How will your customers pay?
• Is delivery / distribution an issue?
• Stock control and warehousing – will these be necessary?

Promotion

Promotion covers how you communicate with your target market and will include advertising, telesales, public relations (PR), direct mail, newsletters etc.

This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple

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