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Know The Answers with the Four Ps of Marketing

The concept of marketing has evolved and changed over time, but there are certain strategies that are tried and true marketing principles. One such principle is the four ps of marketing approach.

This article provides 20 questions. If you take the time to think about them and answer them in as much detail as possible, it will stimulate your business and help you avoid marketing mistakes.

What are the four Ps? They are product, packaging, price and promotion.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 1. Your Product Influences Your Marketing Decisions

Creating or selecting your product is one of the most important decisions that you'll make in your business. It's dictates the type and amount of marketing that you'll need to make sales.

Because it is so important, there are twice as many questions about your product than about the other three ps.

1. Who is the target market for your product?

2. How well does its features provide target market members' desired benefits?

3. How does your product compare with competing products?

4. Is this product ahead, behind or with the consumer trends and times?

5. How intense is the desire for your product?

6. How much volume of product will it take to meet demands?

7. When will the product be requested?

8. What is the amount of product that you need to meet demands?

When you know about your product, you're ready to decide how to package it.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 2. Your Package Can Help Sell Your Products

Having the product is only the first part of the battle, now you need to sell the consumer on it, and the front lines of that battle is the packaging.

Packaging can increase or decrease expenses so it affects the third P of marketing - Price.

Ask yourself these questions before making your final packaging decisions:

9. Does the package provide any advantages over your competitors'?

10. Is your package weight and size appropriate for your product?

11. Is the product protected within the packaging?

12. Is the packaging too much or not enough for the product?

Consider your answers about your product and package before you finalize the price for your product.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 3. Consider Your Questions on Product and Package To Select A Price

You'll also need to answer four price questions before making a final price decision.

13. Is the price in line with demand?

14. Does the price of producing the product decrease as you produce more?

15. How will you determine how much it decreases in relation volume?

16. What is the best price for the product?

Now that you've answered the first 16 questions, you can start thinking about promoting your product.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 4. The Final P Is Promotion

Promoting a product is how you sell it, so it has to be done right or you won't sell one product and your business will go under.

Ask yourself these questions:

17. What percentage of your promotion budget should be advertising, sales, and other promotion tactics?

18. How well does your promotion mix match your business' other marketing practices?

19. How does the marketing of the product match its current life-stage?

20. How well does your promotion mix match your target market?

After you've answered these last four questions, you'll be ready to develop a marketing plan.

Four Ps Of Marketing: Synopsis

Your answers to all 20 questions ground your marketing and maximize your ability to create a strategic marketing plan. Just going through the process of answering them enables you to diagnose potential problems, to see opportunities, and to develop a marketing goal.

Your answers establish your marketing budget, generate your marketing strategy and reveal the best marketing tactics to jump start your marketing efforts.