Marketing Mix: How Many Ps In Marketing - 4Ps, 7Ps, 11Ps or More?

One of the most famous concepts in marketing is the marketing mix or the 4P's of marketing.

I will look at the traditional marketing mix, how the marketing mix has been extended for service marketing with the 7Ps of Marketing.

I then consider just how many Ps there are in marketing since there have been many derivations of the marketing mix.

The Marketing Mix or 4 P's of Marketing

The marketing mix was designed as a simple way to focus on the main elements of marketing for a business and to create a marketing strategy either at business, product or campaign level.

Some clever marketer played around with the words and realised that the concepts could be described with words beginning with the letter P - and created the 4Ps of marketing.

• Product - what you are selling
   
  
• Price - how much you are charging for your product
   
  
• Promotion - how you tell people about your offer i.e. your product and price
   
  
• Place - how people can buy your product
  

So for any marketer, the aim is simple.

To sell the right product (that customers want) at the right price (which customers can afford and are willing to pay) at a convenient place using effective promotions.

Each element of the marketing mix should be consistent, fit together and reinforce the other elements.

So you don't market a premium product at a "pile 'em high" price.

You don't market a premium product with tatty "done from home by your 9 year old daughter" promotional material - unless of course it is targeted at people with 9 year old daughters.

And you don't sell your premium product at the local flea market.

Remember the marketing mix is about consistent fit.

Criticisms Of The Marketing Mix and the 4 P's of Marketing

The marketing mix has been a mainstay of teaching marketing to students and professionals for fifty years although, like any well established idea, it is also criticised.

One thought is that it is too product focused and doesn't translate well into the growing service based economy we live in - see the Service Marketing Mix below).

Others criticise the marketing mix as a tool for setting marketing strategy because it doesn't have a goal - or I suppose beginning with P that should be Purpose - making a profit, generating quick cash flow, a low priced front end product which opens up the opportunity for future sales.

Without establishing purpose, how do you know if you have a marketing mix which is suitable?

An equally relevant criticism is the internal focus - where is the customer in the discussion of marketing, which however you dress it up, is concerned with persuading particular customers to buy.

So in this case, we should be adding another P - for purchaser to keep the focus on the target customer, what they want, need and what motivates them.

And if marketing is about wanting customers to buy, the traditional marketing mix is for suppliers pushing products into the marketplace and not customers pulling products out of the potential suppliers based on their needs and wants through market research.

I can't think of a word beginning with P for the research issue so at the moment I'm going with Push/Pull to communicate the idea in a new marketing mix. (Please leave comments with any suggestions).

If customers need to feel confident before they buy - to know, like and trust you - then there is no mention of the development of Personal relationships which are an essential element of 21st century marketing.

Just to recap I have suggested that the marketing mix is missing:

• Purpose (normally profit)
    
  
• Purchaser
   
  
• Push/Pull
   
  
• Personal relationships

Service Marketing Mix - The 7P's of Service Marketing

In my MBA I was taught the traditional marketing mix based on the 4Ps and also taught the Service Marketing Mix or the 7Ps of marketing.

This picked up the traditional marketing mix of Product, Price, Promotion and Place and added:

• People - services are performed by people whose performance influences the quality of the service delivered and perceived to be delivered.
   
  
• Process - it's not just the attitudes of the person that matters but the process they use to provide the service.
   
  
• Physical evidence - services are intangible so the customer looks for physical clues about the quality.

How Many Ps Are There In A Marketing Mix?

So far we have the original 4Ps of marketing, the extra 3 Ps added in the Service Marketing Mix and my four based on critiquing the marketing mix.

That takes us up to 11 Ps of marketing.

UK Marketing expert Fraser Hay published a list of the 5 fundamental principles of marketing:

• Positioning
   
  
• Packaging
   
  
• Promotion
   
  
• Persuasion
   
  
• Performance

Since promotion is already covered in the traditional marketing mix, this adds another 4P's to the marketing list - positioning, packaging, persuasion and performance.

Then I Started Brainstorming About Marketing

Do the 15 Ps identified so far summarise what marketing has to offer and the important characteristics of marketing?

I don't think so.

The first marketing book I ever read - getting on for 25 years ago was Offensive Marketing by Hugh Davison - it got me hooked. That book used an acronym of POISE.

• Profitable - even in loss leading campaigns and image advertising to build brands, there has to be a clear path to profit.
   
  
• Offensive - perhaps Proactive would be more suitable in this situation.
   
  
• Integrated - your marketing has to Pull together and not consistent of a scatter gun approach of different campaigns which send out conflicting messages.
   
  
• Strategic - I mentioned Purposeful earlier
   
  
• Effective - it has to work. Marketing that creates results is an investment, marketing that produces nothing is a waste of time, effort and money so the best P I can come up with is Perform - this is different to Fraser's performance which I believe relates to the product or service you provide.

The Marketing Ps Don't End There

We are bombarded with marketing messages and spam coming into our email inboxes so Seth Goden's concept of Permission Marketing is becoming increasingly relevant - and Permission is another P.

And isn't marketing about helping a customer finding a solution to a Problem?

Aren't customers motivated by the thoughts of moving away from Pain or towards Pleasure?  

One of the key factors I stress in my marketing coaching is the need to be intentional - to decide what you want and to work out how you will achieve it - i.e to Plan your marketing.

Further thinking brings in two extra Ps - you need to have Periodic communications since one message won't do the job and you need to be Persistent.

In fact because of the difficulty of building up the know, like and trust factors, one of the most successful marketing strategies is to work through Partners who are already trusted.

And what is the most important thing that determines whether a customer buys - what is going on inside their heads - logically and emotionally which brings in the twin forces of Psychology and Perceptions.

The New Marketing Mix

Have I convinced you that seeing marketing in terms of the traditional marketing mix of the 4Ps or the service marketing mix of 7Ps is too simplistic?

So how does the new marketing mix appeal - the 27P's of Marketing (and counting)

1. Product
    
   
2. Price
    
   
3. Promotion
    
   
4. Place
    
   
5. People
    
   
6. Process
    
   
7. Physical evidence
    
   
8. Purpose
    
   
9. Purchaser
    
   
10. Push/pull
     
    
11. Personal relationships
     
    
12. Positioning
     
    
13. Packaging
     
    
14. Persuasion
     
    
15. Performance
     
    
16. Profitable
     
    
17. Proactive
     
    
18. Pull together
     
    
19. Perform
     
    
20. Permission
     
    
21. Pain
     
    
22. Pleasure
     
    
23. Periodic
     
    
24. Persistent
     
    
25. Partners
     
    
26. Psychology
     
    
27. Perceptions  

OK what key marketing concept have I forgotten? Inevitably there are bound to be things that I have missed so please leave a comment and let me know.

One P That Marketing Isn't

There is one thing that marketing can never be.

Perfect.

Whatever you do can be improved.

And the 27s Ps of the new Marketing Mix are a good place to start.

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Comments

[Paul Simister]

I posted a link to this on another site and someone thought I was "being ridiculous".

In some ways this blog about the marketing mix and the 4 Ps was intended as a spoof.

You could say I was taking the Ps out of marketing. (Sorry is that just too corny?)

I show it in the marketing mix blog.

First there are 4 Ps in the marketing mix.

Then someone thinks there should be another added so it becomes the "new, improved 5 Ps of marketing mix".

Next someone adds on another couple to create a marketing mix of the 7Ps.

Then I read someone effectively say, there are not the important 4Ps of marketing, these are the ones you want.

But it is funny how many words beginning with P are closely associated with marketing.

If I had to narrow it down to a more sensible number, I would focus attention on:

P for Profit - If you don't make a profit (over the long term) then it is bad marketing.

P for Perception - to remind us that it is not what we know to be true or false that matters but what the prospective customer perceives.

P for Positioning - so many of the marketing mistakes I see can be traced back to the fact that there is nothing special about the business. It's no different from the ten nearest competitors.

I'd better stop.

I am in danger of writing out the full list of 27 Ps again.

Marketing lies at the centre of everything you do in your business and that's why you need to understand it.

The traditional marketing mix of price, product, place and promotion in my view under-emphasise the importance of effective marketing.

[Paul Simister]

I am very pleased with how much traffic this blog on the Marketing mix, 4Ps of marketing, 7Ps of marketing, 11 Ps of marketing etc.

But it would be nice to see some comments coming through.

What do you think about the original 4 Ps Marketing Mix concept?

Do the 4Ps say everything you need to say about marketing or are the add-ons - for example the 7 Ps for service marketing right?

Can you over do it?

My 27 Ps of marketing was written partly out of intrigue.

Every time I found myself in some kind of philosophical discussion about marketing, I found myself using another P word to describe an important aspect.

Whether you are a marketing practitioner or marketing student, your views on the marketing mix are welcome and your contribution may be the one that makes the difference to one of my readers.

[John Deakin]

Forget all about the 7ps of marketing, the 11Ps or marketing, the 15Ps of marketing and please no, not the 27 Ps of marketing.

Just stick with the traditional four

Product
Price
Place
Promotion

Any more and you just overcomplicate what was originally a simple, easy to remember idea.

If you can't get your marketing right with the traditional 4Ps then you don't stand any hope of using more.

[Paul Simister]

John

Thanks for your comment and entering into a debate on the marketing mix.

I agree that the original 4Ps is certainly simple and easy to remember but I don't think it is particular inspiring or insightful.

While the marketing mix and 4Ps is certainly one of the best known marketing concepts I have my doubts over whether it has created enough benefits.

When I was taking my MBA, there was a backlash against the 4Ps concept for simplifying marketing too much.

There was a tendency to box filling.

Writing a bit about product, price, place and promotion. Then a quick check that there was consistency and voila, there is your marketing strategy.

Certainly I don't like the fact that Profit is excluded although it would certainly make sense from some of the marketing campaigns I've seen which are about winning advertising awards and not selling more products or increasing the willingness to pay a premium price.

As I said earlier, I did write this as a tongue in cheek riposte to various articles I was reading that identified others Ps.

is there an alternative to the marketing mix?

Well my MBA course proposed

1 - Understanding customer value
2 - Creating customer value
3 - Communicating customer value
4 - Delivering customer value

and I do like this approach for its emphasis on the customer when the 4Ps can be very inward facing.

[Stan Phelps]

Paul,
Let me join the debate and offer one more 'P'. I wrote a post recently on Personality being the 5th P in marketing. http://9inchmarketing.com/2009/05/14/personality-the-fifth-p-in-marketing/
I think the importance of establishing an engaging presence behind a brand is vital.
Be interested to hear your thoughts.
Best,
Stan
@9inchmarketing

[Paul Simister]

Stan thanks for your comment.

Good one.

I am very happy to agree the Personality is another % to be a contender in the marketing mix.

There are some marketers who just grab you with their personality and involve you.

In the internet marketing world, the cool dude, Frank Kern springs to mind.

Also Gary Vaynerchuk of http://tv.winelibrary.com/ brings such great enthusiasm to wine that it is difficult not to want to buy.

Your idea of personality as another P of marketing caused me to word associate to personality as a famous star and celebrity.

Regigging that into the marketing mix Ps of marketing, I guess that will have to become Personal fame.

While that is an outcome of marketing by the celebrity, it can be harnessed by a business through endorsements, associations and PR.

[Paul Simister]

4 Ps of The Traditional Marketing Mix

Price
Product
Place
Promotion

[Paul Simister]

The 5Ps of marketing mix

Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Participation - engage in a conversation between the brand and customers

http://www.collegerecruiter.com/consumer-marketers-blog/general/the-5-ps-of-marketing/

Promotion
Position
Perfection
Preparation
Positive attitude

http://www.nextlevelsolutionsforrealestate.com/The-5-Ps-of-Marketing-and-Seller-Relations.html

Fraser Hay (as mentioned in my original blog)

Positioning
Packaging
Promotion
Persuasion
Performance

[Paul Simister]

The 6Ps of marketing mix version 1

People
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Performance
http://faculty.msb.edu/homak/HomaHelpSite/WebHelp/Marketing_6_Ps_ASQs.htm

The 6Ps of marketing mix version 2

Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Passion
Persistence
http://www.careers.govt.nz/pathfinder/Articles/Article36.htm

The 6Ps of marketing mix version 3

Production
Price
Place
Promotion
People & participation
Purpose
http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/ad499e/ad499e0a.htm

The 6Ps of marketing mix version 4

Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Positioning
Passion
http://www.6pmarketing.com/the6ps.html

[Paul Simister]

7 Ps of marketing mix (for service businesses as identified in the original article)

Price
Place
Product
Promotion
People
Processes
Physical evidence

7Ps of Marketing Mix version 2

Product
Prices
Promotion
Place
Packaging
Positioning
People
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/article70824.html

7Ps of Marketing Mix version 3

Price
Position
Product
Promotion
People
Processes
Physical evidence

http://www.sabusinesshub.com/section/content.php?SectionId=7&SubsectionId=5&ContentId=529

[Paul Simister]

8Ps of Marketing Mix version 1

Product
Price
Placement
Promotion
Perspective
Philosophy
People
Planning
http://www.acacamps.org/campmag/issues/0809/marketing.php

8Ps of Marketing Mix version 2

Product
Pricing
Promotion
Placement
Personalization
Participation
Peer to Peer
Predictive modelling

http://jtonedm.com/2008/07/07/heres-why-decisions-matter-to-the-8-ps-of-marketing/

8Ps of Marketing Mix version 3

Price
Product
Place
Promotion
Positioning
People
Process
Physical evidence
i.e. like the service marketing mix with positioning added

http://readbetweentheps.blogspot.com/2005/06/financing-more-ps-in-micro-finance.html

[Paul Simister]

Litwin's 9 Ps of Marketing

Promotion
Public relations
Positioning (place)
Personal Selling
Price
Product
Packaging
Policy
Politics

[Paul Simister]

10 Ps of marketing mix version 1

Price
Purchases
Points
Partners
Prizes
Pro Bono
Privileges
Personalization
Participation
Presto

http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=9572

10 Ps of marketing mix version 2

Price
Place
Product
Promotion
Public Relations
Political Power
People
Physical Evidence
Processes
Packaging

http://www.megadist.net/10%20Ps.html

10 Ps of marketing mix version 3

Positioning
Packaging
Portals
Pathways
Pages
Personalization
Progression
Payments
Processes
Performance

This one is very different from the traditional marketing mix and is much more in tune with Internet marketing

http://www.skyrme.com/insights/29int10p.htm

10 Ps of marketing mix version 4
The 10 Ps of Problem Based Marketing

Purpose
Problems
Positioning
Process
Products
Packaging
Promotion
Persuasion
Pricing
Performance

http://problembasedmarketing.com/2006/07/04/the-10-ps-of-problem-based-marketing/

10 Ps of marketing mix version 5

Passion
People
Processes
Planning
Promote
Platform
Product
Permanence
Partners
Proud

http://www.bhmarketingstore.com/tenps.html

10 P's of Marketing Mix

Product
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Process
Physical asset
Perception
Projection and prediction
Promise

http://managementwisdom.blogspot.com/2009/02/10-ps-marketing-mix-by-prof-chris-birch.html

[Paul Simister]

11 Ps of Marketing Mix version 1 for Web 2.0

Product
Pricing
Promotion
Placement
People
Process
Physical evidence
Privacy
Personal Interests
Personal (e.g. social) Networks
Public Commentary (e.g. product/service ratings, etc.)

http://www.beatenetworks.com/blog/index.php?/archives/18-The-11-Ps-of-Marketing.html

The 11 P's in a Remarkable Brand

Principles
Play (guest experience)
Promise
Place
People
Production Elements
Props
Price
Promotion
Press
Performance Reviews & Prizes

http://www.remarkablebranding.com/articles/11_Ps.html

11Ps of marketing version 3

Product
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Partnership
Productivity
Personalization
Physical Image
Protocol
Privacy

http://www.infibeam.com/Books/info/nik-tehrani/contemporary-marketing-mix-digital-era/9781438938752.html

[Paul Simister]

Can't find

The 12 Ps of Marketing Mix

or

The 13 Ps of Marketing Mix

But this website is developing the 14 Ps of Marketing - only up to six at the moment

http://attractum.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

[Paul Simister]

15 P's of Marketing

Product
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Process
Physical Evidence
Privacy
Personal Interest
Personal Social Networks
Public Commentary
Personalization
Participation
Peer to Peer
Predictive Modeling

http://blog.internship-uk.com/blog/_archives/2009/6/15/4222947.html

And here is another 15 Ps of marketing which are difficult to pick up.

http://www.banknoteclub.com/Content/marketing.php

[Paul Simister]

OK options are beginning to run out.

Personally I think that it is shocking how Profit - arguable the most important P - is not included.

Not a lot looking at marketing from the customer's perspective either is there which does seem to be a contradiction.

I suggested Purchaser in my early amendments to the marketing mix together with the idea of Problem and moving from Pain to Pleasure. I also added Perceptions to remind marketers that it is not what we think and know what matters but what the customer thinks, feels and perceives.

Anyway onward and upward with the marketing mix, you don't think I'm the only one who has managed to get past 15 do you?

17Ps of marketing

http://www.chrmglobal.com/Replies/489/1/17-P%27s-drive-marketing-today.html

(Profit comes in at number 8 and payment - which is necessary for there to be a profit - is at number 7)

But we can't stop at 17Ps but there is a gap until

The 24 Ps of Marketing

http://bizcovering.com/marketing-and-advertising/the-24-ps-of-marketing/

I had the 27 Ps of marketing above but I have been pipped for the most

I have found

The 29s Ps of Marketing

http://barbararozgonyi-wiredprworks.com/2008/11/13/thought-leadership-pr-recipe-calls-for-29-ps/

although mysteriously there are only 28 Ps of marketing (and PR) listed and I don't think I understand them all.

Is that it?

Oh No

I have found the 30Ps of marketing but it will cost to find out what they are as the 30Ps of successful marketing is an ebook

http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/title/30-p%27s-of-successful-marketing-schwartz-ebooks.htm

OK.
That's it.

I give up - 30 Ps of marketing is the limit...

...unless you know different.

[Paul]

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https://schefren.infusionsoft.com/go/loemo/spinone/

affiliate link

[Paul]

Interesting search found this blog - how will the marketing mix change in the 21st century?

It got me thinking and I started with the 4Ms of Marketing.

Don't know what the 4Ms are?

Mindset
Market
Message
Media

I think mindset is going to become increasingly important as global competition and free access to information on the Internet continues to develop.

There needs to be intentional focus on how marketing translates into profit but also an increase in two way communication as social media increases to have greater impact.

The market itself will remain critical - especially how you define the market and how you can target your ideal customers. Globalisation means that small focused niches are much more viable and remember the impact of the Long Tail.

Message will mainly stay the same. People's motivations and desires haven't changed for hundreds of years. Work from the copywriting greats at the start of the 20th century remains just as valid in the 21st century.

Media is where we will see the biggest change in the 21st century and in potentially unimaginable ways.

Who could have imagined the Internet 40 years ago?

Media is fragmenting rapidly, newspapers are going online, TVs have many more channels and the ability to screen out adverts when recording.

So what does that impact on the marketing mix as typified by the 4Ps.

Prices will be driven down for anything that is not differentiated and well positioned for specialised use.

Products will become more specialised unless production allows major cost savings from standardisation.

Place will become more fragmented as distribution channels weaken and dissolve.

Promotion will become more intense. The number of marketing messages will only go one way and more extreme methods will be needed to attract a potential buyer and move him or her into action.

What do you think?

How will the marketing mix (the 4Ps, the 7Ps or whatever you like) change as we go deeper into the 21st century?

[Paul]

Tell me, does any of this on the marketing mix and the Ps of marketing:

Ehether that;s the 4 Ps of marketing, 7 Ps of marketing, 11 Ps of marketing or 27 Ps of marketing

really make sense?

This one blog article attracts about 150 hits a week and I would be very interested to hear what you think.

Are the 4 Ps enough?

Is the 7Ps valid for service marketing?

Are the other extensions of the marketing mix unnecessary or do you agree that the 4Ps and 7Ps is an internal concept of marketing when it should be about matching external and internal?