by Studio SalatinoPublished on Updated on 6 min readBeginner
When to use it
When you are writing a marketing plan or want to understand which lever is holding back results.
Origin
E. Jerome McCarthy, 1960 (4Ps); Bernard Booms and Mary Jo Bitner, 1981 (7Ps)
Key points
4Ps: product, price, place, promotion.
The 7Ps add people, process and physical evidence.
The levers must be consistent with one another.
Marketing is not just promotion.
How to apply it, step by step
Start from the objective
Clarify what you want to achieve and for which customer.
Describe each lever as it is today
For each of the 4 or 7Ps, note down the current situation.
Identify the weak levers
The ones holding back the objective or that customers criticise.
Make the levers consistent
Price, experience and communication must all tell the same promise.
Choose the actions
Every change to a lever becomes an action in the plan.
What it is for
The marketing mix brings together the levers a business can pull to reach its objectives. The classic 4Ps apply to products; the 7Ps add three levers that matter above all in services, where the customer is buying an experience.
The 4Ps
Product or service: what is offered, with which features and variants.
Price: how much it costs, discounts, payment terms.
Place: where and how the customer finds it and receives it.
Promotion: how you make it known, from advertising to social media.
The 3 extra Ps for services
People: who delivers the service, with what skills and manner.
Process: how the service is delivered, timings and steps.
Physical evidence: premises, website, reviews, materials that make quality tangible.
An example: the seaside hotel
Product: sea-view rooms and a restaurant. Price: lower rates in the shoulder months. Place: direct booking on the website as well as through online travel agencies. Promotion: a Google campaign and a newsletter for guests. People: English-speaking staff. Process: quick online check-in. Physical evidence: real photos and reviews displayed prominently on the website.
Mistakes to avoid
Thinking that marketing is just promotion.
Changing one lever without considering the others (for example, raising the price without improving the experience).
Neglecting people and process in a service business.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 4Ps of marketing?
Product, price, place and promotion: the classic levers of the marketing mix, put forward by E. Jerome McCarthy in 1960.
What is the difference between the 4Ps and the 7Ps?
The 7Ps add people, process and physical evidence, levers that matter above all in services, where the customer is buying an experience.
Why must the levers of the marketing mix be consistent?
Because the customer perceives them together: a high price without an experience to match, or promotion that promises what the service does not deliver, erodes trust.
Every partnership starts with a conversation. The first two steps are free and with no obligation: they help us understand whether our method is right for your business.
1
Fill in the requestOne minute: your name, company and how to reach you.
2
Activate your accessAn email with a button takes you to the client area. Then the consultant sends you the discovery questionnaire: about 10 minutes, even in several sittings.
3
Free discovery callA 45-minute video call with the consultant to see whether and how we can help you.
