The Old 4 P’s Are Dead- Team Obey
Marketing technique and strategy has evolved over time. From the 1970’s through the 1990’s the 4 P’s of marketing were identified as the main components in devising a marketing strategy. As we all know these include price, promotion, place, and product. The 4 P’s concept was the evolution of previous marketing thought that originated at the opening of the twentieth century. The first focus was on that of production efficiency. Firms wanted to produce as many units as possible as quickly and as cheaply as possible. This theory held into the 1950’s before shifting to a more product-centered approach that focused on quality. Marketing consisted at that time of simply having the highest quality product available and businesses assumed the demand would then come as a result. Then, in the 1960’s and into the 1970’s companies began to concentrate of selling tactics as a way to market their products. It was not until the mid 1970’s that the current idea of the 4 P’s emerged, fulfilling the needs and wants of the customers.
However, with the advent of social media, this method of developing a marketing mix is being reconsidered. According to Ritu B. Pant, a social media marketing strategist, the 4 P’s have evolved from place, price, promotion, and product to people, platform, promotion, and participation.
According to Ritu the first component is people which refers to a shift from companies pushing their product in advertisements as one way communication to engaging customers in a two way conversation. The point is that the inherent advantage in social media is the ability to receive real-time feedback from consumers to improve the product or service rather than simply talk at the customer through ads.
The next new component of the marketing mix that Ritu identifies is platform. The importance of platform is to understand what social media outlet your target market utilizes. The initial reaction is to simply jump on Facebook or Twitter but there is no guarantee that your target consumers matriculate there. We feel that this is a particularly important point because companies don’t yet understand how to properly use the ever changing social media tools available to them. Just as has always been the case, the importance of knowing your customer is paramount, even in this new age of social media marketing.
Another important ingredient in this new social media marketing mix is participation. It isn’t enough to just create a Facebook page; companies must actively participate with the consumers engaging them through social media. This is one of the most radical changes facing managers today. Managers have to be more deeply involved with their own company and products to make them able to provide the adaptation needed to satisfy the customers’ feedback.
Lastly, promotion is still has an important role in social media marketing. Tapping into community-based social media is key to build a perception of the product or company. Once the positive perception has been created the first step of the social media marketing campaign has been completed. The company’s responsiveness to consumers through social media will act as an advertisement due to the positive word of mouth buzz that will be created. Developing this relationship and sense of community with the consumer base becomes the promotion itself.
A perfect example of a company using these new marketing mix components is Martell Home Builders. The company created an interactive blog with items such as articles of interest to home buyers, updated pictures of houses in progress that customers can share with friends on social media platforms, and an innovative service called “Where’s my contractor” that uses GPS on contractors’ trucks to show customers their location at all times. Due to the firm’s mastery of social media marketing, 86% of their new customer leads come directly from their blog.
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