Marketing is a field of activity without which it's essentially impossible to effectively sell goods and provide services. Promotional and PR activities are crucial for gaining a competitive advantage and building customer loyalty. And although the concept itself is very broad and encompasses many different types of activities, it always rests on the same pillars, the so-called marketing instruments. What exactly are they?
Marketing instruments – a classic concept
The most basic concept regarding marketing instruments, the marketing mix, was developed decades ago and is summarized in the 4Ps principle. According to this concept, marketing consists of four basic elements:
- product (product),
- price (price),
- special offer (promotion),
- distribution (place).
In opposition to this concept, Robert Lauterborn presented his own, which he called the 4Cs. It contains exactly the same elements as the classic 4Ps, but instead of presenting the entrepreneur's perspective, it emphasizes the role of the customer. According to Lauterborn, this approach to marketing is essential, because only a complete focus on the customer's needs leads to success. His theory highlights the following elements:
- customer value,
- costs,
- convenience,
- communication.
Let us now focus on explaining what the individual instruments concern and how we should understand them and – most importantly – use them in practice.
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It doesn't necessarily have to be a tangible product sold to the customer. When we talk about a product, we mean the value a specific item or service brings to the customer and the needs it satisfies. Therefore, if we offer mechanical repair services, we don't just communicate that the company provides inspections and replacement of broken parts. We focus on the fact that using professional service provides safety, comfort, time savings, guaranteed quality, and so on. It's important to remember that dry information about a product doesn't necessarily inspire a desire to purchase it. We need to make the customer aware of the problems it can solve and the expectations it can meet. Only then do we gain the interest of potential customers.
Price is a crucial element of marketing, as it largely influences the other foundations of brand communication. Product prices can be selected based on various criteria, such as brand recognition, competitor prices, production costs, and the financial capabilities of the target group. However, it's crucial to maintain a consistent pricing policy within the brand. Therefore, if our offerings are intended to be widely accessible and appeal to consumers of all budgets, prices should be very competitive. However, if we're targeting a group of affluent consumers who exclusively purchase luxury products, a price that's too low will not only be ineffective but may even harm sales.
- Special offer (promotion, communication)
Once we have a product tailored to the needs of our target audience, we need to communicate to the world that it's available and worth purchasing from us. This is achieved through all promotional activities: on our website, in Google Ads , social media , at our headquarters, in print, on radio, on television, on billboards, etc. This is where we can tell people about the product's benefits and the needs it meets. Of course, we don't have to use every available promotional channel – it's worth analyzing the target audience and advertising (paid and unpaid) where recipients spend the most time.
- Distribution (place, convenience)
In short, these factors determine whether purchasing a product or service will be convenient for the customer. Whether it's a brick-and-mortar store or a service provider (beauty salon, café, hotel, etc.), location is crucial. The product must be close to the customer, even within easy reach, so that reaching the company is effortless. For online businesses, the most important factor is the website where the product can be purchased (its responsiveness, intuitiveness, loading speed, etc.). Convenience can also be achieved in other ways, for example, by offering various payment or delivery methods.
Expanded concept of marketing instruments
However, it quickly became apparent that the 4P or 4C concept was insufficient to describe all the marketing factors that determine a brand's success. Therefore, it was decided to expand it to include another 3P, and in recent studies, even an additional 4P:
- people,
- process,
- physical evidence,
- pleasure.
This broad term encompasses all the people involved in the sale/purchase of a product: the seller, the customer, and other buyers. What's the point? Above all, even the highest-quality product won't be successful if there's no demand for it. Therefore, before introducing a product or service to the market, research is necessary to determine interest in the offer. However, service related to the product is equally important. Whether in brick-and-mortar businesses or online stores , it's crucial that the seller is friendly, competent, able to solve any problems, and meet customer expectations. Nowadays, employees largely shape the brand's image. However, there's another element to this puzzle: other buyers. This means that no customer lives in a vacuum; they are surrounded by other brand fans with whom they can connect and share experiences. Social media groups that bring together a company's customers are no longer uncommon, allowing them to build an engaged community around the brand.
This refers to the entire process of customer contact, including after the purchase of a product or service, including customer satisfaction surveys, after-sales support, upselling skills, improving the offering based on customer feedback, and so on. We might create a great product or service, but it might not be as useful to customers as initially expected. The key, then, is to continually improve our products to better meet customer needs. That's why we call it a process.
Despite the name, these don't necessarily have to be tangible things, although we do include those. These are all the elements that help a potential customer form an opinion about the quality of a service or product. Examples include the brand's visual identity: logo, website , leaflets, and promotional materials. However, less obvious things, such as the appearance of a company's headquarters and its equipment, also provide evidence of the high quality of services provided.
The pleasure category encompasses all those features of a specific product or service that are not strictly related to utility but are simply a pleasant bonus for the customer. For example, chairs in a restaurant have no impact on the quality of the meal, its taste, or its nutritional value, but if they are comfortable and at the right height for the table, they enhance the enjoyment of the experience. The fragrance in cosmetics or the air conditioning in a car can also serve the same purpose.
Marketing instruments in marketing strategy
Marketing tools aren't the same as tools, and they don't provide specific ways to promote a brand. Instead, they're like building blocks that can be freely arranged to create a strategy for selling a product or service. Understanding their essence and delving into consumer needs is essential to building a competitive advantage.
Frequently asked questions about marketing tools
Marketing instruments are a set of interconnected tools and activities that a company uses to shape its offerings and influence its target market. The appropriate combination of these elements allows it to effectively achieve business goals and meet customer needs.
The traditional 4P model, which is the foundation of marketing, is based on four basic pillars (from the first letters of the English words):
- Product: What exactly do you offer (features, quality, packaging).
- Price: How much you sell for (pricing policy, discounts, payment terms).
- Distribution (Place): Where and how the customer can make a purchase (sales channels, logistics).
- Promotion: How you communicate your offer (advertising, PR, direct marketing).
The 7P model is an extension of the classic concept, created primarily for the service industry. It has been enhanced with three additional elements that have a key impact on the customer experience:
- People: Employees, quality of customer service and team competences.
- Process: The procedures and path a customer must follow from interest to service delivery.
- Physical evidence: Physical and visual aspects that make the service credible (e.g. office design, professional and fast website).
Price is the only marketing mix instrument that directly generates revenue (all others generate costs). It must be properly balanced – high enough to generate profit for the company, yet affordable enough or value-based enough for the customer to be willing to accept it.
In today's digital marketing, promotion is much more than traditional flyers or billboards. It encompasses complex online activities such as SEO, paid PPC campaigns (e.g., Google Ads, Meta Ads), social media marketing, and content marketing, which allow for highly targeted targeting.
The 4C model is an evolution of the 4P concept. It shifts the perspective from a product-centric approach (the company's perspective) to a consumer-centric one. Instead of just "Product," we have Customer Value (Customer Value); instead of "Price," we have Cost (Customer Cost); instead of "Distribution," we have Convenience (Convenience); and instead of the one-sided "Promotion," we have Communication and building relationships with the market (Communication).
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- The classic concept of marketing instruments is 4P (product, price, promotion, distribution) and Lauterborn's 4C (customer value, cost, convenience, communication).
- The expanded 7P concept adds people, process, material evidence, and pleasure.
