You may have heard of the 4Ps of marketing from a colleague or friend, textbook, or in school. The 4Ps are referred to as the Marketing Mix and go as far back as the 1950s. 

Although the 4Ps of marketing are associated with traditional marketing, it is a powerful concept that can help you grow, scale, and sustain your ecommerce business for many years. 

The ecommerce world is ever-evolving and at a staggering pace. Customer expectations are changing and keeping up with the latest trends is becoming increasingly important. 

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Understanding this core concept of marketing can help you understand your customers, improve their shopping experience and improve customer retention in the long run.

Read on as we explore what the 4Ps of marketing are and how you use them in your ecommerce marketing. 

What are the 4Ps of marketing? 

The 4Ps of marketing are crucial factors that you need to consider when marketing a product or service. They are essential pillars of building a successful marketing strategy. These four Ps of marketing include:

Product

Creating that marketing campaign all begins with understanding the product you are selling. What do you sell or offer? Is it a product or a service? How does your product stand out from your competitors? 

As an ecommerce business owner, you need to clearly define your product, its qualities, and how you want to introduce your product to your customers. You also need to understand the lifecycle of your product and how to manage it at every stage of its lifecycle. 

The first P is fundamental to determining the price of the product, where the product should be placed, and how to promote the product.  

Price

The price is how much your customers are willing to pay for your product and how it impacts their experience. To effectively price your product, you must connect it to the product's perceived and real value. You also need to consider things like supply costs, competitors’ pricing, and seasonal discounts. How you price your product determines your product positioning and your messaging. So, if you choose to place your price at the highest price on the market, you are positioning your ecommerce business as a luxury brand. 

Place 

Where will your products be available? Online or in-store? What are the channels of distribution? When you’re trying to set the third P, you want to consider where your customers are. This is not just their geographic location but the kind of media your customers consume. Not every channel will work for your product. So, if your customer spends most of their time online, you will consider promoting your product using online marketing instead of television. 

Promotion

Think of advertising, public relations, and the media. Promotion involves the strategies and tactics employed to popularize your product. It involves all the strategies you need to employ to keep your customers aware of the products or services you offer.

A brief history of the 4Ps of marketing 

The 4Ps of marketing go as far back as 1960 when it was first proposed by E. Jerome McCarthy. However, it didn’t become popular until 1964 when a Harvard professor, Neil Borden used the term Marketing Mix in his article "The Concept of the Marketing Mix."

Even with digitalization, the 4Ps of marketing have stood the test of time and are widely used by marketers all over the world. 

Importance of using the 4Ps in your ecommerce business 

The 4Ps of marketing are crucial for the success of your ecommerce business and here is how: 

• Firstly, the 4Ps of marketing, help you prioritize various aspects of your ecommerce business. The Product, Price, Place, and Promotion are all crucial aspects of your business and your customer journey. Beyond promoting your product, the price or product is also a major deciding factor for customers. With the 4Ps, you can avoid the trap of focusing on only one aspect and neglecting the others. 
• When your 4Ps are well outlined and understood, it can help create some consistency in your business. Your product affects the price which affects the placement and promotion. So, successful implementation of the 4Ps can help create consistency which your customers want to see. 
• The product you sell, its price, placement, and promotion are all crucial to your customer’s buying decision. In fact, these 4Ps determine if your customer will buy your product or not.
• Using the 4Ps can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and minimize excess costs. It can also arm you with knowledge of potential risks and how to navigate them. 
• Using the 4Ps involves thinking about what the customer wants and what the customer doesn’t. With a focus on the customer, you can improve customer satisfaction, improve loyalty and ultimately increase customer retention. 
• Lastly, as customer satisfaction is improved, the more they will buy from your brand, increasing sales and revenue. 

How to use the 4Ps in ecommerce marketing 

Now we understand what the 4Ps of marketing are, let’s dive into how you can use these 4Ps to promote your ecommerce business: 

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#1. Implementing the first P - Product

When it comes to implementing the first P in your ecommerce business, you need to consider certain factors. This includes the value of your product and the quality of your product. 

The value of the product 

To offer a product that your customers want to buy, it is important to define the value of your product. You want to ask questions like what problems your products are solving, why your customers should buy them, the unique selling point of your product, how to differentiate your product from your competitors, and how you can make the product better. 

Providing answers to these questions is the first step to creating an effective ecommerce marketing strategy. 

Quality of the product 

The quality of your product can set you miles apart from your competitors and boost conversions and sales. 

Your customers should know the quality of your product before they buy it. Your product content should emphasize the benefits and quality of your product. 

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With your product content, you can let your customers know why they should buy from your ecommerce store. Your product content should be well-optimized to drive conversions and sales. 

Here are a few ways you can optimize your product content to emphasize the quality of your product: 

• Optimize your product images: Your product image is the only way your customers can see what your product looks like. You want to make a good first impression by using high-quality images that zoom in on the details and show your products from different angles. 
• Add product videos: Including product videos on your product page is one way to bring your product to life and show your customers the quality and functionality of your product. 
• Include clear product descriptions: Your product descriptions should be clearly written and contain relevant information about your product. It should outline the features and benefits of your product and creatively persuade customers to make a buying decision.
• Add social proof: Social proof like reviews and testimonials can do a lot of advertising for your product and brand. Customers will likely trust a review as much as they would a personal recommendation. With social proof, you can address any objections customers may be having, emphasize the quality of your product, persuade them to buy from you, and ultimately increase your conversion rate. 

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Overall, you want to create high-quality product content to drive engagement and increase conversions. 

#2. Implementing the second P - Price

Price is simply how much your product or service costs. Price is a very crucial part of your marketing mix and can make or break your business. 

When setting your prices you want to think of how you want to be perceived. For example, when you think of Amazon, you think of a place where you can get high-quality products at affordable prices.

The tricky part about setting product prices is that it needs to be competitive, favorable to your customers while being profitable. 

In a world where customers have tons of options for the same product, you don’t want to set prices that are too high. On the other hand, setting prices that are too low can affect your profits. So, you want to find a good middle spot. 

As you set your prices, you want to consider a few things: 

• What is the lowest price you can set without affecting your profits?
• What is the highest price your customers will be willing to pay for? 
• What does your competitor's pricing look like? How does it compare with your pricing? 
• What prices do leaders of your industry offer?
• How will your customers react to changes and fluctuations in price? 

#3. Implementing the third P - Place 

The third P doesn’t just refer to a physical location but to all channels where you can reach your customers. So think of your website, social media platforms, online marketplaces, and more. 

It is important to consolidate your presence on all channels.  While one customer may shop on your website, another customer may want to shop for your product on Instagram. The key to successfully implementing “Place” into your marketing mix is to meet your customers where they are. 

So, if you sell handmade bags, putting up your business on a platform like LinkedIn may not be ideal. On the other hand, platforms like Etsy and Amazon Handmade may work just perfectly. 

Here are a few things to consider as you pick the right placements for your ecommerce business: 

• Which platform or online marketplace has the biggest customer base? Where are your customers? 
• What marketplace or platform currently sell your product? 
• What platforms or online marketplaces are worth investing in? 
• What are the best distribution channels currently working for your competitors? 
• What channel drives the highest traffic to your store? 

#4. Implementing the fourth P - Promotion

Promotion is at the core of marketing. To turn your marketing efforts into conversions and sales, you need to promote your product, service, or brand. So how can you promote your ecommerce business and turn your leads into paying customers? Here are a few promotion tips: 

• Promotion all starts with an ecommerce site. Ensure it is well-optimized and organized. Your website should also be easily navigable and attractive to customers. 
• Find out what channels your customers use the most and what the best time is to promote your product. You also want to look into how your competitors promote their products and what platforms they use. 
• Find out what kind of content or message resonates with your customers the most. 
• Leverage social proof to reinforce trust, address objections and encourage purchases. You can add testimonials and reviews to your ecommerce store to encourage prospects to shop from you. 
• Using loyalty programs, you can encourage your existing customers to not only buy from you again but to spread the word about your business. For example, a referral campaign is a great way to encourage your existing customers to tell others about your business, increasing your brand visibility. 
• Social media is a powerful channel to increase your brand awareness and engagement. You can create and post interesting content highlighting the benefits of your product. You can promote customer testimonial videos or images of satisfied customers on your social media platforms. 
• Influencer marketing is also another powerful marketing strategy that can increase your brand visibility exponentially. You can partner with an influencer in your industry to promote your product or participate in a giveaway campaign. Ultimately, this can put your product in front of new audiences and increase awareness. 

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Final thoughts

The 4Ps of marketing may seem like an old concept, but they are at the core of creating a successful marketing plan. Without these 4Ps, it may be impossible to differentiate your ecommerce business and stand out from the competition. By considering all elements of the 4Ps - Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, you can create a holistic marketing strategy. 

You can go through our article above to find out how you can leverage the 4Ps of marketing in your ecommerce business and drive profits. 

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