Click to read the original article for details. Regarding the 4Ps marketing mix, there are several points to clarify.

  1. The 4Ps were not proposed by old man Kotler. They were first proposed by American marketing expert McCarthy (not to be confused with McKinsey & Company). However, Kotler's use of the 4Ps as the tactical framework in "Marketing Management" did play a significant role in popularizing the 4Ps mix.
  2. Don't think that understanding the 4Ps means you understand all of marketing. Kotler summarized the marketing framework as: R → STP → 4Ps → I → C. Marketing begins with R (Research), which is the investigation and insight into the market. Market research then empowers STP: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. The company develops a separate 4P plan for each selected market segment, implements (I) that plan, and continuously collects feedback (C, i.e., Control) to improve its 4Ps in serving the target market in the next round. The 4Ps are just a small module of Kotler's marketing framework; learning only the 4Ps is not enough.
  3. There are more than 20 marketing elements, and obviously, you can't list all of them. These 20-plus elements are summarized into 4 elements, each with 4-5 sub-elements, which together constitute the main elements of marketing.

Product: Product line, quality, brand, packaging Price: Base price, discount, payment terms, credit Place: Length, width, storage and transportation, distribution Promotion: Advertising, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion (SP)

  1. The 4Ps are not a marketing theory, but a combination method of marketing. The 4Ps are an analytical framework. There are many Western marketing theories, such as 4C, 4R, IMC, and various brand theories, which are more profound and insightful than the 4Ps, but the 4Ps are precisely the most popular. Unlike many marketing theories that focus on one point and ignore the rest, the 4Ps are a framework that "takes care of the overall situation" as much as possible. According to this framework, you can basically cover the main aspects of marketing. Many marketing newcomers have written a decent plan following the 4P framework. Moreover, unlike many frameworks that are too professional, the 4P framework is a "natural" one that doesn't require deliberate memorization. Unlike many theories that are returned to the teacher after exams. The 4P analytical framework is not only useful for the marketing department, but also for the sales department, and even for the R&D department. So, I say the 4Ps are a "universal analytical framework." The 4Ps are a work handle. In some people's minds, marketing is higher than sales. Even Drucker said that marketing makes selling superfluous. However, in China, the sales department is very powerful. Because China's channels themselves have a cognitive function (marketing). Many marketing theories target back-office departments, such as brand and marketing departments, as the handle of marketing. The 4Ps are both a handle for marketing and a handle for sales. The word "handle" is very good. Marketing work always needs a work support point, not just a bunch of concepts. The 4Ps are the handle of marketing work. Perhaps at different stages, the focus of the 4Ps is different, but you can't escape the 4Ps. The 4Ps are an organizational system. The marketing-related departments in an enterprise roughly include R&D, brand (marketing), and sales. Corresponding to the 4Ps are product, promotion (promotion), and channel. Some large enterprises also have a dedicated pricing department. According to Kotler in "Marketing Management," "Marketing is not selling products, but selling prices." Everyone says product is important, but it is rare to incorporate product into the marketing organizational system. Now retired from the marketing world, Ceng Yunbo, who made significant contributions to the promotion of marketing, placed the R&D department under the management of the vice president of marketing when he was at a certain company. I often say that Western countries have 1P marketing (product, brand), while China truly practices the 4P marketing mix. Because China's marketing has two major driving forces: brand-driven and channel-driven. Even at certain stages, channel-driven takes precedence over brand-driven. For example, deep distribution became the "best Chinese marketing practice" at a certain stage. The marketing harmony of the 4P mix. From the analytical framework of marketing, to the "handle" of marketing work, and then to the organizational system, it is all in one go and harmonious in marketing work. In modern enterprises, due to scale, specialization, and process orientation, a whole is decomposed into functional modules. It is difficult to have a system that unifies the entire organization from theory, analytical framework, and work handle, but the 4Ps can do exactly that. No matter what theory, it must ultimately be implemented in the organization. Apart from the 4Ps, other theories do not yet have this characteristic. The framework of new marketing. In the book "New Marketing," I also attempted to propose an analytical framework, hoping to achieve: analytical framework, work handle, and organizational system, all in harmony. The new framework I proposed is: Scene, IP, Community, and Communication. And further: Scene is the product logic; IP is the brand logic; Community is the connection logic; Communication is the marketing logic. This clearly has the intention of benchmarking against the 4Ps. Scene, IP, and Community, these three elements, I am quite satisfied with. Communication, I am not satisfied with. Because Scene, IP, and Community themselves all have communicative properties. First, the new marketing framework is still an analytical framework of basic marketing elements. An analytical framework cannot lack induction and abstraction, but it cannot be too abstract either, so that many marketers cannot grasp it. For example, concepts like value and cognition are too abstract for ordinary marketers, are not work handles, and are difficult to reflect in the organizational system. An abstract analytical system may be able to see the essence, but it may be an obstacle to popularization. Second, the new framework is basically also a handle for marketing work; the analytical framework is the work handle. Third, the new framework is also an organizational system. Marketing has gradually transformed from the past brand-driven and channel-driven to IP-driven and community-driven. For vertical niche products, it is directly community-driven, that is, "community channelization"; for mass products, it is "channel communityization," achieving community connection through channels, and then directly reaching the C-end. After the new marketing framework was proposed, people have continuously adapted, added, or subtracted from it. Scene, IP, and Community are relatively well accepted, while Communication is an element that has been added or subtracted more. As marketing elements, the 4Ps have broad-spectrum applicability worldwide. Whether the new marketing framework can be suitable for global marketing is also a test. Source: Teacher Liu's New Marketing (ID: liuchunxiong1964)