by Linda P. Morton

Determining your four ps of marketing can greatly boost your marketing. But many small business owners don’t know how to start analyzing their four ps of marketing.

By determining the answers to the 20 questions in this article, you can start discovering a tried and true approach that thousands of businesses have used successfully - the four ps of marketing.

What are the four Ps? They are product, packaging, price and promotion.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 1. Product Determines The Rest Of Your Marketing

The product is what makes you money. And how well you market your product determines how much money. A good product puts you on the path to building a good business.

Because it is so important, there are twice as many questions about your product than about the other three ps.

1. Who wants this product?

Will this product satisfy the needs of your target market?

3. How will your product compete with other products?

4. How does your product compare with buying trends, experiences?

5. How much does your market want this product?

6. Can the demand of the product meet the supply on hand?

7. When will the product be requested?

8. How much product needs to be in place at any time to meet the desire?

Now that you know the marketing implications of your product, you need to think about the implications of packaging your product.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 2. Packaging Can Give Your A Marketing Advantage

Once you know the product, how will you package it to the consumer? There is a saying that you don’t judge a book by its cover, well people do and when the packaging of a product does not match what the consumer wants, they move on. It’s the 10 second sale, and it has to be done right.

Your packaging contributes to cost. The right package can save you money in distribution and eliminate having to replace damaged products.

Asking yourself these questions will help:

9. Does the package provide any advantages over your competitors’?

10. Is the package’s size right for the product?

11. Will the package keep your product save during distribution and storage.

12. Is there too much packaging or is it too bulky?

Now you’re ready to consider pricing your product.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 3. Your Product, Packaging and Market Should Determine Your Price

You need to be able to price the product right for the customer. Fail in this and the customer may end up not choosing you because the price is too high and they don’t think it is worth it, or it is too low and they think that means the product is cheaply made. Ask yourself these questions:

13. What price do the forces of supply and demand dictate?

14. Does the price of producing the product decrease as you produce more?

15. How will you determine how much it decreases in relation volume?

16. At what point does volume costs and volume discounts combine to set the most profitable price?

Once you know the answers to questions 1-16, you’re ready to consider promotion.

Four Ps Of Marketing: 4. Promotion Decisions Base on All Your Prior Decisions

Promoting a product is how you sell it, so it has to be done right or you won’t sell one product and your business will go under.

The remaining four questions will then leverage your marketing strategy and tactics.

17. How much do should you spend on different promotion tactics?

18. How have you successfully marketed other products?

19. Is your promotion strategy and tactics appropriate for your product’s stage in the product life-cycle?

20. Is the promotion in line with what your customer’s want?

Once you’ve answered all 20 questions, you know enough to create a marketing plan.

Four Ps Of Marketing: Conclusion

Your answers to all 20 questions ground your marketing and maximize your ability to create a strategic marketing plan. Just going through the process of answering them enables you to diagnose potential problems, to see opportunities, and to develop a marketing goal.

Your answers establish your marketing budget, generate your marketing strategy and reveal the best marketing tactics to jump start your marketing efforts.

About the Author:

To read more about answering the 20 questions, see 4 P’s of Marketing. And get your free Market Segmentation. This and other unique content ‘four ps of marketing’ articles are available with free reprint rights.