The Principles of Marketing: Marketing Principles
by Tim Cohn
Marketing Consultant
“Marketing and innovation are the two chief functions of business. You get paid for creating a customer, which is marketing. And you get paid for creating a new dimension of performance, which is innovation. Everything else is a cost center.” Peter Drucker
E. Jerome McCarthy originally wrote his classic book Basic Marketing which defined the 4 Ps of Marketing or as I call them the 4 Principles of Marketing. The 4 Principles of Marketing are a good starting point for developing your marketing plan.
The following are my interpretation of E. Jermone McCarthy’s 4 Ps ( 4 Principles of Marketing )
Marketing Principles #1
Product
Individual goods, product lines, or services.
Strategy: This is obviously the most important part of any business. In order for a product or service to succeed, it must offer clear, distinct and non-arguable value to the buyer. Supply and demand are the judge and jury.
Tactics: Includes features, accessories, installation, instructions, service, warranty, packaging, and brand names.
Marketing Principles #2
Place (Distribution Channels)
Getting the product or service to the customer.
Strategy: The saying – location, location, location holds true for new products more so than any other type of product. If consumers don’t know your product exists – how can they buy it?
Tactics: Channels, distribution systems, middlemen, warehousing, transportation, fulfillment, and shipping.
Marketing Principles #3
Price
Strategy: Price meets it own demand. Price points are a function of the degree of innovation found in the product. The more innovation and thus value added, the more latitude you have in setting a price.
Tactics: Setting a price that serves the customer well and maximizes profits to the company is a must.
Price flexibility, level pricing, introductory pricing, discounts, allowances, geographic terms.
Marketing Principles #4
Promotion
Communication with the customer
Strategy: Communication is defined as: Message sent. Message received. Message acted upon. If the product has been designed with customer desires and needs in mind, the communication necessary for getting a customer to pay for the product is already known and replicated in the media used to reach them.
Tactics: Personal selling, mass selling, sales promotion, sales personnel, advertising, media selection, copywriting.
Principles of Marketing Summary
A marketing plan takes considerable effort to understand and characterize the market, the customer, and the environment in which you are conducting business. The marketing principles are the controllable component of your marketing plan. A final way to look at this is external factors vs. internal factors:
* External / Uncontrollable– The current economic environment includes elements such as consumer confidence, degree of unemployment, new technologies that threaten to displace your own, competitors that suddenly appear on the horizon, government regulations thought up by your favorite legislator, and changing consumer preferences. You can’t control these.
* Internal / Controllable — The 4 marketing principles represent elements of your marketing strategy that you can control. They depend upon such known factors as your budget, personnel, creativity, etc. It is ultimately your responsibility to influence and control these.
To learn more about Marketing Principles or to buy Marketing Principles Products visit the Marketing Strategies Catalog.
Tim Cohn is a Google Advertising Professional and author of the book For Sale By Google
