4 P's of the Marketing Mix

This blog post will break down the implications of the internet on each element of the marketing mix. The marketing mix is an essential part of forming and implementing marketing strategies (Chaffey, 2016). It consists of 7 variables- Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence. However it is often shorted to the ‘7 P’s’ (Chaffey, 2016). It is a combination of 2 sections – The original 4 Ps of the marketing mix, Product, Place, Price and Promotion, and the additional 3 Ps of the services mix, People, Process and Physical Evidence.

(Vectorstock, 2018)

For this blog post, I will be summarising some of the implications on the main 4 P’s of the marketing mix -

On the internet, product refers to the opportunities to vary your core product through new information-technology services (Chaffey, 2016). It could also refer to the quality, image, branding and features of that product, and the opportunity to provide reviews.

There are some implications for products on the internet, such as the various options for a individual product (Chaffey, 2016). These days, there are so many options online for items, whether they are designer or one-off, it doesn’t matter, because you will be able to find a cheap, rip-off version of it on the internet. Unfair, right?! This is a challenge for many companies, trying to stop people from making their items into cheap versions, as many consumers will instead try find the same product on another website for much less.

Another implication for product ‘s because of the internet is the products themselves becoming digital (Chaffey, 2016). Items that you used to go to a shop and buy, such as a book or a CD, have become digital. Instead you can buy an E-book or buy your CDs on ITunes, resulting in these becoming less and less popular in stores and the demand for hard-copy versions significantly lower.

On the internet, Price refers to the increased transparency and commoditisation, and therefore lower prices (Chaffey, 2016). Some implications of price include price transparency, positioning of the price, discounts available, credits, and payment methods (Chaffey, 2016)

A few years ago, you wouldn’t of thought there would be so many ways to pay for your product online. You simply put in your card number, and that was it. Well times have changed, and these days there are many ways to pay! Options such as PayPal, AfterPay, ZipPay and even points systems are available to help you purchase goods and services. These opportunities mean people don’t have to hand over the actual money for a product straight away. AfterPay is a system that businesses can purchase, which is like online ‘lay-by’ except you don’t have to wait to receive it. You can purchase the item and pay in instalments, meaning it could be up to 8 weeks before the company receives the money for that item! This is great for consumers who may not have the funds at the time, however it can be a challenge for businesses who still have wages to pay.

(Afterpay.com, 2018)

Another implication on price is price transparency. This is the phenomenon of customer’s knowledge around price increasing because of the newfound availability of pricing information (Chaffey, 2016). If organisations do not take precautions around their price setting, thanks to the internet, customers can quickly find out about price discrimination and object to it.

The place element of the marketing mix is in relation to how a product is distributed to its customers, however still minimising cost of inventory, transport and storage (Chaffey, 2016).

The concept of place in relation to the internet is bizarre, as everyone, anywhere can have access to it, therefore can access online stores anywhere in the world. The lack of geographic boundaries on the internet means the logistics of distribution can become complicated and pricey. This implication means cost and time issues can cause delays in distribution and items can take longer to arrive, however when ordering from an international online store, people must expect this. For companies like ITunes and Spotify, these time zones and locations don’t matter, as they are not shipping a physical item, therefore they have been very successful international organisations.

Secondly, Channel conflicts are emerging because of the internet. This is the threat on distribution partners because of disintermediation and more companies selling direct because of the internet. This needs to be carefully thought-through by companies, as it can break relationships between companies and distributors.

Promotion refers to how organisations use the internet for their marketing communications. “Modern businesses are developing more integrated approaches towards the use of communications tools to maximise the opportunities to deliver messages to their target audiences” (Chaffey, 2016).

Specifying promotion strategies involves thoroughly selecting target markets, positioning and integration of different communication Channels (Chaffey, 2016). The internet offer a whole new channel for this communication and in fact there is endless opportunities for promotion online. Organisations need to be wary of what they are promoting, and whether it is personal promotion or sales promotion. Similarly, if organisations have previously used a distributer, they need to be cautious of the implications if they decide to start self-promotion.

References –

Afterpay.com. (2018). Afterpay it! - Afterpay - Shop Now. Enjoy Now. Pay Later.. [online] Available at: https://www.afterpay.com/en-AU/index [Accessed 14 Sep. 2018]

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2016). Digital marketing. 6th ed. Harlow (GB): Pearson.

Vectorstock (2018). Marketing scheme 4P vector image on VectorStock. [online] VectorStock. Available at: https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/marketing-scheme-4p-vector-7328688 [Accessed 14 Sep. 2018].