MeKnows

Marketing is a discipline which is often overlooked or more than most misunderstood; when one says they work in marketing that is often taken to be a statement of working in advertising. Where in actual fact advertising is just one element of marketing – in fact there are four areas of marketing which have to be considered and strategized for when a company is coming up with a new or reinventing and old marketing plan.

The real difference between marketing and advertising is that advertising is generally getting a product and then sing persuasive communicative techniques to convince the customer that is something which they want and need. Marketing on the other hand works from the theory that you find out what the customer wants first and then you shape the product and all the other elements around it. Those elements or areas of consideration when forming a marketing plan are called the 4ps of marketing and have been the basis of strategy in marketing for a long time.

The first element is product or indeed service you have to have something to sell to the customer in order to have to market it in the first place. You can find out if you are creating a new product what customers want by carrying out market research and incorporating your product creation and manufacturing around that. Marketing also gives you the techniques to ascertain where a products will fit into a market, what market it should be positioned in and why it is better than the competition. These are all essential considerations that have to be covered in marketing a new or existing product; this is of course a very basic introduction and the true meaning stretches much further than that.

The second element is price you have to use your knowledge of the market to decide what price you are going to enter into the market at and which end of the market you are going to aim for. You have to decide if your research and product points towards it being priced and the top or the lower end of the market.

Thirdly is place or sometimes known as distribution but that doesn’t fit into the 4ps does it! This is essentially deciding how you are going to get the product to the customer are you going to sell directly to them, are you going to sell through a retailer or are you going to sell on line. Your decision will result in the length of the distribution chain and how the customers are able to purchase the product or service.

The last and possibly most important element of the four Ps is promotion and this is where advertising comes in. In today’s competitive market place it is of paramount importance that you are able to clearly communicate the benefits of your products to your target market and get them to purchase yours over theirs. This can take the form of advertising through print, media, online or vehicle livery. Promotion of a product in the 4ps of marketing also covers public relations, sponsorship and product placement.