The word “marketing” means so many different things to so many different people.
If you need an informal understanding, ask Google and start reading! If you require a more formal understanding, go buy a textbook. That will certainly equip you to quote expertly and sound like an expert but will probably confuse you even more!
If you are an entrepreneur and running your own SME, a great deal of advice will come your way. From family, friends, well-wishers and your accountant! Over lunch and over your boardroom table. You must have a marketing plan! You must have a social marketing plan! You must have a content plan! You must have a LinkedIn page! You must have a Facebook page!
In the course of fathoming this all out you will come across the 4 P’s. These have stood the test of time as universal truths all marketing people hold up to be the holy grail. In the modern world the number of P’s are growing. It really does not matter how many P’s are in favour at any point in time, what really matters is they add value to a SME when thinking about it’s business.
The point of this post is to reflect upon how simple the principles of Marketing are. By way of example I am going to use a young man, embarking towards his adulthood. He has never studied marketing but in real life, uses the disciplines every day.
Every Marketing plan must have a simple strategic vision
Our young man is 18 years of age. He is about to finish his school career and the event he is thinking about is the end of year dance. He has a simple-minded strategic focus. To take the most popular girl to the year-end dance. Every marketing plan needs a simple, focused brand vision. He has that.
Product is the first P
He knows who the girl is. He knows his own strong points. He knows what will get her to accept his invite. He knows his own uniqueness’s and his own weakness’s, those things that might cause her to refuse, too. He knows the competition as well. He has clear understanding of all the product involved. That gives him a great start.
Place is another
The young man also knows the Place. The dance venue has been talked about all year. But that P is more complex than that. He knows where she hangs out. He knows where she lives. He knows where she is always surrounded by her friends. He knows her mobile number. The other place he must know is where he will talk to and to ask her. He wants to get her privately and ask her directly. Not with company around. Not on a mobile. Not when she is with her parents. He has thought deeply where he will issue the invite. His marketing plan is growing.
Price is the next
Another P is the Price. This he also knows well. The price of a ticket. The price of the taxi. The price of the tuxedo. He knows all the costs. A better concept is value.
According to the American Marketing Association (AMA) “marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Or more simply, marketing is exchange of value between consenting participants.
If he thinks about all the costs the event will entail and he thinks about the prized date, he knows he is willing. He must get her consent. He understands the Price concept well.
Promotion is wide ranging
The final of the P’s is promotion. Again, he has thought deeply on this subject. There are a few questions he still has. Would she prefer a traditional date? Perhaps something a little more exotic? How does he get the final message across? Does he talk to his friends? Does he talk to her friends? Does he talk to her brother? Does he phone her directly? Does he message her? Should he send a card, a mysterious card, to keep her guessing?
What he soon realises is that there are so many ways to get the message across he must be careful. The last thing he wants is for different interpretations of his message to reach her from different people.
His message must be consistent and synchronised. He becomes more cautious (and intentional) about what he says to everyone.
This fourth P, promotion is a concept well known to most young men.
More P’s have been added to the original P’s
As your examination of the concept grows you will soon find that the original four P’s have been supplemented. You will now be discussing seven, nine or even 12 P’s.
In many ways the young man I am talking about, has already considered these new P’s as part of his thinking.
His dress, the taxi, the invite process are all part of his personal Packaging. He can only imagine what her packaging will look like on the night!
Another is Process. He has studied the process very closely. He has a clear picture in his mind of where and how he must ask and what he will do if she hesitates or refuses. The process of the evening is part of that too. He knows by the minute what he will do!
Another is People. He has studied all the people involved; himself, her, his friends, her friends, his family, her family. And more. He knows everybody who will influence the decisions being considered.
And the Physical evidence is another he has studied. This can be thought of as the product. And it can also be the place where buyer and seller meet. This is the physical location of the meet. How is that going to add value to the exchange. That he has thought about in intense detail.
He has a far deeper understanding than even he realises. In the modern day all involved understand the role of influencers and micro influencers. Organic messages originate everywhere. So, anybody may be a Partner to him the process. And he has included that in his thinking.
There is more but you get the point!
A young man of eighteen, who is embarking on the most important date of his career applies the marketing P’s without having studied them. It is only logic, common sense and creativity that assists him.
Had he bought a textbook and studied he would by now be so confused he would not know where to start. What he did do was work hard. He noted all his comments down. He crossed them off the list when he completed one. He wrote things down extensively, that to make sure that he was consistent in his thinking and in what he was doing and saying.
There is another important marketing principle, this with a difference, as it is not spelt with a P. But it is a principle all young men know or will learn very quickly, usually very naturally.
It is far more important to listen than it is to talk.
And the point of this post is?
Within your DNA is the tradition of marketing things systematically, knowingly and creatively. You (both boys and girls equally) learned that at an early age. If you enjoy academic work, go for it and study. If you don’t, go ahead and practice what you know. Create that marketing strategy and plan. Implement it with that same passion.
Good luck with the vision that your SME represents!
About Garth Sutherland
Garth Sutherland has an extensive multicultural understanding.
He has worked with local brands (creating independent strategic positions) and international brands (integrating the international brand vision with the local demand to optimize the “on the ground” brand presence). His strengths include bringing a strong strategic focus into all aspects of marketing delivery, working with multi-agency perspectives, independent thinking & implementing with a consistent and practical interdependent teamwork focused delivery.
He is currently heading up www.smallbusinessmarketing.co.za, a fractional marketing consultancy that specialises in the SME sector.
And writing on modern marketing.
If you are looking to maximize the strategic value of your brand opportunity, Garth is the ideal resource to task.
Contact him at garth@smallbusinessmarketing.co.za or +27 (0) 81 265 5803
Other posts in this series can be read at https://www.linkedin.com/in/garthrsutherland/ or on http://www.smallbusinessmarketing.co.za
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