In the 1950's, American Marketing Association President Neil Borden coined the term "marketing mix." The traditional four P's of Marketing (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) were considered to be the primary components of the marketing mix. The Four P's of Marketing have been a staple of marketing education since then, although some have added a fifth P, People, to the marketing mix model. If you have studied marketing in the last 60 years, most likely you have spent time reading about the 4 or 5 P's of Marketing.
It is my contention that these five categories are very broad. Too broad for today. With marketers' ability to mass customize their marketing efforts these days, I think we need to pay attention to many more P's of Marketing. I plan to explore some of the many P's of Marketing over a series of blogs. I encourage readers to suggest other P's of Marketing. In this blog, I will briefly discuss the Original Four P's of Marketing.
Product: Everything starts with the product (or service) that is being marketed. The nature of the product, its qualities, its faults, its uniqueness, its available options, the demand for it in the market, all impact on how the product is marketed. All of the features of the product, including how it is produced, its packaging and its performance (3 more P's) impact the impression potential customers will have of a specific product. It is also impossible to view a product in a vacuum. How a specific product compares to its competitors is an essential component of marketing.
Price: Price, simply put, is what the consumer pays to acquire the product or service being marketed. In reality though, price really refers to the perceived value of that product or service. The trick of the marketer is to figure out how to maximize a product's profit potential by setting price so that it is just at the point where it meets perceived value. Econ 101 revisited!
Promotion: This is what most people think of when they think of marketing. Promotion refers to the efforts a company or marketer employ to get customers to make a purchase. This includes advertising and public relations that marketers employ to let prospective customers know about their product and the features and values they want those prospective customers to focus on. Promotion also traditionally includes the sales function, including direct sales and sales promotion.
Place: Place refers to where the product can be purchased. It seems to me that Place is the Original P that has changed the most in the last 60 years. Physical location of a store or allotment of shelf space matter much less now than they did in the 50's. With the advent of online sales, even the smallest producer can have a worldwide market available to them. No longer does the success of a product depend on whether the sales manager is able to negotiate a deal with Sears and Roebuck. These days, I would include in the Place category elements such as placement on a Google Search list, placing links to your sales website on sites that are popular with your target audience, getting on Pinterst and Facebook, and the like. I also suspect that if Mr. Borden were introducing his marketing mix concept today, Place may NOT be one of the four P's.
Next blog I will discuss the 5th P, People, and several other P's I think are worth paying attention to.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New Year's Wish List
This is the time of year when bloggers and pundits and "experts" or all sorts make predictions for the new year. I am not smart enough (nor arrogant enough) to come up with predictions. Rather, I will present, for your enjoyment, my wish list for the new year. None of these wishes have any specific relation to what I think is likely to happen. It has no basis in reality. It's just a silly little New Year's gift for you!
- I wish someone would figure out how to do a 24-hour news channel that actually provided 24 hours of news. Just news. For 24 hours.
- I used to have a watch that was self-winding. It never needed a battery and always ran. Why can't my cellphone work like that?
- Will 2013 be the year that it stops being called "new" media?
- I wish that marketers of poor products or weak messages would stop trying to compensate for both by being louder than anyone else.
- I hope, unrealistically, that the 2016 Presidential Race will take at least a year off before we start getting barraged with predictions, ads and news stories.
- I hope that someone finds several unaired seasons of The West Wing, MASH, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Cheers and Saturday Night Live with the original cast. And they are available for free. Sorry Netflix.
- I hope that social media stops being the strategy and starts being a means to accomplish a strategy.
- I wish that someone would successfully clone Walter Cronkite and have him re-teach newscasters how to deliver the news.
- Since cloning is now available, I also hope someone clones Buddy Holly, Walter Payton, Abraham Lincoln (assuming that Daniel Day-Lewis is busy), Frank Capra, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mark Twain and Billie Holiday.
- I hope that marketers will learn to embrace two-way communications and learn to seek out and embrace feedback from customers and non-customers, even negative feedback.
- I hope that Cubs fans no longer have to "wait until next year." And I don't mean because the team goes out of business.
- I hope that we can go for a year without a prediction of the end of the world. If there is such a prediction, I hope that the media is mature enough not to give it any attention.
- I hope 2013 brings more smiles and fewer tears. More joy and less sorrow. More life and less death. More patience and less intolerance. More growth and less destruction.
- I wish that you have a wonderful new year. As my Dad always says during toasts, I wish you Peace, Prosperity, Happiness and Health!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Do Random Acts of Kindness Need to Be Anonymous?
We have been having a debate in our household this week.
The debate centers around the 26 Acts of Kindness movement started by the tweet of news correspondent Ann Curry. I suspect most of you have heard of it by now. I hope many of you have participated in your own way. If you don't know about this, check out #26Acts on Twitter.
The debate we have been having is not anything about the value of doing random acts or paying it forward. We are all in favor of that. We have practiced it from time to time.
Rather, some in my family feel that by tweeting or blogging about the random acts you do, you take away the randomness of the act. By publicly declaring that you did an anonymous good deed, some of my family members feel, it is no longer anonymous and is no longer just about the good deed.
Does publicly announcing that you have done a philanthropic deed diminish the value of that deed? Or does it help to magnify it by inspiring others? Does it make an act of kindness smaller or larger?
I prefer to believe in the altruism of people and the value of publicity. I prefer to think that by sharing the random acts you have done or you have experienced, you help get others thinking about how they could do the same. You show, by example, the awesome impact even the smallest random act of kindness can have.
That is how I prefer to think of it. What do you think?
The debate centers around the 26 Acts of Kindness movement started by the tweet of news correspondent Ann Curry. I suspect most of you have heard of it by now. I hope many of you have participated in your own way. If you don't know about this, check out #26Acts on Twitter.
The debate we have been having is not anything about the value of doing random acts or paying it forward. We are all in favor of that. We have practiced it from time to time.
Rather, some in my family feel that by tweeting or blogging about the random acts you do, you take away the randomness of the act. By publicly declaring that you did an anonymous good deed, some of my family members feel, it is no longer anonymous and is no longer just about the good deed.
Does publicly announcing that you have done a philanthropic deed diminish the value of that deed? Or does it help to magnify it by inspiring others? Does it make an act of kindness smaller or larger?
I prefer to believe in the altruism of people and the value of publicity. I prefer to think that by sharing the random acts you have done or you have experienced, you help get others thinking about how they could do the same. You show, by example, the awesome impact even the smallest random act of kindness can have.
That is how I prefer to think of it. What do you think?
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Blurring the Lines
Reposted: This blog first ran on 12/18/12
I read an article in my local newspaper last week that breathlessly reported about a recent study indicating that a huge percentage of employees (60%) check personal social media sites more than once a day while at work. The article goes on to calculate the lost productivity and the unfairness of this to employers.
I think the reporter is looking at this issue too narrowly. The issue, as I see it, is more about the blurring of the lines between home and work. I acknowledge that many people access personal social media sites at work. I acknowledge that when you are updating your Facebook account you can't be balancing the ledgers or helping customers. But what the reporter didn't explore was how often employers do the same thing to employees traditionally non-work hours.
With the prevelence of smartphones, tablets and laptop computers, employees can access their work email accounts, if not the entirity of their computer files, from the comfort of the kitchen table. Furthermore, as this access has become more prevalent, access beyond the work day is not considered going above and beyond the call of duty, it is expected. How many of you have had someone ask you on Monday morning why you hadn't yet responded to the email that they sent you on Saturday?
Working at home has always happened. My Dad's had his briefcase and "paperwork" that needed to be worked on. I have replaced his briefcase with a laptop and a cellphone. What is different now is that with cellphones, tablets and laptops many of us are expected to be on call 24/7. Even vacations aren't sacrosanct.
Understand, I am not complaining about this. I have chosen to work in the field of marketing communications. As a media spokesperson, I have usually have had to be on call. Before cellphones, I often wore a pager. Likewise, I have also almost always brought work home. Some of that is because I sometimes find it easier to write away from the office.
But if we are going to have a conversation about how mobile technology has allowed more people to access personal social media during work hours, I think it is important to also acknowledge that the same media has also made it possible to access work from home. More and more, defining "work hours" has become difficult.
I read an article in my local newspaper last week that breathlessly reported about a recent study indicating that a huge percentage of employees (60%) check personal social media sites more than once a day while at work. The article goes on to calculate the lost productivity and the unfairness of this to employers.
I think the reporter is looking at this issue too narrowly. The issue, as I see it, is more about the blurring of the lines between home and work. I acknowledge that many people access personal social media sites at work. I acknowledge that when you are updating your Facebook account you can't be balancing the ledgers or helping customers. But what the reporter didn't explore was how often employers do the same thing to employees traditionally non-work hours.
With the prevelence of smartphones, tablets and laptop computers, employees can access their work email accounts, if not the entirity of their computer files, from the comfort of the kitchen table. Furthermore, as this access has become more prevalent, access beyond the work day is not considered going above and beyond the call of duty, it is expected. How many of you have had someone ask you on Monday morning why you hadn't yet responded to the email that they sent you on Saturday?
Working at home has always happened. My Dad's had his briefcase and "paperwork" that needed to be worked on. I have replaced his briefcase with a laptop and a cellphone. What is different now is that with cellphones, tablets and laptops many of us are expected to be on call 24/7. Even vacations aren't sacrosanct.
Understand, I am not complaining about this. I have chosen to work in the field of marketing communications. As a media spokesperson, I have usually have had to be on call. Before cellphones, I often wore a pager. Likewise, I have also almost always brought work home. Some of that is because I sometimes find it easier to write away from the office.
But if we are going to have a conversation about how mobile technology has allowed more people to access personal social media during work hours, I think it is important to also acknowledge that the same media has also made it possible to access work from home. More and more, defining "work hours" has become difficult.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
in Memorium
This is not the blog post that I had intended to write for today. My original plan got upended by the tragic events last Friday in Newtown, CT and Sandy Hook Elementary School. I wish my blog had been the only victim.
I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a resident of Newtown. The grief, sorrow and sense of loss for everyone in that town must be overwhelming. My heart and thoughts go out to them.
I do not want to be political with this post. I do, however, want to shine the spotlight on a couple perspectives which seem to resonate with truth and honesty to me.
The first centers around comments that were originally attributed to Morgan Freeman regarding the role of the media in perpetrating massacres such as this. That now appears to be a hoax. Regardless, the sentiments expressed in the statement warrant some consideration. One of the things that the now mysterious author of this statement says is that the media deserve some of the causal blame for tragedies like this. Too rarely do we hear the stories of the heroes of these events, of which there are many. Heroes like Victoria Soto, the 27 year old teacher who protected her students and paid with her life. Heroes like Principal Dawn Hochsprung, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, who allegedly rushed the perpetrator when he broke into the school. They were killed valiantly trying to protect others. There are, I am sure, dozens of other heroic acts, large and small. It seems to me that this should be the focus of media attention. Focus on the heroes and the victims of each tragedy.
Instead, the media tends to focus their attention, their pages and their airwaves on the perpetrators of these crimes, building them up in a way that many of them cannot dream of achieving in life without taking extraordinary measures. To a person who is struggling with their grasp on reality, watching coverage like this can arouse thoughts of a copycat crime and copycat fame. It is for this very reason that many newspapers and media outlets often do not report on teen suicides, or at least do not discuss the details. I think this is a wise policy.
Which raises another issue that too often goes under discussed in the wake of these tragedies. 100% of the people who perpetrate these tragedies are mentally ill. I don't care what their official diagnosis is, they are mentally ill. As a nation, we need to figure out a better way to identify, treat and care for those who are wrestling with inner demons. We cannot continue to hide from this issue or ignore these people who deserve our care and attention.
Mental health care has always taken a back seat to physical health care in our country. I don't know why that is, but it has to change. For an exceptionally personal perspective on what these issues look like from inside the family, please read an unbelievable blog by The Anarchist Soccer Mom here. I thank her for her frank and heartfelt revelation.
I don't have any answers regarding what has happened in Connecticut and too many other places around the world. I think we need to do something, and I always prefer taking positive, preventative action over negaitve, reactive action. I don't think the answer is turning our schools into prisons or locking away anyone who shows signs of mental instability. I do think there are answers and solutions out there. I know that for me, the first step was and is hugging my family.
Peace.
Please.
I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a resident of Newtown. The grief, sorrow and sense of loss for everyone in that town must be overwhelming. My heart and thoughts go out to them.
I do not want to be political with this post. I do, however, want to shine the spotlight on a couple perspectives which seem to resonate with truth and honesty to me.
The first centers around comments that were originally attributed to Morgan Freeman regarding the role of the media in perpetrating massacres such as this. That now appears to be a hoax. Regardless, the sentiments expressed in the statement warrant some consideration. One of the things that the now mysterious author of this statement says is that the media deserve some of the causal blame for tragedies like this. Too rarely do we hear the stories of the heroes of these events, of which there are many. Heroes like Victoria Soto, the 27 year old teacher who protected her students and paid with her life. Heroes like Principal Dawn Hochsprung, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, who allegedly rushed the perpetrator when he broke into the school. They were killed valiantly trying to protect others. There are, I am sure, dozens of other heroic acts, large and small. It seems to me that this should be the focus of media attention. Focus on the heroes and the victims of each tragedy.
Instead, the media tends to focus their attention, their pages and their airwaves on the perpetrators of these crimes, building them up in a way that many of them cannot dream of achieving in life without taking extraordinary measures. To a person who is struggling with their grasp on reality, watching coverage like this can arouse thoughts of a copycat crime and copycat fame. It is for this very reason that many newspapers and media outlets often do not report on teen suicides, or at least do not discuss the details. I think this is a wise policy.
Which raises another issue that too often goes under discussed in the wake of these tragedies. 100% of the people who perpetrate these tragedies are mentally ill. I don't care what their official diagnosis is, they are mentally ill. As a nation, we need to figure out a better way to identify, treat and care for those who are wrestling with inner demons. We cannot continue to hide from this issue or ignore these people who deserve our care and attention.
Mental health care has always taken a back seat to physical health care in our country. I don't know why that is, but it has to change. For an exceptionally personal perspective on what these issues look like from inside the family, please read an unbelievable blog by The Anarchist Soccer Mom here. I thank her for her frank and heartfelt revelation.
I don't have any answers regarding what has happened in Connecticut and too many other places around the world. I think we need to do something, and I always prefer taking positive, preventative action over negaitve, reactive action. I don't think the answer is turning our schools into prisons or locking away anyone who shows signs of mental instability. I do think there are answers and solutions out there. I know that for me, the first step was and is hugging my family.
Peace.
Please.
Friday, December 14, 2012
My Blog is 100: Celebrating Milestones
In this blog, I have frequently written about the importance of celebration and recognizing milestones. It seems appropriate then that I practice what I preach. This is my 100th published post to my blog "Everything is Marketing." Yeah me!
It seems remarkable (and a bit humbling) that it took me this long to hit this milestone. My first post was in August 2009. I have had many fits and starts, a barren gap of a year and a half and other gaps of a month or more. I have stepped away from writing this blog many times and I have always failed to contribute to it in anything resembling a regular schedule. But I keep coming back to it and I keep getting indicators that a few brave souls are actually reading what I write. That is the humbling part.
This blog has been surprisingly rewarding in many ways. Creating a space where I can think and write about marketing in a non-job specific way helps to give me some perspective and balance. Having a venue to write and think creatively is very precious to me. Having an audience is even more precious. I treasure those of you who comment about what I write, either online or to me in person.
I fully intend to keep at this. After all, I have been picking up steam a bit...two thirds of my posts were written this year. My goal...and I am actually foolishly stating it on here...is to hit 200 posts in 2013.
So welcome to the party! Have a slice of cake (guaranteed to have no calories!) and sit back and have fun. I plan to!
It seems remarkable (and a bit humbling) that it took me this long to hit this milestone. My first post was in August 2009. I have had many fits and starts, a barren gap of a year and a half and other gaps of a month or more. I have stepped away from writing this blog many times and I have always failed to contribute to it in anything resembling a regular schedule. But I keep coming back to it and I keep getting indicators that a few brave souls are actually reading what I write. That is the humbling part.
This blog has been surprisingly rewarding in many ways. Creating a space where I can think and write about marketing in a non-job specific way helps to give me some perspective and balance. Having a venue to write and think creatively is very precious to me. Having an audience is even more precious. I treasure those of you who comment about what I write, either online or to me in person.
I fully intend to keep at this. After all, I have been picking up steam a bit...two thirds of my posts were written this year. My goal...and I am actually foolishly stating it on here...is to hit 200 posts in 2013.
So welcome to the party! Have a slice of cake (guaranteed to have no calories!) and sit back and have fun. I plan to!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Expectations
“High expectations are the key to everything.”
~ Sam Walton
I recently got an iPad. I had very high expectations for it. EVERYTHING I had heard or read about iPads, led me to believe that I was now holding in my hands a true marvel of modern engineering. My new work tool (I am trying really hard not to call it my new toy) has a lot of wonderful features. I can access the Internet with lightning fast speed; I can read and respond to email and manage my calendar and To Do lists without fumbling with scraps of paper and pens that are out of ink. My iPad is a wonderful thing...except....
Except I am a writer. I spend a good part of my work day and even a fair amount of my personal time writing. If you are writing anything more an a brief response to an email, iPads ARE NOT an ideal tool!
I am writing this blog on my iPad and the amount of time that I have to spend checking spelling, formats, rechecking spelling, correcting auto correct, and the rest really has me distracted. When I write, I prefer to let the words flow and then go back to edit what I have written. I cannot do that on this device.
Part of it stems from the fact that iPads don't have real keypads. Part of it stems from the fact that this tool isn't designed as a computer but as something between. Between a smart phone and a laptop. Between an Internet portal and a productivity tool. Between.
Ultimately, this comes down to high expectations. I expected my new iPad to be the next best thing since, well, the iPhone (which actually came out AFTER the iPad, but never mind...). I expected a solution to ALL my mobile computing needs. What I got was a solution to some of my mobile computing needs. And no keyboard.
I recently got an iPad. I had very high expectations for it. EVERYTHING I had heard or read about iPads, led me to believe that I was now holding in my hands a true marvel of modern engineering. My new work tool (I am trying really hard not to call it my new toy) has a lot of wonderful features. I can access the Internet with lightning fast speed; I can read and respond to email and manage my calendar and To Do lists without fumbling with scraps of paper and pens that are out of ink. My iPad is a wonderful thing...except....
Except I am a writer. I spend a good part of my work day and even a fair amount of my personal time writing. If you are writing anything more an a brief response to an email, iPads ARE NOT an ideal tool!
I am writing this blog on my iPad and the amount of time that I have to spend checking spelling, formats, rechecking spelling, correcting auto correct, and the rest really has me distracted. When I write, I prefer to let the words flow and then go back to edit what I have written. I cannot do that on this device.
Part of it stems from the fact that iPads don't have real keypads. Part of it stems from the fact that this tool isn't designed as a computer but as something between. Between a smart phone and a laptop. Between an Internet portal and a productivity tool. Between.
Ultimately, this comes down to high expectations. I expected my new iPad to be the next best thing since, well, the iPhone (which actually came out AFTER the iPad, but never mind...). I expected a solution to ALL my mobile computing needs. What I got was a solution to some of my mobile computing needs. And no keyboard.
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