Remixing the four P's of marketing

So now the landscape of the marketing world has been transformed by the power of search and conversation what has happened to the four cornerstones of a campaign: product, place, promotion and price?

Place becomes Presence
Not so many years ago shoppers had to go to dozens of small retailers to buy all the goods they needed and as commerce evolved the number of specialist retailers reduced and people needed to go to less shops. The consistent factor in this transformation was that people knew physically where to go to buy the stuff they needed.

The adoption of Internet commerce has created a renaissance for the small retailer, but the landscape has changed in that the customers don't necessarily physically understand where the shop is, because the historical cultural references don’t exist in this new landscape.

So retailers need to help their customers find them and its vital for them to understand the lay of this new land. Understanding how Google page ranking and adsence work is a starting point. These new tools are the signage and adverts that used to attract customers in from the high street.

Product becomes Personalisation
Again going back in time personal service was the cornerstone of a shopping experience. People moved around less and it wasn't uncommon for an individual to shop selected stores all their lives. The storekeeper would grow to understand exactly what the customer liked and was able to quickly provide them with the products they regularly purchased as well as introduce them to new items that may prove to be desirable.

Personlisation saves people time and it makes people feel important to the retailer. This enhancement of the relationship creates a network of trust and makes the customer open to offers of new products or services.

Social behavior online can encourage people to leave a breadcrumb trail that allows a retailer to build a customer profile. For example rating products, previous shopping history and comments all give a good idea on what a customer likes or dislikes. Sites like Amazon are already providing this service and the social product recommendation cuts through our natural skepticism to being introduced to new products.


Promotion becomes persuasion
The monologue has been transformed into a dialogue, but is the brand owner still involved in the conversation? Word of mouth has always been one of the most influential aspects in product sales, but was always limited by the capabilities of the social network. Year on year 'Word of Mouth' has become more efficient at spreading marketing messages as communication networks become faster and more prevalent, but this once powerful tool in the marketers weaponry has now moved out of their control. The conversation is now public domain, and the power of search has enabled millions of people to tap into these conversations.

The companies who will survive this transformation will be the ones who can engage and react to the conversations that their customers are having. They will adapt their strategies and their products to align with their customers expectations, and if they provide the personalised service that has all but disappeared from modern commerce, their customers will be loyal.

Price (static) becomes Price (dynamic)
Why is Wal Mart afraid of Google? The answer is Google's ability to provide such comprehensive price comparison searches that it would undercut Wal Mart's value proposition. In fact price comparison has become one of the biggest factors in driving customers to search out alternative presences on the web. The most flexible producers who can creatively adapt their offering to compete in the market place will be the winners.

Inspired by Sviojkla

Tags: Web2.0 Conversation Marketting brand