Future man from Nick Burcher's blog, www.nickburcher.com
(Editor’s note: This blog post first appeared August 18, 2009.)
Anyone who has ever studied Marketing 101 remembers the 4 P’s; Product, Place, Promotion and Price. In two recent meetings with clients I realized that those fundamentals of marketing still apply in today’s social media world. It’s just that now they have a twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or blogging twist. For those who may have slept through class or majored in engineering and not Mar-Com, here’s a quick review.
Product: Without it you have nothing to sell. Even if your product is, in fact, a service (as in the case of marketing and PR professionals) you still must have a good or service to sell.
Place: What is your geographic region? This one has changed thanks to the social media world. The Internet has definitely leveled the playing field in many ways and caused what were once small players to grow much larger. My twitter friend Laura at VPG Printing in Southern California is a great example. She used to only consider her “target market” the folks around her neighborhood. Now it’s the world (including me, Laura printed my business cards after we met on twitter.)
Promotion: Choices, Choices. Here is where social media has taken on a life of its own. Where once a news release to local editors was good enough to promote your product or service now it’s about considering the social media tools that will work best for your business. Strictly professional? LinkedIn. Want to connect with more people on the site that’s surpassed over 250 million users? Facebook. Want to broadcast quick snippets to a large group? Twitter. Have some neat videos to share? Youtube. And the list goes on.
Price: Always the trick in any business; whether you’re negotiating a complex deal for a major industry or haggling at the neighborhood garage sale, a fair price is important to all parties. If you sell a service, social media and the connections you make with other professionals in your trade there can greatly assist in determining fair market value.
As you grow your business remember to keep the 4 P’s + social media in mind when developing your marketing strategies.
12 Comments
Hi Mel,
Looks like things are going well for you! Best of luck in your new venture.
Thanks for your kind comment Steve. How wonderful to hear from you.
Now that is a a funny pic!
Social has completely changed the landscape. Now you can have access to a VP of a company that you couldn’t before. Your resume is your body of work online …..the sheet of paper seems more and more useless these days. But with all of these changes, some of the time old principles stay the same…..like the P’s
Great piece….
Thanks Gregg. Sometimes it’s worth it for all of us to take a moment to review the tried and true principles of marketing.
I love that cartoon! Somtimes I actually do feel a bit ‘tarded’ when it comes to all this. However, the technology has given me the freedom to do what I want and live here in the Appalachian Mountains versus being stuck in Chicago just because I might ‘have to’ due to geographic limitations of a market. Thanks for the review of the P’s.
Since I learned marketing by the seat of my pants, the 4 Ps were new to me, but interesting to think of them before and after social media and the definite changes technology has wrought. Great post, Mary Ellen!
Thanks Linda. Glad I could provide some useful marketing information to you!
Love how you applied traditional marketing speak to social media. It is a great way to encourage people to treat social media as a marketing tool, instead of a magic bullet.
Absolutely Kristina! I always consider social media one tool, albeit a good one, in my marketing/PR toolbox!
Love the four “p’s” Such good info. It is amazing how valuable it is to go back to the basics!
Thanks Whitney. Guess there is a good reason they are the basics! Thought of you this morning. Be sure to check out today’s WSJ article on creativity in second careers!
I’ll be minding my “P’s” better! Thanks Mel! And the cartoon is hilarious!