Editing Marketing (section)

=== The 4Ps ===

The 4Ps refers to four broad categories of marketing decisions, namely: ''product'', ''price'', ''promotion'', and ''place''.<ref name=":6">{{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Jerome E.|title=Basic Marketing. A Managerial Approach|year=1964|publisher=Irwin|location=Homewood, IL}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grönroos |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Grönroos |date=1994-03-01 |title=From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing |url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00251749410054774/full/html |journal=Management Decision |language=en |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=4–20 |doi=10.1108/00251749410054774 |issn=0025-1747|hdl=11323/385 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The origins of the 4 Ps can be traced to the late 1940s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Groucutt |first1=Jon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cd6Sjxu2lesC&pg=PA17 |title=Marketing: Essential Principles, New Realities |last2=Leadley |first2=Peter |last3=Forsyth |first3=Patrick |date=2004 |publisher=Kogan Page Publishers |isbn=978-0-7494-4114-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>Hunt, S.F. and Goolsby, J., "The Rise and Fall of the Functional Approach to Marketing: A Paradigm Displacement Perspective", (originally published in 1988), reprinted in: ''Review of Marketing Research: Special Issue - Marketing Legends'', Vol. 1, Naresh K. Malhotra, (ed), Bingley, UK, Emerald, 2011</ref> The first known mention has been attributed to a Professor of Marketing at Harvard University, James Culliton.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Banting |first1=P.M. |last2=Ross |first2=R.E. |year=1973 |title=The marketing mix: A Canadian perspective |journal=Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=1973 |doi=10.1007/BF02729310 |s2cid=189884279}}</ref>

The 4 Ps, in its modern form, was first proposed in 1960 by E. Jerome McCarthy; who presented them within a managerial approach that covered [[Market analysis|analysis]], [[Consumer behaviour|consumer behavior]], [[market research]], [[market segmentation]], and [[Project planning|planning]].<ref>McCarthy, E.J., ''Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach'' Irwin, Homewood, Ill., 1960</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last1=Dominici |first1=G. |url=http://faculty.mu.edu.sa/public/uploads/1361725683.7557marketing%20mix54.PDF |title=From Marketing Mix to E-Marketing Mix: A Literature Review |journal=International Journal of Business and Management |volume=9 |issue=4 |date=Sep 2009 |pages=17–24 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170829040452/http://faculty.mu.edu.sa/public/uploads/1361725683.7557marketing%20mix54.PDF |archive-date= Aug 29, 2017 }}</ref> [[Philip Kotler|Phillip Kotler]], popularised this approach and helped spread the 4 Ps model.<ref>Keelson, S.A>, "The Evolution of the Marketing Concepts: Theoretically Different Roads Leading to Practically the Same Destination!" in ''Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings'', Volume 7, Number 1,  2012, ISSN 1941-9589</ref><ref name=":02">Kotler, P., Marketing Management, (Millennium Edition), Custom Edition for University of Phoenix, Prentice Hall, 2001, p. 9.</ref> McCarthy's 4 Ps have been widely adopted by both marketing academics and practitioners.<ref>Constantinides, E., "[http://intranet.fucape.br/uploads/MATERIAIS_AULAS/25112-8.pdf The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards the 21st Century Marketing]", ''Journal of Marketing Management'', vol. 22, 2006, pp. 407–438.</ref><ref>Bitner, M.J., "The Evolution of the Services Marketing Mix and its Relationship to Service Quality", in ''Service Quality: Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives'', Brown, S.W., Gummeson, E., Edvardson, B. and Gustavsson, B. (eds), Lexington, Canada, 1991, pp. 23–37.</ref><ref name="Schultz">{{Citation |author1=Schultz, Don E |title=Integrated marketing communications |url=https://archive.org/details/integratedmarket00schu_0 |publication-date=1993 |year=1993 |publisher=NTC Business Books |isbn=978-0-8442-3363-5 |author2=Tannenbaum, Stanley I |author3=Lauterborn, Robert F |url-access=registration}}</ref>
[[File:Marketing Mix 4P.svg|alt=The 4Ps of the marketing mix stand for product, price, place and promotion|thumb|278x278px|One version of the marketing mix is the 4Ps method.]]

==== Outline ====

;[[Product (business)|Product]]
: The product aspects of marketing deal with the specifications of the actual goods or services, and how it relates to the [[end-user]]'s needs and wants. The product element consists of product design, new product innovation, branding, packaging, and labeling. The scope of a product generally includes supporting elements such as warranties, guarantees, and support. [[Brand]]ing, a key aspect of the product management, refers to the various methods of communicating a brand identity for the product, [[brand]], or company.<ref name=":1" />
;[[Pricing]]: This refers to the process of setting a [[price]] for a product, including discounts. The price need not be monetary; it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services, e.g. time, energy, or attention or any sacrifices consumers make in order to acquire a product or service. The price is the cost that a consumer pays for a product—monetary or not. Methods of setting prices are in the domain of [[pricing science]].<ref name=":2" />
; Place (or [[distribution (business)|distribution]]): This refers to how the product gets to the customer; the distribution channels and intermediaries such as wholesalers and [[retailer]]s who enable customers to access products or services in a convenient manner. This third P has also sometimes been called ''Place'' or ''Placement'', referring to the channel by which a product or service is sold (e.g. online vs. retail), which geographic region or industry, to which segment (young adults, families, business people), etc. also referring to how the environment in which the product is sold in can affect sales.<ref name=":2" />
;[[Promotion (marketing)|Promotion]]:This includes all aspects of marketing communications: [[advertising]], [[sales promotion]], including [[promotional education]], [[public relations]], [[sales|personal selling]], [[product placement]], [[branded entertainment]], event marketing, trade shows, and [[exhibitions]]. This fourth P is focused on providing a message to get a response from consumers.  The message is designed to persuade or tell a story to create awareness.<ref name=":2">Borden, N., "The Concept of the Marketing Mix", ''Journal of Advertising Research,'' June 1964 pp. 2–7; van Waterschoot, W. and van den Bulte, C., "The 4P Classification of the Marketing Mix Revisited", ''Journal of Marketing,'' Vol. 56, No. 4, 1992, pp. 83–93</ref><ref>Online Etymology Encyclopedia, <Online: {{cite web |title=Promotion &#124; Etymology, origin and meaning of promotion by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/promotion |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108174811/https://www.etymonline.com/word/promotion |archive-date=8 January 2018 |access-date=7 January 2018}}></ref>

==== Criticisms ====
One of the limitations of the 4Ps approach is its emphasis on an inside-out view.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Riding the Waves of Change|last=Gareth|first=Morgan|publisher=Jossey-Bass|year=1988|isbn=978-1555420932|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ridingwavesofcha00morg}}</ref> An ''inside-out'' approach is the traditional planning approach where the organization identifies its desired goals and objectives, which are often based around what has always been done. Marketing's task then becomes one of "selling" the organization's products and messages to the "outside" or external stakeholders.<ref name=":1">Kerr, F., Patti, C. and Ichul, K., "An Inside-out Approach to Integrated Marketing Communications: An International Perspective", ''International Journal of Advertising,'' Vol. 27, No. 4, 2008, pp. 531–40</ref> In contrast, an ''outside-in'' approach first seeks to understand the needs and wants of the consumer.<ref>Porcu, L., del Barrio-Garcia, S., and Kitchen, P.J., "How Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) works? A theoretical review and an analysis of its main drivers and effects/ ¿Cómo funciona la Comunicación Integrada de Marketing (CIM)? Una revisión teórica y un análisis de sus antecedents Efectos", ''Comunicación y Sociedad,'' Vol. XXV, Núm. 1, 2012, pp. 313–48</ref>

From a model-building perspective, the 4 Ps has attracted a number of criticisms. Well-designed models should exhibit clearly defined categories that are mutually exclusive, with no overlap. Yet, the 4 Ps model has extensive overlapping problems. Several authors stress the hybrid nature of the fourth P, mentioning the presence of two important dimensions, "communication" (general and informative communications such as public relations and corporate communications) and "promotion" (persuasive communications such as advertising and direct selling). Certain marketing activities, such as personal selling, may be classified as either ''promotion'' or as part of the place (i.e., distribution) element.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = van Waterschoot | first1 = W. | last2 = van den Bulte | first2 = C. | title = The 4P Classification of the Marketing Mix Revisited | journal = Journal of Marketing | year = 1992 | volume = 56 | issue = 4| pages = 83–93 | doi = 10.2307/1251988 | jstor = 1251988 }}</ref> Some pricing tactics, such as promotional pricing, can be classified as price variables or promotional variables and, therefore, also exhibit some overlap.

Other important criticisms include that the marketing mix lacks a strategic framework and is, therefore, unfit to be a planning instrument, particularly when uncontrollable, external elements are an important aspect of the marketing environment.<ref>Constantinides, E., "The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards the 21st Century Marketing", ''Journal of Marketing Management,'' Vo. 22, 2006, pp. 407–38</ref>

====Modifications and extensions====

To overcome the deficiencies of the 4P model, some authors have suggested extensions or modifications to the original model. Extensions of the four P's are often included in cases such as services marketing where unique characteristics (i.e. intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity and the inseparability of production and consumption) warrant additional consideration factors. Other extensions include "people", "process", and "physical evidence" and are often applied in the case of [[services marketing]].<ref>Fisk, R.P., Brown, W., and Bitner, M.J., "Tracking the Evolution of Services Marketing Literature", ''Journal of Retailing'', vol. 41 (April), 1993; Booms, B. and Bitner, M.J. "Marketing Strategies and Organizational Structures for Service Firms" in James H. Donnelly and William R. George (eds), ''Marketing of Services'', Chicago: American Marketing Association, 47–51; Rafiq, M. and Ahmed, P.K. "Using the 7Ps as a Generic Marketing mix: An Exploratory Survey of UK and European Marketing Academics", ''Marketing Intelligence & Planning'', Vol. 13, no. 9, pp. 4–15</ref> Other extensions have been found necessary in retail marketing, industrial marketing and internet marketing.