What advantages can you see for a company if they were to shift from the 4 Ps to the 4 Cs

If you have ever studied marketing strategy, you have surely heard of the famous "4Ps of marketing" or price, product, promotion, and placement. But as our understanding of marketing evolves, new theoretical models are emerging. The time has come for the 4Cs of marketing.

From the 4PS to the 4CS of Marketing

The classic "4Ps of marketing" model explains four key factors that influence the marketing and sales of the product. While they can be very useful from a sales point of view, they do not reflect the reality of everything that happens in marketing, as they focus on the company that produces the products.

The 4Cs are a paradigm shift because they put the consumer at the center. This fits much better in today's marketing ecosystem, where customer needs are paramount and consumers have a great deal of decision-making power.

1. Consumer

The first and most important is the consumer, the person who will actually be using the company's products or services.

Instead of focusing its efforts on the product itself, a company must identify what the consumer's needs and desires are and design solutions for them.

The first step in moving towards this understanding of the consumer is to develop a buyer persona, that is, a semi-fictional representation of the brand's ideal customer focused on his or her needs and pain points.

2. Communication

In the 4Ps model, "promotion" of products and services is a key point, but this approach is too limiting in today's marketing environment since digital media facilitate continuous interaction with the customer and this should not be exclusively promotional.

Therefore, the 4Cs of marketing focus on communication, which includes all interactions between consumers and brands. The focus is no longer on convincing the public about the virtues of a product, but on providing value to potential customers.

3. Cost

Where the 4Ps model focused on price, the "4Cs of marketing" model extends this concept to talk about cost.

The price the customer pays for a product is only a small part of the real cost. We need to think about what it takes for the customer to get the product, for example, the time it takes to get to the location where it is sold (if that is a factor).

We also need to consider what the benefits of the product are for the customer and whether or not these are able to offset the total costs.

4. Convenience

The last of the 4Cs of marketing focuses on the consumer's shopping experience. It seeks to make it as easy as possible for people to purchase products and services.

Thus, we not only have to think about the locations where products or services will be distributed but also about things like online shopping or ease of installation. The goal is to reduce friction and make the whole experience as convenient as possible.

The age of the 4Ps of marketing that companies used for creating products, testing model pricing, distribution and promotion has given way to the era of customers. In 1967, Philip Kotler defined the famous model of the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion. The marketing mix in the digital era has evolved from 4Ps to 4Cs, and most recently to 4Cs.

Based on Philip Kotler´s focus, a positioning strategy should answer four key questions: What product to launch? At what price? In which market? With what communication?

The strategy of the 4Ps oriented its objectives from the offer:

• The product was defined based on the market knowledge and the characteristics of the customer behavior.
• The price was established based on economic calculations and was fixed by the market or by the company, according to the conditions of the competition.
• The distribution pointed that products arrived in a timely manner to the market.
• The promotion looked for the client to reiterate the act of purchase.

Its been a long time and we have seen many changes since that distant 1967. The barriers of time and space have been reduced. In fact, a new set of principles has shifted the concept of product, price, place and promotion in the hierarchy of marketing planning.

The marketing mix in the digital era: from the 4Ps to the 4Cs

In an era where the customer is the focus, it is essential to consider the 4Cs as basic elements for the tactical and strategic success of any business today. The marketing mix in the digital era indicates that business success is based on: content, context, connexion and community.

Let´s see each of the 4Cs: client, cost, convenience and communication; and what is their impact when developing and validating new business models in the digital era.

1. Product is now client: products and services are developed based on what the customer asks for (prosumer and crossumer).
2. Price is now cost: the customer wants a lower cost of product/service ownership and use.
3. Place is now convenience: facilitate the purchase, make it more convenient to the customer come to us.
4. Promotion is now communication: it´s all about creating interactive campaigns, have a direct communication with customers.

From the 4Cs to the 4Vs:

The marketing mix in the digital era is synonym of constant change. Just when we had the new formula with the 4Cs we already have social, environmental and relational factors that make us rethink it and discuss its evolution. The 4Cs model is facing constant changes, and is pushing the online business models to start working in its evolution moving towards the 4Vs model:

From Product to Client to Validity:

The model based on Product facilitated the development of a good product or service for the market and increase sales.

The model based on Consumer was the study of the client, what he wants and needs in order to develop products/ services that satisfied them.

The new model based on Validity means plan big, think in detail. Adapt one same product to different formats, prices and functionalities.

From Price to Cost to Value:

The model based on Price uses it as a commercialization parameter.

The model based on Cost focuses on reducing the cost of purchasing to the consumer.

The new model based on Value it´s about what is the customer willing to pay for a product or service. We must give value so that prices can make sense. Now customers are more informed and are more demanding.

From Place to Convenience to Virtual Place:

Now Internet is the store. Going to the physical store is secondary, customers will go if we offer them something different besides going shopping. Consumers now want the store to go to them.

From Promotion to Communication to Virality: 

The model based on Promotion creates ads, and is unidirectional.

The model based on Communication is all about interaction, dialogues.

The new model is now based on Virality where the receiver extends the chain and new communication threads are created.

As per Nathaly Hermida ..you can see the marketing mix in the digital era is changing our business models. The way companies relate with consumers needs to adapt and regenerate if they want to interact with the new and well informed customer. If they want to be successful, companies need to transform their models to e-commerce and/or mobile commerce, and be present on social networks. They need to reflect, transmit, and consolidate a frequent dialogue, and gain consumer´s trust before starting the selling cycle.

What insights might a firm gain by considering the four Cs rather than four Ps?

When converting the 4Ps to the 4Cs convenience is the equivalent of?

How are the four Cs of marketing different from the four Ps?

What is the purpose of adding the 4 Cs to the traditional 4 Ps framework?