You came out with a wonderful item that have the potential to go big, but there is one hurdle to jump before the hoorays. The hurdle is to market the item so that consumers are interested enough to spend their money on your item. In this article we shall look into two concepts in marketing which are target market and Four P’s.
Prior jumping into the world of Four P’s, it has always been emphasised that one should be able to identify their target market beforehand. Target market can be defined as the group or groups of customers for which the marketer will direct attention. This group is determined after thorough segmentation and analysis of the market. Once the target market is identified, that entrepreneurs may start to brainstorm on their marketing strategy.
In order to commercialise any item, an entrepreneur would think hard and creatively to market their items. Fret not, many seasoned marketers have outlined the main guidelines for the many of us that are just about to start the game. Notoriously famous as the Four P’s, these fantastic four is a great starting point to strategies on one’s marketing game. There are four marketing mix variables that are associated with a product. These must be taken into consideration when making any decisions regarding marketing activities.
Sethughes (2020) have perfectly laid out the four P’s that are the backbones of any marketing community which are:
- Product: This variable described all factors relating to the actual product visible to the consumer. These may include things such as quality, features, options, style, packaging, brand, sizes, labels, variety, and warranties.
- Price: The price variable includes not only the list price, but all other pricing factors associated with a product. These may include discounts, allowances, payment options and periods, and credit terms. All of these are related to the final, whole price of the product.
- Place: Place deals with all distribution and location aspects of a product. How and what are the products available to consumers? These may include assortments, channels, coverage areas, locations, and inventories.
- Promotion: Promotion is any and all efforts by a company to make publicize a product and make the consumer aware of it. Efforts might include advertising, personal selling, sales, public relations, or internet activities.
All in all, any marketer should set their target market first, before utilising the Four P’s or should we call it Pantastic Four!