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The 4 P’s of Marketing Mix and how to master it in today's world (updated with example and template)

This article addresses how to use one of the oldest marketing concepts in today's online world: "The Marketing Mix," which is based on the 4 P's: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

If you’re ready to take your marketing seriously, you’ll need to start with a marketing plan. A classic marketing concept called “The Marketing Mix” or “The 4 P’s” of Marketing is a perfect place to start.

The original concept of the 4 P's marketing mix

The original marketing mix, or 4 P's, as originally proposed by marketer and academic Jerome E. McCarthy , provides a framework for marketing decision-making. Effectively summing up the 4 pillars of the business cycle, McCarthy's marketing mix has since become one of the most enduring and widely accepted frameworks in business.

The essential base ingredients of the 4 P’s are: Product , Price , Place and Promotion . While this combination doesn’t appear to be rocket science, a company’s ability or lack thereof to embrace and implement the 4 P’s can make all the difference between thriving and failing as a business.

Each of the 4 P’s build upon and interact with one another, and are governed by both internal and external factors within the business itself, and our ever-changing marketplace. The 4 P’s of marketing primary purpose is to help us take into consideration potential roadblocks to widespread product adaptation and ongoing success.

So let’s get to them, shall we?

4 P's of marketing in simple and familiar terms:

A PRODUCT is a service or good offered to meet consumer interest or demand. It could come in the form of occupational therapy or a fidget spinner - choices are only limited to the imagination, BUT, are highly dependent on marketplace curiosity or need.

PRICE is the cost people pay for a product. This includes base costs (materials, manufacturing, and shipping) plus expenses (rent, office supplies, healthcare, etc.). While you should always look to the competition, a smart business will tap into what people will actually pay for it. That's the only thing that counts. If you can't rise above your bottom line and make your target profit, then it’s a losing proposition.

PLACE is the “home” where the product resides, and that “home” can live in many different channels, such as a physical store display, a newspaper, radio or TV ad, or a website or blog spotlight. Really, a place is anywhere you can get your product in front of your target customers that compliments your budget, including the price point.

PROMOTION is product exposure and public relations efforts via advertising (through the channels mentioned above) as well as word of mouth, direct mail, email marketing and social media. Promotion is a communication tool that encapsulates the first 3 P’s by putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time, with the goal of it being irresistible to customers.

The 4 P's example and template for a service business

The Marketing Mix of “HVAC Plumber” reflects a real life example of how a service company covers the 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) in their marketing strategy.

“HVAC plumber” (a fictitious company) provides heating and cooling services in the Chicago Metropolitan Area.

HVAC Plumber marketing mix elements strategy and example:

HVAC Plumber offers industry standard services, but also innovates to provide more value to our customers and captures more of the market. We are insured, licensed and provide warranties for our work. Our high quality services and focus on a pleasant customer experience helps us get repeat clients, referrals, and builds our reputation. Also, our motto is: “Leave the place cleaner than we found it” - so you’ll always see us with a broom in our hands before we leave.

At present, the following are the main categories of HVAC Plumber products:

• Furnace installation and repair
• Water heater maintenance, installation and repair
• Air conditioning installation, maintenance and repair
• Complete plumbing system design and installation
• Drain, sink and toilet unclogging and jet rodding and repairs

Our extra value added products:

• Emergency services
• Indoor air quality testing services
• Air duct and dryer vent cleaning services
• Warranty services
• Equipment sales

Our reputation and successful marketing generates more demand than we can handle, so it allows us to charge premium for our services. We train our service technicians to upsell our other services. We also have a customer loyalty program in place to reward our long-term clients with better rates and provide coupons to first time clients. We also seek partnerships with organizations such as: homeowner associations, insurance companies, builders and general contractors, and offer exclusive pricing options based on quantity.

The company has offices in downtown Chicago, but walk-in customers are unusual. We are physically represented by our company vans, uniforms and warranty stickers. We consistently attend industry trade shows, and belong to the Chicago Chamber of Commerce.

We nurture partnerships with our equipment vendors, participate in their trainings, and have certifications, which allow us to be listed “licensed technicians” on their websites. We serve the Chicagoland Area, which is about a 30 mile radius from our warehouse, but we do make travel exceptions for long-term clients and bigger projects.

Our company website is the most important communication tool, and is a place where our clients learn about our services and make initial contact. We invest a great deal of money and time to keep it updated and useful to our audience. We plan to expand our website to include ecommerce and make some of the package services, equipment and accessories available for purchase online. None of our competitors are doing this at the moment, so we’ll take advantage of being pioneers in this regard.

Most new business comes through our website and we focus all of our promotion efforts to drive more traffic to it. Our promotional mix is as follows:

• Search engine optimization
• Paid traffic
• Social media marketing
• Content marketing
• Email marketing

Our value proposition statement

HVAC Plumber is an industry-leading HVAC and plumbing service provider serving the Chicago area since 1999. We specialize in new installations, repairs, and 24 hour emergency services.

Start with 4 P's of marketing template

Check out our 4 P's of marketing template to help you work through your first few ideas.

But why stop there?

The 7 P’s of marketing mix

Since the inception of the original 4 P’s of marketing, marketing experts have expounded upon the mix to include three additional P’s to enhance brand exposure and sales performance.

These additional P’s include: People , Process and Physical evidence .

PEOPLE have always been at the epicenter of the business world. Whether it’s the company visionaries, the movers and shakers, or the daily doers, unless (or until) commerce is fully automated, you’re only as good as the people who keep the business operational and flowing. And believe you me, customers are quick to notice when there’s a glitch in the matrix.

PROCESSES ensure consistent service delivery to every customer, at any time of day, on any given day. And, a successful business incorporates scenarios where customer preferences can be accommodated to provide them a unique experience.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE – Almost all services include physical proof of a transaction, even if the bulk of what the consumer bought isn’t tangible. It’s something the customer can hold onto and recall about working with you. Physical evidence also describes consistent branding across communication channels.

How can you actually use this?

How the 4 P’s apply in today’s online marketing

The how’s and why’s of how we approach marketing have become much more dynamic since the inception of the internet. However, the driving factor is still and should always remain: PEOPLE. Actually, it’s more about people than ever before. Having an honest marketing approach has never been more important and is both emotionally and financially rewarding if you do it right.

PRODUCT and how it lives online versus the shelf

It seems like not much has changed as far as the product or services goes, right? Wrong. No matter what type of product you offer, the landscape shifted majorly to the consumer benefit. The majority of customers now prefer to shop online, and perform in-depth research before making their buying decisions.

Besides the original, product-related marketing factors such as: product quality and design, branding, packaging, returns and guarantees, in your marketing plan, you should also consider NEW factors.

User-centric customer support - your product now has a digital voice. And it must talk to your audience and be both personalized and timely. Not only across all the common channels such as phone or email, but also should be proactively involved in social media. Resource: Social media customer service 101: the beginner's guide

New PRICING models to consider

Pricing your product or service is never an easy task. It sure helps if you can find a unique product positioning on the market, otherwise you fall into price comparison wars with your competition. And, to compare prices has never been easier than today. The original Marketing Mix suggests considering pricing strategy and tactics, discount structure, payment terms and options for both customers and distributors.

Competition pricing research - this is an in-depth review of the pricing models of your direct competitors. In comparing products, you should focus worldwide. With local services, of course, should compare within your own service area. Remember that you don’t have to anchor your pricing based on competition, but it helps to know the market.

Shipping and handling strategy - it’s not an obvious, but very important factor in online sales conversions no matter the item price. Offering free shipping is one of the most effective purchase incentives. Resource: How to offer free shipping and still make money

"9 out of 10 online shoppers consider free shipping as one of the main reasons why they shop at a particular online store. To offer free shipping is not a new thing, thanks to Amazon it became essential running an online store. The main question now is how to make it profitable. It looks impossible, but with the right approach - offering it most, not all, of the time, setting a flat shipping or order threshold, it is possible."

Diana Bukevicius - Scube Marketing

Product positioning - I know I’m repeating myself, but I have to. Positioning is strongly engraved into each pillar of The Marketing Mix. As far as pricing goes, having strong niche positioning eliminates the number of competitors that your product or service can be compared with and it opens up an opportunity to go for value pricing . Resource: Everything you need to know about pricing

Upsell strategy - this is an underestimated source of cash flow. It’s always easier to sell to the people that already bought something from you and were happy with the product. It can be an additional items or warranties, maintenance or a product upgrade.

PLACE for marketing is now on the mobile screens

Back in the 1940’s “place” was all about brick and mortar. Location, distribution, and logistics are still part of the process, but it heavily shifted from the marketing department to operations. No doubt you’ll boost sales if your product gets featured in physical Walmart stores, but you also can sell at Walmart Marketplace online with way less effort for the approval process. Same goes for Amazon. Online selling has undoubtedly taken over as the place to peddle your wares. Resource: How to sell on Walmart marketplace in 7 easy steps

Website - this is by far your most important marketing piece. It’s your 24/7 storefront and your sales rep that never sleeps. Any marketing efforts that you take will end up on your website. I mentioned 3rd party sources like Walmart Marketplace or Amazon, but I still highly recommend you focus on your own website first and use other sources as secondary. Why? Because you own it and you control it.

Any 3rd party retailer could change their policies tomorrow and you might be out of business. Plus, websites grow more powerful over time if supported by thoughtful and consistent marketing decisions. When you build your website, the decisions on design, structure and content should be made based on your promotional strategies.

3rd party platforms - Your audience is on or a few of these platforms already. Identify those platforms and utilize them. It can take the form of direct eCommerce platforms like Amazon, or it can be social channels like LinkedIn or Facebook etc.

PROMOTION is in your inbox

Search engine optimization (SEO), social media, email marketing and paid search. I hear that Super Bowl ads are worth their weight in gold, but if you can afford a Superbowl ad, you are on the wrong blog!

Jokes aside, make sure your marketing strategy is built around driving traffic to your website and converting it to leads or sales.

Traffic generation - getting targeted visitors to come to your website is the ultimate #1 goal. There are numerous ways you can achieve that, and they’re all worth considering:

Search engine optimization (SEO) - is the practice driving traffic to your website through organic search engine results by optimizing (making relevant) your website for targeted keyphrases. SEO is an ongoing process that requires patience and consistent efforts.

Paid search - in other words - “bought traffic.” Platforms like Google AdWords, Bing Ads or Facebook Ads allows you to buy highly targeted traffic in an auction-type of fashion. It’s typically based on “per click” pricing, where each visitors cost you x amount of dollars.

Social media marketing - is the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites. If you sell to people then it’s a great idea to invest time and effort (and sometimes money) into one or several social media sites. That’s where the people hang-out these days. Resource: Welcome to the beginner's guide to social media!

Email marketing - is the modern equivalent of oldschool direct mail, I believe. Even if one more email in our inbox is the last thing we want or need - email is still one of the best performing marketing tools. Resource: A beginner’s guide to successful email marketing Resource: A comprehensive guide to email marketing platforms

Conversion rate optimization - converting website visitors into leads is the ultimate goal #2 to achieve. Firstly, to be able to calculate conversions you need to have Google Analytics or other tracking system integrated to your website. Conversion rate optimization are an ongoing process where you optimize your website and measure the outcome looking for the optimal version of each page. Resource: Conversion optimization made simple: a step-by-step guide Resource: Learn Google Analytics with free online courses

2 extra P’s from Angle180

The team at Angle180 takes the “4 P's of marketing (Plus 3)” two steps further, to include Positioning and Positive Reviews.

Positioning - again and again. Positioning is a fundamental piece of your marketing plan and your overall business success. Essentially, if you answer all the questions related to each P you’ll arrive to your business positioning statement.

Positioning is how you differentiate your product or service from your competitors in your niche market.

A good positioning statement is the first thing people read when they visit your website. Typically, it’s a 7-10 word sentence on your Home Page that succinctly answers:

There’s a science behind positioning, and it’s wise to research how others in your field describe themselves.

Positive reviews - positive online reviews are pretty self explanatory, but I recommend creating a strategy for collecting positive reviews, as well as dealing with negative ones.

Unfortunately, it’s human nature to take positive experiences for granted and feel revengeful about the negative ones.

Reviews definitely affect local search rankings and customer buying decisions.

Local consumer review survey by BrightLocal reveals the importance of reviews:

97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2017

85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations

49% of consumers need at least a four-star rating before they choose to use a business

Responding to reviews is more important than ever, with 30% naming this as key when judging local businesses

4 P's of Marketing Mix in a slideshow presentation (PPT) and downloadable PDF

Here is a PDF version of 4 P's of marketing presentation.

Our conclusion? The original 4 P’s of the marketing mix withstand the test of time

There is one common trait to all classic things - they never get old or obsolete. So, even with all the changes that technology has brought us, the 80 year concept of The 4 P’s of marketing mix are still relevant and applicable today. Marketing platforms and tools have certainly changed, but the foundation is rock solid. And, let’s hope it always remains personalized and people-driven.

I'm Sarunas Budrikas, CEO of Angle180, a B2B marketing company delivering results through high performance web design and traffic generation.

You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter .

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The 4 P’s of Marketing + Marketing Mix Examples

The 4 P’s are a concept from the business world that helps you define your business offerings and create the best individualized marketing strategy possible. 

What are the 4 P’s of Marketing? 

The 4 P‘s stands for: 

• Price 
• Place 

All aspects of marketing can be categorized under one of these 4 terms. According to conventional marketing wisdom, optimizing each of these 4 categories is a successful strategy for marketing. 

Marketing Mix Definition 

Because each of t he 4 P’s are supposed to work together like ingredients in a recipe, the 4 P’s are also called The Marketing Mix.

What is the marketing mix? Just your business’s unique blend of the 4 P’s to create your own custom recipe for marketing success. 

History of the 4 P’s 

The term “marketing mix” came first, when Harvard professor James Culliton used the recipe metaphor to describe the components of marketing in a 1948 paper. The book The Concept of the Marketing Mix further refined the idea and by 1960 the elements had been reduced to the 4 P’s we know today. 

This concept has proved remarkably useful through the decades, even as businesses move increasingly online. 

The First P of Marketing: Product + Example 

Defining your product is the first step in determining your unique marketing mix. What do you sell or provide to the customer? 

This can be a physical product like cars or hair accessories; a service like business consulting, or even a digital product like a membership to an online forum. 

The marketing mix 4P approach suggests that you clarify your product as much as possible by defining the following attributes:

• Who is my target customer?
• What are they searching for?
• How does my product meet their needs? 
• What makes my product distinctive? 
• What makes my product stand out from competitors? 
• What are my product’s features? 
• What are my product’s benefits? 

This will help you craft the most appealing description of your product and drive more consumer interest and sales. 

4 P’s of Marketing Example: Product 

Let’s take a barbershop that caters to families with young children. Their product is - obviously - haircuts. 

Applying the 4 Ps, the barbershop might describe its product this way:

“ We know your kids may be nervous about a new haircut. We offer a fun, no-pressure shop where your kids can watch their favorite cartoons from our custom-painted chairs. Our trained stylists can give your little ones the latest style or just a trim quickly and easily. It’s so much fun, your kids will want to come back every week!”

In this example, the barbershop is offering a very ordinary product -haircuts. But they know that their target customers are parents who are worried about their children not sitting still for haircuts. Therefore, they position their product as unique - a “fun” haircut. 

The Second P of Marketing: Price + Example 

Much ink has been spilled determining the pricing sweet spot for any given product. The marketing mix strategy acknowledges that different businesses will use different pricing strategies. 

• Premium pricing - especially for “luxury” or “premium” brands
• Undercutting competitors 
• Offering a loyalty program
• Offering purchase points redeemable for rewards 
• Coupons 
• Sales 
• Free shipping 
• Bonus offers/free gift with purchase 
• Entry-level pricing 
• Accepting credit or pay-later systems 
• Financing 

4 P’s of Marketing Example: Pricing 

Google now offers a range of smartphones that are positioned to compete with the iPhone. 

We can see that Google is using several pricing strategies here to promote the Pixel: 

• Trade-in old phone for purchase credit
• Free shipping
• Added products (phone protection; Google One storage) 

As part of the 4ps, Google is choosing pricing strategies that will appeal the most to its customers: those who want a good phone but still want a deal and those who want easy integration with their existing Google products. 

The Third P of Marketing: Place + Example 

Since a big part of the marketing mix definition is place, it’s not a relevant concept in the digital age, right? Not quite. 

Keep in mind that some businesses will always be local: you can’t hire a remote plumber, for example. 

Furthermore, around 70% of Americans say that shopping locally is important to them. So actual geographic location is still quite important. 

That said, over 80% of consumers worldwide shopped online. Unquestionably, customers are online. But located exactly where online will be a key to deciding where to place your product’s promotion.

The Third P of marketing refers more to where your product is marketed than your actual physical location. This means finding where your customers spend time online and placing your product there. 

Do your target customers frequent any of the following sites:

Determining this will rely primarily upon your demographic research, but competitor research can help too. 

Are your competitors placing their products on Facebook? Have they ignored Instagram because your audience doesn’t spend time there, or is this an opportunity for you to locate your product near customers but away from competition? 

4 P’s of Marketing Example: Place 

Popular skincare brand Curology uses the marketing mix to reach its target customer on social media. The company’s headquarters is in San Francisco, but that is irrelevant to the “place” component 4P. 

Curology sells customized skincare 100% online, so it places its promotions where customers are - social media. 

Take a look at the promoted ad from Facebook below:

This ad uses the marketing mix concept well because it summarizes the product by highlighting a few of its key benefits - it's customizable, and it’s delivered to you (which means convenient). 

The ad is placed on a site that people check almost reflexively, so they are likely to see the ad and follow it for more information on the brand. 

Next, we’ll turn to the final element of the marketing mix definition: promotion .

The Fourth P of Marketing: Promotion + Example 

The 4Ps wouldn’t be complete without promotion. This refers to how you reach your customers and what strategies you use to incentive purchases.

This may include some of the following tools and types of digital marketing : 

• Search engine marketing
• Direct emails
• Targeted ads
• Content marketing 
• Word of mouth
• Influencer marketing
• Billboards 
• Direct Mail 
• Radio 

Anything that gets your product in front of your target audience is part of your marketing strategy. 

Now, many new businesses are inclined to go for all the promotion strategies.

As any seasoned marketer can tell you, this is a waste of time and effort. It’s better to research which strategies work best for your product and audience and build quality promotions. 

Remember, The 4 Ps of marketing maintain that each business has its own unique recipe. Just because billboard advertising works great for the auto repair shop down the street doesn’t mean it will work for your marketing consulting firm. 

4 P’s of Marketing Example: Promotion 

Email marketing is an effective strategy, with studies showing it has some of the highest return on investment of all digital marketing strategies. 

Here is how an online vitamin company, Puritan’s Pride, used email marketing over a holiday weekend sale: 

In this image, you can see how the company is using price to incentivize a sale in the form of 75% off. 

The promotion comes as an email. These are quickly skimmed, so this promotion is visual and easy to scan, relying on images rather than text to get its message across quickly before the potential customer moves on to a different email. 

Do You Know the 4Ps of Your Business?  

Does your business have a well-defined marketing mix? Here are some ways you can tell:

• Your marketing goals are clearly defined 
• You have a strong brand voice
• You know what percentage of business occurs in-person and online
• You know what online channels your customers frequent 
• You are clear about your product(s) benefits
• You’ve invested in market and competitor research
• You have chosen your distribution channels
• You have a clear pricing strategy

If your business is fuzzy on some of these basics, you probably need to revisit your unique marketing mix. 

How to Apply the 4Ps in Your Own Business 

So - what is the marketing mix you should be using? 

Your marketing mix may be different for any given product or phase of your business growth. Ideally, you will be determining your mix before you even finish developing your first product.

This is because you want to make sure you are actually offering something customers need. 

Step 1: Research: Customers, Competition, and Market

• What products or services are people looking for?
• Is there dissatisfaction with the current offerings? 
• How can you offer something distinctive?
• What is your competition doing well and poorly? 

Step 2: Determine your Pricing Strategy

• Will you position your product as a luxury/premium offering?
• Will you undercut existing prices?
• Do you plan to offer customer loyalty incentives?
• Do you plan to offer free services or loss leaders?
• Do you anticipate raising prices over time? 

Step 3: Placement 

• What are your primary distribution channels?
• Online, in-person, or hybrid purchase offers?
• Will you need a physical location for promotion?
• Do you plan to work through wholesalers and retailers?
• What online channels will you place your ads on? 

Step 4: Determine Promotional Strategies 

• What is your promotional budget? 
• Do you have a digital promotion strategy?
• What promotions are most effective with your target audience?

These are a lot of questions to ask. The more time and thought you can invest in the front-end of developing a new product, the more specific you can be about your approach to business. 

Ultimately, this means you can more effectively track the success of your chosen strategy and determine what is and is not working. 

Case Study: The 4Ps of SEOptimer.com 

Since we are a marketing company, after all, let’s use the SEOptimer website as an example of the 4 P’s at work. 

4 P’s of Marketing: Product 

SEOptimer offers numerous tools to make online marketing easier. One of our key products is the SEO Audit and Reporting Tool.

The headline of this page immediately tells visitors what they will get: a free, comprehensive SEO audit of their URL. When visitors scroll down, they learn the features and benefits of this product. 

Search Engines rely on many factors to rank a website. SEOptimer is a Website SEO Checker which reviews these and more to help identify problems that could be holding your site back from its potential.

Additionally, we provide a clear, actionable, prioritized list of recommendations to help improve.

This further defines the value of the product for potential customers and increases their chances of trying it out. 

4 P’s of Marketing: Price 

SEOptimer offers the free SEO audit tool (and lots of other SEO tools), as part of a “freemium” strategy. This means that our tools are freely available, but advanced features require a paid subscription.  

This is a pricing strategy. We also offer paid SEO consulting services. Customers use our free tools, which builds their confidence in us as digital marketing experts. If they need professional services, they are then more likely to turn to our company. 

4 P’s of Marketing: Place

Since our products are digital, they are accessible from anywhere in the world. For a company like ours with a global reach, “place” is more about reaching customers digitally. 

Maintaining a strong presence on multiple social channels is one way we do this. Another is by focusing on our SEO strategy, which reaches costumes across the world, rather than in one limited geographic location. 

4 P’s of Marketing: Promotion

While SEOptimer uses multiple promotional strategies, one good example is our organic search strategy.

Not only do we provide free and paid SEO tools, but we also offer valuable guides, articles, and how-tos to our customers. 

This content is indexed by Google and other search engines, making it more likely that potential customers will find our content, read it, and then engage with our brand. 

The 4P’S - Find Your Custom Marketing Recipe 

The 4 P’s of marketing have successfully guided marketers for over 6 decades. Far from being obsolete, combining these 4 elements is a tried-and-true method of defining your business’s overall goals and strategy. 

Try this exercise today: see if you can clearly define the 4 P’s for any given product in your company: 

If you’re clear on these 4 elements, then chances are you have the marketing mix for your business mastered. 

Adam Krzywda

SEOptimer's CEO and venerable leader. Adam has a wealth of experience across Digital Marketing, SEO and software, and enjoys sharing his learnings from growing SEOptimer to an audience of over 100,000 monthly users.

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“The 4 Ps of marketing” — an overview (with examples)

Designing and building a marketing campaign is a big project. Even experienced leaders sometimes find it hard to get started because there is so much to consider, plan, and organize.

But there are several strategies that can help, and “the 4 Ps of marketing” is one of them. It’s not a new concept, but the 4 Ps are so foundational that many marketers are using at least some of them without even knowing it. Understanding the whole framework of the 4 Ps of marketing can help make planning your next campaign simple and straightforward.

To help you get started, this piece will provide:

• A definition of the holistic concept of the 4 Ps of marketing
• A detailed look at each one of the 4 Ps
• Insights on how to put the 4 Ps into action

Getting started with the 4 Ps

What are the 4 ps of marketing.

The 4 Ps of marketing are a collection of four essential elements of a marketing campaign — namely product, price, promotion, and place. Also known as “the marketing mix,” the 4 Ps collectively create a framework for organizing and planning a marketing strategy for a product or service.

Professor Neil H. Borden first described the concept of the 4 Ps and the marketing mix in the early 1950s at Harvard University. In the 1960s, marketing professor E. Jerome McCarthy at Michigan State University officially named these concepts “the 4 Ps of marketing” in his book Basic Marketing: The Managerial Approach .

Borden later published his conclusions in a 1964 article, “ The Concept of the Marketing Mix . ” The 4 Ps have remained a key reference for companies in consumer marketing and advertising for decades.

Marketing has evolved dramatically since the 1950s, and the marketing mix continues to develop as well. As early as the 1960s, the Ps were expanded to include people, process, and physical evidence. The marketing mix concept continues to be developed as marketers apply the concept to modern marketing.

Understanding the 4 Ps of marketing

The 4 Ps help marketers consider a product or service in the eyes of their consumers and buyers. It’s a framework that helps marketers build a holistic marketing strategy based on a deep understanding of the product, strategic consideration of pricing , unified view of promotional tactics, and unique insights into the places your audiences are.

Product — the object or service for sale

The product is the object or service for sale, and the marketer needs to know the product well. Understanding the product is about more than just knowing what it is and what it does. In order to design a strategic marketing campaign, you need a complete picture of:

• Your product or service
• How users relate to your product or service
• How your product compares to the competition

All of the details are important, and it will take a little bit of time to pull together a complete view of the product — but don’t skip it. It’s easy to get a very basic product description and then skip ahead to designing a marketing plan, but this almost guarantees that some insights will be left out — and the advertising strategy won’t be as strong as it could be.

Business owners and entrepreneurs should be especially careful here. You’ve probably spent a lot of time working on your product already, but thinking about it from a marketing perspective is a little different. Make sure you have a complete marketing portrait of your product before moving forward.

An example of product

A media streaming subscription is an example of a product. The company may offer a limited, free plan but also provide another tier of service for a monthly fee. As the marketing team considers the product, they may note that this plan offers more types of media than their competitors. Market research may reveal that while the product was designed for desktop devices, most users are actually engaging on their smartphone apps. Or they may discover that even though they thought the service was being used for casual entertainment, there is actually a large audience segment streaming educational podcasts in the mornings.

Price — cost of the product or service

As part of the marketing mix, “price” refers to how the cost and pricing structure of a product will impact the marketing strategy . In some cases, pricing will be designed in conjunction with a marketing strategy. But even if pricing details are simply handed down to the marketing team, it shouldn’t be overlooked as a key consideration.

The concept of price becomes a marketing strategy in a couple of ways, including:

• Brand perception. Pricing affects how your audience perceives your brand and your product. If you can design pricing structures as part of your marketing campaign, consider whether you are offering an economy or a luxury product. If pricing is predetermined, the marketing campaign will need to be consistent with the perception that pricing creates.
• Lead generation. Pricing strategies can be designed for lead generation by using free trials or limited free pricing tiers. Whether or not lead generation is built into your product’s pricing structure will impact your marketing campaigns.

An example of price

In our media streaming example, the company offers a free account with limited access. If the paid subscription costs more than competitor subscriptions, the marketing team may choose to describe and illustrate their service as a more sophisticated option. Ad campaigns may associate the product with a more expensive lifestyle, highlight the larger library of content, direct content at adults more than teenagers, and establish partnership marketing relationships with other brands that market to the same audience.

Promotion — reach the target audience

Promotion is communicating with customers and target audiences. Promotion is what comes to mind for many people when they think about marketing because it’s the piece of the marketing strategy that considers how to tell your audience about your product.

Promotion includes SEO and content marketing, online ads, social media advertising, email marketing, public relations campaigns, media placement, and more. It’s about all of the considerations that will help you get your product to your audiences. Some of those considerations include:

• The types of messaging your audience responds to
• The ideal time to communicate with them
• Market segmentation and demographics
• How people interact with your brand

You’ll take all of those insights (and more) and use them to design visual ads, videos, email campaigns, and content calendars that speak directly to your target audience at every stage of the customer journey. You’ll also want to consider how to use personalization at scale in order to create a truly unique, engaging experience for each individual that helps move them through the funnel.

https://main--bacom-blog--adobecom.hlx.page/blog/fragments/personalization-at-scale

An example of promotion

For example, the media streaming service may consider a promotional campaign that targets business professionals in major US cities. The company may partner with popular tech brands and design messaging that advertises the largest collection of educational podcasts — perfect for learning about your business or favorite subjects during your morning routine.

Place — location of consumers

Place is about where and how your product is available, as well as where your marketing messages are shared. The idea of product ”place” is an important marketing consideration because it also affects brand perception. The “place” of your promotions has a similar effect because people associate the medium with the message. Many exclusive brands, for example, are not available in big box department stores. Selective product placement reinforces the customer’s view of the brand as something elite.

It’s important to note that most marketing places are now digital. Digital marketers need to consider where their customers and buyers are online, both for product and promotional placement.

An example of place

Let’s take one last look at the media streaming company example. The marketing team may focus a lot (if not all) of their campaign resources on digital platforms. LinkedIn might be a more valuable place than Facebook, and podcast sponsorships might be a valuable place for influencer marketing.

How to use the 4 Ps of marketing

You can put the 4 Ps of marketing to work by using them as a framework for planning your next campaign. Think through and document how each one applies to your strategy and how the implications of each can improve your marketing performance by asking some strategic questions:

• What is unique about your product?
• Why is it better than the competition?
• How is the product designed to be used?
• How is your audience actually using the product?
• What needs does the product meet?
• What frustrations does your audience have with the product?
• What frustrations does your audience have with competitor products?
• How does the product relate to our current branding and company mission?
• What does the price communicate about the product?
• What does the price communicate about your brand?
• How will the pricing likely influence buyer perception?
• Does the pricing model support lead generation strategies?
• Based on the product and pricing, who are my target audiences?
• Why do my target personas need this product?
• When are my target personas most aware of their need for this product?
• What type of messaging and content most resonate with my target audiences?
• Where should my product be available? Is it exclusive or widely available?
• Is my target audience geographically limited?
• Where does my target audience spend their time?
• What digital channels does my target audience prefer?
• What marketing partners align with the strategy for this product and our brand identity?

The 4 Ps of marketing are not a new strategy and — like most marketing strategies — the strength of the marketing mix lies in its flexibility. It continues to develop to suit marketers’ needs and remains a key framework decades after it was first documented.

For your next marketing campaign, start by making sure your whole team has a clear definition of the product from every angle. Then use the remaining Ps to outline a successful marketing campaign.

When you’re ready to get started, check out Adobe Experience Manager to learn how the industry’s most robust digital asset management solution can help you put the 4 Ps into action. Deliver timely, relevant, and personal experiences — and reach your audience faster.

https://video.tv.adobe.com/v/36376

What Are the 4 Ps of Marketing? The Marketing Mix Explained [Example]

Published: October 03, 2023

If you've been a marketing professional for years now, learning about the four Ps of marketing might seem like a throwback to you.

However, for those of us who work in the industry but didn't study marketing in college, it's entirely possible you haven't heard of the marketing mix.

Below, let's learn about the four Ps of marketing and how they're still relevant in today's marketing landscape.

What are the 4 Ps of marketing?

The four Ps of marketing are product, price, place, and promotion. These are the key factors that are involved in marketing a product or service. You take the four Ps into account when creating strategies for marketing, promoting, advertising, and positioning your product or brand.

The four Ps are meant to help marketers consider everything about a product or service when they're deciding how to market it for their business. Framing your marketing around the four Ps will help you learn what the competition is doing and what customers want from you.

How to Use the 4 Ps of Marketing

You can use the four Ps to answer questions about the product, price, place, and promotion of your product or service.

For example, you can ask yourself:

• Product : How does your product meet your customer's needs? What problem(s) does it solve? What unique value or features does it offer?
• Price : What is the value of your product? What are my competitors charging?
• Place : Where are customers looking for your product?
• Promotion : How can you differentiate your product from competitors? Where can you reach your audience?

Always consider the needs and preferences of your target audience. Ultimately, your product, its price, its place of distribution, and its promotional strategies should appeal to your customers the most.

Thinking about your marketing in terms of the four Ps will help you strategize how to reach your customers. The 4 Ps of Marketing are also known as your marketing mix — more on that below.

What is the marketing mix?

The marketing mix is also known as the four Ps of marketing. It refers to the four key elements of a marketing strategy: product, price, place, and promotion. These elements guide the marketing initiatives, wording, and positioning for a product or brand.

Free Marketing Mix Templates

Map out your marketing mix with these free templates

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

To develop a marketing mix, you'll need to think about how you can uniquely position your brand amongst the competition. The most important part of thinking about the marketing mix — or the four Ps of marketing — is to understand the customer, the competition, and your company. You'll evaluate your product and how to promote it.

But getting started isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve created the ultimate collection of marketing mix templates you can use to visualize your marketing mix and share it with your employees or investors. Use the templates to organize your initiatives and activities by the right section.

Featured Resource: Marketing Mix Templates

Click here to download the templates for free .

Use the template to follow along with the 4 Ps of marketing below.

The 4 Ps of Marketing (Example)

1. the first p of marketing: product.

When you think about your product, consider exactly what you're selling. Is it a specific product? Or is it a service? Your product can be a physical product, an online app, or a service such as house cleaning. Really, anything that you're selling is the product.

Then, think of your brand messaging, the services you offer, and even packaging. When you define your product, think about what problem your product solves for your customers. Consider how your product is different from competing products. What features are unique to your product?

It's important to know your product intimately so you can market it.

Product Example

We’ll use Marketing Hub as an example.

What is it? “Marketing automation software to help you attract the right audience, convert more visitors into customers, and run complete inbound marketing campaigns at scale — all on one powerful, easy-to-use platform.”

Who is it for? Modern marketers who juggle too much data and who are stuck with impossible-to-use software solutions that make their job harder, not easier.

Which features does it have? Marketing Hub offers blogging, SEO, social media management, email marketing, and ad tracking tools in a single, intuitive platform.

What problem does it solve? Marketing Hub simplifies the marketing automation process for busy marketers by bringing all data and tools under one roof.

2. The Second P of Marketing: Price

When it comes to price, you have to consider how much you're going to charge customers for your products or services. Of course, you need to make a profit.

When coming up with your pricing strategy , you also need to think about what competitors are charging for the same product or service and how much customers are willing to pay. You can also think about what discounts or offers you can use in your marketing.

When you decide on a price, you want to think about perception. Do you want to be known as a cost-effective option in your industry? Or perhaps you're a luxury brand and the price is slightly higher than competition on the market. Keep in mind that pricing SaaS products is a little different than pricing physical products.

Either way, the language you use to market your product will be greatly impacted by the price of your product.

Download a sales pricing calculator for free .

Price Example

Marketing Hub is priced to grow with you as you grow.

We offer the following subscription tiers:

• $0/month (Free)
• $45/month (Starter)
• $800/month (Professional)
• $3,200/month (Enterprise)

3. The Third P of Marketing: Place

When it comes to place, this might mean the physical location of your company, but it could also be defined as anywhere you sell your product, which might be online.

The place is where you market and distribute your product.

Remember that not every place makes sense for every product. For example, if your target market is seniors, then it won't make sense to market on TikTok. It's important to choose the right places to market your product and meet your customers where they're at.

Think about possible distribution channels and outlets you could use to sell your product. Be sure to take into account whether your business is B2B or B2C .

At this point, you'll need to think about how to market your product on all the various channels that make sense for your company.

Place Example

As a provider of a SaaS product, we offer Marketing Hub directly on our website.

Marketers can sign up for Marketing Hub by creating an account directly on our platform. We’ve created a convenient sign-up page for free subscriptions — or they can request a demo from our friendly sales team.

4. The Fourth P of Marketing: Promotion

Promotion is the bread and butter of marketing. This is when you'll think about how to publicize and advertise your product.

Additionally, you'll discuss brand messaging, brand awareness, and lead generation strategies .

When it comes to promotion, keeping communication in mind is of the utmost importance. What messages will resonate with your target market? How can you best promote your product to them?

Think about where, when, and how you'll promote your brand.

Promotion Example

We want to be where marketers are. Most importantly, we want to help them grow in their careers — as well as grow their businesses.

Our inbound marketing strategy will focus primarily on organic acquisition. We’ll promote Marketing Hub over the following channels:

• The HubSpot Marketing Blog
• HubSpot Academy

The 4 Ps of Marketing Examples: Apple and e.l.f. Cosmetics

Let's break down the 4 Ps of marketing for Apple and e.l.f. Cosmetics.

( Image Source )

• Product: iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watch, AirPods, Software, and Services (i.e., Apple Music, Apple TV, iTunes, etc.).
• Price: Apple products are often priced at the higher end of the market. The brand commands premium pricing due to its reputation for innovation, quality, and design.
• Place: Consumers can purchase products online and in retail stores. Apple products are sold worldwide and have a significant global market presence.
• Promotion: Apple places a strong emphasis on cultivating a dedicated and loyal consumer base. Their marketing campaigns reinforce the idea of being part of an "Apple ecosystem." Once users buy one product — like an iPhone – they're more likely to choose other Apple products like MacBooks, iPads, Apple Watches, and more. This ecosystem fosters a deep brand loyalty. This sense of loyalty is evident in their product launches, which are a must-see event in the tech industry.

e.l.f. Cosmetics

• Product: e.l.f. offers a comprehensive range of makeup and skincare products, brushes, and beauty tools.
• Price: One of e.l.f.'s main value propositions is its affordability. Many of their products have a low price point, making the brand accessible to a wide range of consumers. Its lower price point sets it apart from other brands in the beauty space.
• Place: e.l.f. products are widely available in drugstores and big-box retailers like Target and Walmart. It also has a a strong online presence, selling products directly through their website and other online retailers.
• Promotion: As a challenger brand in the beauty space, e.l.f. seeks to establish itself as a recognizable and reliable option at the drugstore and beyond. The brand is proactive across social media, including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, to engage with younger demographics. In addition, their campaigns often involve user-generated content to foster a sense of community with their audience. 

Back to You

Even though marketing has changed since the four Ps were developed, the foundational elements of the industry haven't. You can apply the concepts of the marketing mix to create winning marketing strategies that help you profitably launch and promote your company’s products.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Understanding the 4ps of marketing with examples.

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Marketing is a dynamic field that plays a crucial role in the success of any business. To effectively navigate the world of marketing, professionals rely on established frameworks and strategies. One such framework is the 4Ps of Marketing, which stands for Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. In this article, we will delve into each of these components, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of how they work together to drive a company’s marketing efforts.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Marketing is all about meeting the needs and wants of your target audience. To do this effectively, marketers use various strategies and frameworks, and one of the most fundamental is the 4Ps model. Let’s explore each P in detail.

Product: Crafting the Perfect Offering

Understanding product development.

In the world of marketing, the product is the heart of your business. It’s what you offer to your customers, and it needs to meet their needs and desires. Effective product development involves understanding your target audience, conducting market research, and creating a product that stands out in the market.

Product Differentiation

To succeed in a competitive landscape, your product should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that sets it apart from the competition. This can be through quality, features, design, or any other aspect that resonates with your target market.

Price: Setting the Right Value

Pricing strategies.

Pricing is a critical aspect of marketing. You need to determine how much your product is worth to your customers and what they are willing to pay for it. Various pricing strategies, such as cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, and penetration pricing, can be employed depending on your market and objectives.

Place: Distribution Strategies

Selecting the right distribution channels.

Where and how you make your product available to customers is equally important. The place component involves selecting the right distribution channels, be it through physical stores, e-commerce platforms, or a combination of both.

Promotion: Spreading the Word

Effective promotion tactics.

Promotion is about creating awareness and interest in your product. It encompasses advertising, public relations, social media marketing, and other activities that drive customer engagement. An effective promotion strategy can lead to increased sales and brand recognition.

The 4Ps in Action: Examples

Now that we’ve covered each of the 4Ps individually, let’s look at some real-world examples to illustrate how these components work together.

Apple Inc. – A Product-Centric Approach

Apple is renowned for its product innovation. Their sleek and user-friendly devices are a testament to their strong product development strategy. Their premium pricing strategy also reflects the value they offer.

Coca-Cola – A Price and Promotion Focus

Coca-Cola’s success can be attributed to its aggressive promotion strategies, such as memorable ad campaigns. They have also mastered the art of pricing, making their products accessible to a wide range of consumers.

Understanding the 4Ps of Marketing is essential for anyone in the field. By carefully crafting your product, setting the right price, selecting effective distribution channels, and promoting your offering, you can create a compelling marketing strategy that drives success.

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Ian has marketed for some of the world's best-known brands like Hewlett-Packard, Ryder, Force Factor, and CIT Bank. His content has been downloaded 50,000+ times and viewed by over 90% of the Fortune 500. His marketing has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Adweek, Business Insider, Seeking Alpha, Tech Crunch, Y Combinator, and Lifehacker. With over 10 startups under his belt, Ian's been described as a serial entrepreneur— a badge he wears with pride. Ian's a published author and musician and when he's not obsessively testing the next marketing idea, he can be found hanging out with family and friends north of Boston.

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4 P's of marketing: How to achieve the perfect marketing mix

The 4 P’s of marketing are price, promotion, place, and product—the four key factors every marketer should use to guide their campaign strategy. Our guide covers the 4 P’s of marketing and gives a breakdown of each step involved.

The 4 P's approach works for any industry, and can be applied to any business, from solopreneurs to enterprise organizations. In our guide, we'll cover what the 4 P’s of marketing are, then break down exactly how to incorporate them in your next marketing campaign.

What are the 4 P’s of marketing?

The 4 P's stand for product, price, place, and promotion, the four primary factors that marketers need to consider when designing a campaign strategy.

A marketing strategy should:

Communicate what the product will provide the customer

Demonstrate why the product's value fits its price

Appear in the places the company's target audience will encounter them

Use effective promotion strategies to reach potential customers

Keep these four objectives in mind as you craft your marketing strategy. The 4 P's should influence your product positioning, marketing channel selection, advertising decisions, promotional strategy, and copy choices throughout the campaign.

How do the 4 P’s work?

Knowing what the 4 P’s are isn't very helpful unless you also know how to implement them in your marketing strategy . Below, we'll break down each P to help you better understand what they are, why they're important to your marketing efforts, and how you can incorporate them into future campaigns.

The first P: Product

In the marketing mix, "product" is shorthand for whatever it is that you're selling, whether it's a physical product or a service. A strong marketing campaign starts with a clear and detailed understanding of the product and how it appeals to the target customer.

For example, a car advertisement that only highlights details like what the car looks like and how much it costs isn't very compelling. Guided by a complete understanding of the product they're selling, a more skilled marketer might pitch an SUV crossover advertisement that emphasizes unique safety features in order to specifically target parents of small children. 

Example product questions

What problem is your product solving? Consider what challenges your target customers encounter and what impacts those challenges have.

Who is your target customer? Think about what type of person is most likely to find value in your product.

How does your product address your target customer’s needs? Home in on how specific features of your product address specific customer demands.

What does your product offer that competitors' products do not? Determine how your product solves customers' needs more quickly, effectively, or affordably than competing products.

Put yourself in your target customer's shoes to more thoroughly understand what your product has to offer. With a better understanding of the specific ways in which your product offers value to the customer, you'll be able to market that product more effectively.

The second P: Price

The second P of marketing stands for “price.” This is how much you should charge for your product in order to make a profit. When creating your pricing strategy, a good place to start is by looking at your competitors. 

Checking how much your competitors charge gives you a good sense of how much potential customers are willing to pay for similar products. Combine that with the perceived value of your product—in other words, what you want your price to imply about your product. Are you a luxury, standard, or budget option?

You can use your marketing messaging to focus on these different price points. Don’t forget to also think about coupons, discounts, offers, and bundles that are popular in your marketplace.

Example price questions

What do competing products cost? This is a great starting point for market research and gauging your product’s price range.

How much are your customers willing to spend? Thinking about how much your potential customers are willing to spend will help give you a price cap.

Can your product have multiple price points? Looking at the potential to have several price points for different levels of subscriptions or products can open you up to a larger demographic.

What does your product cost to create? Understanding how much it will cost you to make a product or provide a service will help you determine your profit margins.

If you've priced your product correctly, you should be selling it at a cost that's affordable for your target customer and still brings in a profit.

The third P: Place

The third P of marketing stands for “place.” This encompasses where you are in relation to where your customer is, as well as where you need to place your advertising in order to reach your target audience.

It doesn't take a master strategist to know that a physical product or service needs to be available where potential customers live, shop, and work. However, place will impact your marketing strategy, too.

If you operate a physical store, it's unlikely that customers will come from far away to buy your product. Generalized marketing methods will always be effective, but you may get a greater return on investments in local SEO, advertising in town newspapers, and co-sponsoring community events.

The same principle applies to locating your target audience online. For example, if you're targeting Gen Z social media influencers, you'll probably be wasting valuable budget by advertising on platforms that cater to older audiences like Facebook or LinkedIn.

Example place questions

Where does your target customer purchase similar products? Think about whether your potential buyers will purchase your product in a store, conference, online, etc., in order to determine the best place to sell your product.

Where is your customer located? Knowing where your customer lives or spends their time shopping is an important aspect of developing a marketing strategy.

Are you business or consumer-focused? Deciding whether you are selling directly to individuals or businesses will help you determine where to sell your new product.

Where are your competitors selling their products or services? Use your successful competitors as a guide on where to sell your products. They are great indicators of which place(s) will be most successful.

The fourth P: Promotion

The last P of marketing stands for “promotion.” If product is what you're selling, price is how much you're selling it for, and place is where you're selling it, then promotion is how you're promoting the sale. 

In designing your promotion strategy , think through how you want your messaging to be received. Is your brand fun and clever, upscale and luxurious, or serious and intellectual? Nail down your brand voice and then keep it consistent across all of your marketing.

It's also important to determine what messages will perform well on different platforms. A multiple-paragraph post will be ignored on Facebook or Instagram, but might make an excellent SEO opportunity for your blog. You might be targeting audiences that use both LinkedIn and TikTok, and you may even be promoting the same message across channels, but you'll need to tailor the format of your content to match each platform.

Example promotion questions

Who is your target audience? Understand who you're speaking to so you can decide what voice and tone will resonate the most.

How do you want your brand to be perceived? Think about what brand personality makes sense for your product and industry.

What distribution channels does our target audience use to consume information? Don't sabotage your message by promoting it in the wrong place.

How are competitors promoting their products? Using your competitors as your guinea pigs for promotion experiments is a great way to find out what works and learn from their mistakes.

Can you capitalize on seasonality? If your target audience's behavior changes drastically from summer to winter, create different marketing strategies for different times of the year.

4 P’s vs. 7 P’s of marketing: What’s the difference?

The 4 P's first appeared in a book called Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach that was published in 1960. Though the 4 P's are still just as applicable today, the original marketing mix didn't account for modern factors like the specific challenges of online marketing or the massive variety of products available today. 

That's why some marketers like to use an expanded list that contains an additional three P's: people, physical evidence, and process.

The 7 P's of marketing

The 7 P's of marketing include the original four (product, price, place, and promotion) plus three people, physical evidence, and process.

People represent a company’s internal team and staff members that provide a service or sell the product. Impressing potential clients with great customer service is important because many people can’t separate their feelings toward a  product from their buying experience.

Physical evidence is "proof" that the claims and statements you're making in your marketing and advertising materials are true. This proof can include customer reviews, case studies, and testimonials that show your target audience that your existing customers are satisfied with your product.

Process pertains to the transportation and delivery of your product. Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective forms of advertising there is, so investments in safe and speedy delivery, pleasant purchasing interactions, and effective customer support are really investments in marketing.

Use the 4 P's to start your marketing campaigns on the right foot

The 4 P's aren't something you can implement as an afterthought. To utilize the 4 P's effectively, incorporate them into every step of your marketing campaign. 

From your initial organizing stages all the way through to campaign launch, the presence of the 4 P's should be evident in your marketing strategy every step of the way.

Related resources

How Asana uses work management for smoother creative production

Build a marketing operations strategy in 4 steps

How Asana uses work management for more impactful campaigns

Marketing vs. advertising: What’s the difference?

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The 4Ps of Marketing

In this article:

The 4Ps of Marketing, also known as the marketing mix, is a tool that can help you offer the right product in the right place, at the right time, and at the right price.

Imagine you run a one-person startup and are in the process of creating a new product. You feel that all you have to do is create your product and then offer it to the market, and you’ll have people falling over themselves to be your customer.

Unfortunately, it’s rarely this simple. Being product-focused in this way is a mistake that many people make. To be successful in the market, you need to be laser-focused on creating what your customers want, and the 4Ps of Marketing can help you do this.

The 4Ps of Marketing is a tool to help you think about the customer-focused choices you have to make when bringing a product to market. 

The 4Ps are:

• Product:  What is it that you sell, and how does it fulfill your customers’ needs?
• Place: Where do you promote or sell your product?
• Price:  How much is your product?
• Promotion:  How do your ideal customers find out about you?

As you can see, the 4Ps of Marketing is essentially a set of questions you have to answer to give your product or service the best chance of being successful in the marketplace.

Let’s examine each of the 4Ps of Marketing in more detail.

Creating a successful Marketing Mix begins with creating a product or service that fulfills a significant customer need. 

Consumers purchase your product because it satisfies a need or want. These needs and desires are rarely basic; for example, a customer may buy a luxury car to fulfill their need for status. 

Good marketers understand these needs and create and position products to cater to these needs. To understand your customer’s needs, it is essential to interact with real or potential customers and get their feedback and input.

The definition of a product not only refers to the actual good or service that you offer, but it also refers to how you package your product. The packaging of your product includes, amongst other things, the features of your product, its unique selling proposition, its branding, its packaging, any guarantee or warranty you offer, and your after-sales service. 

Product is deliberately the first element of the 4Ps of Marketing. The reason for this is that it’s almost impossible to determine any of the other Ps if you haven’t clearly defined what your product is. For example, how can you set the price of a car if you don’t know whether you’re building a Mazda or a Ferrari?

Place refers to how and where people will buy your products. You want to make sure that your products are available when and where customers want your products to be available.

Place also means making sure that your product is available in the right quantity to ensure that you’re able to satisfy the demand for your product.

A key question to answer during this stage of the 4Ps of Marketing is what is the most appropriate distribution channel for your product or service? Will you sell directly to the customer? If not, how will you get your product to where you are selling it? 

Be aware that each intermediary to recruit to help you sell your product will expect to be paid to perform this role.

Other questions to answer in this element include, what form of transportation will you use to get your product to where you’re selling it, and how will you manage inventories?

Note that it is called multi-channel distribution when you sell your product via more than one distribution channel.

Price refers to the price a customer must pay to purchase your product or service. 

Price is the easiest element of the 4Ps to manipulate. You can change your price overnight and immediately see an impact on your revenue.

Determining a price for your product can be complex. Typically, you’ll want to consider three variables:

• Cost:  how much your product costs to produce.
• Price:  how much you charge customers for your product.
• Value:  How much value your customers get from the product.

Where you focus amongst these three variables will depend on your business strategy. If your business strategy focuses on cost leadership, then you’ll want to minimize your costs and the price you charge. If your business strategy focuses on differentiation, that is, being unique in the marketplace, then you’ll want to focus on maximizing the value you provide.

4. Promotion

Once you’ve finalized the other three Ps, it’s time to promote your product. Promotion aims to persuade customers to buy your product.

Promotion is concerned with where, when, and how you’ll advertise your products and services. Examples of promotional channels include:

• Billboard advertising.
• Facebook advertising.
• Radio advertising.
• TV advertising.
• Social media advertising.
• Trade show stands.

When nonmarketers think about marketing, it is often only promotion that they think of as marketing. If you’re not a marketer, it’s important to realize that a marketer’s brief covers all of the 4Ps of Marketing.

Promotion is broader than just advertising, as it includes public relations outreach and any discounting strategies you use. 

How to Use the 4Ps of Marketing

If you want a product to be successful in the market, then here is a six-step process you can use to develop your own marketing mix.

1. Align your product to serve specific customer needs

Your product should clearly meet your customer’s needs. You’ll need to perform customer research to ensure you give customers what they want.

In this step, you need to articulate precisely who your customers are and how your product uniquely meets their needs. You’ll use this information later when you construct your marketing messages.

2. Find out where your target audience hangs out/shops

Now that you know your ideal customers, you need to figure out where they hang out or shop. This might be online, such as in a special interest forum, or a physical location, such as an airport.

3. Determine a price for your product

Set a price for your product that will appeal to your target audience. Take into account your business strategy and the cost, price, and value variables to help you set your price.

4. Determine your messaging and channels

In this step, you determine the messages you’ll use to communicate the benefits of your product to your potential customers. 

You also need to determine which marketing and distribution channels you’ll use to reach your ideal customers. For example, you might choose to use a combination of Facebook advertising and working with affiliates.

5. Check all the pieces fit together

The beauty of online advertising is it allows you to relatively cheaply test your messaging with your target audience before you fully launch and commit to a large advertising spend. 

In this way, you can sanity-check your decisions so far before proceeding to the next step. Testing in this way can help you answer some important questions:

• Is the price right?
• Do customers want your product?
• Have you selected the best channels?
• Is your audience engaging with your ads and messaging?

This step is still important if you don’t plan to advertise online. Review your 4Ps of Marketing to check that all the pieces fit together and are pulling in the same direction.

6. Revisit your marketing mix over time

If you launch a successful product, your market share will grow over time. In response to this, your competitors will adapt their 4Ps. Over time, your customers’ behavior may also change.

Thus, the 4Ps of Marketing are not static, and you should adjust them regularly.

For example, maybe over time, you’ll need to add new ideal customer types as your market share grows. This simple decision will cause you to need to revisit all of the 4Ps to ensure that all elements are aligned and working together to attract these new types of customers.

4Ps of Marketing Template

If you’d like to perform your own 4Ps of Marketing exercise, you can download our 4Ps of Marketing template here .

4Ps of Marketing Example

To bring everything we’ve covered together, let’s work through an example of using the 4Ps of Marketing in practice.

Imagine you are creating a course teaching English speakers to speak Spanish. Let’s work through each of the six steps to see what your marketing mix might look like.

There are hundreds of other Spanish courses in existence, so why should someone choose yours?

One way to think about this problem is that right now, your potential customers are living unhappily on an island where they don’t speak Spanish, and what they want to do is get to the island where they do speak fluent Spanish.

Unfortunately, there are many bridges available to them to get to the speaking Spanish island, so why should they choose yours? Crafting your unique selling proposition (USP) is all about giving potential customers a reason to cross your bridge rather than a competitor’s.

Your USP boils down to how you slice and dice your product to offer something unique. Ideally, to determine your USP, you should go out into the marketplace and talk with potential customers.

Assuming you have done this, then a few examples of how you might uniquely craft a Spanish course are:

• Learn the 1,000 most common Spanish words quickly.
• Watch your way to Spanish fluency (for a video-based course).
• Learn Spanish in just 10 minutes a day.
• Speak like a local in just three months.

Each of these USPs gives potential customers a reason to choose your bridge instead of your competitors because they distinguish your product from those of your competitors.

You can create a USP even if your product isn’t all that different from your competitors. The key is that you slice and dice how you describe your product so that your potential customers perceive a difference.

This step is all about examining the place element in the 4Ps of Marketing model. In what places might you sell your course? Well, if this were 1995, you’d have more limited choices than you have today:

• You could work with a publisher to sell your course in written format in bookstores.
• You could sell your course directly to your customer via mail order by advertising in newspapers, magazines, etc.

These days you have more options available to you, including:

• Customers could purchase your course directly from your website.
• You can work with bloggers to promote your course and, in return, pay them a commission for each sale they make.
• You could provide your course as an app, downloadable via an app store.

How much will you charge for your Spanish course? Let’s examine the three variables:

• Cost: while your course may have cost a lot to produce, but the marginal cost (the additional cost) of selling one additional subscription to your course is minimal.
• Price:  your product strategy is one of differentiation, so you’ll be looking to charge a high fee for access to your course.
• Value:  while the value of speaking a second language is considerable, people are used to paying low monthly amounts to access online language courses.

Taking all of this into account, your pricing options might be:

• $10 per month for access.
• Certain features are free forever, but you need to pay to access premium features.

Suppose your USP was: watch your way to Spanish fluency. You might decide to keep this as your messaging but add some additional messages to complement it, such as:

• Why read a book when you can watch yourself to Spanish fluency?
• Sit back, relax, and get fluent in Spanish?
• Sound like a local without opening a Spanish book.

In this step, you also decide that your primary channels to attract new customers will be Facebook and Instagram advertising.

You’ve now completed all of the 4Ps of Marketing. Your completed 4Ps of Marketing template will look something like this:

Now it’s time to sanity check that everything makes sense.

In this example, you’re going to do this by running test ads using Facebook. The point of these tests is to determine if people are engaging with your messaging and, therefore, if they are interested in what you have to offer.

Fortunately, in this example, people do engage with your test ads, so you’re in a position to launch when you’re ready.

You haven’t launched yet, so this step isn’t relevant to you right now, but you make a note to revisit the 4Ps of Marketing regularly after launch.

Advantages and Disadvantages

There are several advantages and disadvantages associated with the 4Ps of Marketing model.

• It helps you to understand what your product can offer to your customers.
• It provides a way to build a complete marketing plan that begins with focusing on aligning your product to your customer’s desires.
• It allows you to see the critical components of even the most complex marketing plans on a single page.

Disadvantages

• It provides no mechanism to measure the success of your marketing efforts.
• Price is fundamental to the model, but brand building isn’t. This focus on price rather than brand can be corrosive to your ultimate profitability.
• The model is high-level and doesn’t go into detail.
• While the model can help you put together a marketing plan, the quality of your marketing plan will be determined by the quality of the people who put your marketing plan together.
• It can take significant time to put a 4Ps of Marketing plan together.

The 4Ps of Marketing model, also known as the marketing mix, is a tool that can help you offer the right product in the right place, at the right time, and at the right price.

The model begins by helping you create a product that your customers actually want to buy and moves on to help you determine where you will sell your product, how much you will charge, and finally, how you will promote your product.

Cite this article

Minute Tools Content Team, The 4Ps of Marketing, Minute Tools, Mar, 2022 https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2022/03/4ps-of-marketing/

Originally hailing from Dublin, Denis has always been interested in all things business and started EPM in 2009. Before EPM, Denis held a leadership position at Nokia, owned a sports statistics business, and was a member of the PMI's (Project Management Institute’s) Global Executive Council for two years. Denis now spends his days helping others understand complex business topics.

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4Ps of Marketing (Marketing Mix with Examples) The 4Ps of Marketing or the Marketing Mix is one of the most basic concepts taught in Marketing. At the same time, it makes up for an extremely large part of a successful marketing plan. The fact is, the 4Ps of Marketing are really important because they, together, form the marketing strategy of your company. Let me tell you more about it.

Marketing mix - the 4Ps of marketing can never be overestimated when it comes to determining the success or failure of a marketing campaign.

In this article, I will explain to you what is marketing mix and also each of the 4Ps of marketing mix. Not just that, I will share with you four examples of how each of these elements of marketing mix makes a lot of difference in marketing.

Before that, let’s ponder over something basic. And also let me tell you what all I will be covering in this detailed article on the 4Ps of Marketing.

Let me begin by telling you, what exactly is Marketing Mix all about?

What is Marketing Mix? 

Marketing Mix is ideally a brilliantly coordinated combination of Product, Price, Place and Promotion strategies.

I wrote about marketing it in detail in my blog post titled ‘But really, what is Marketing?’. In simple terms, you could say marketing is about “ putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time”.

That is what it really is.

That one statement defines everything, from what is marketing to what is marketing mix to how to create and deliver an amazing marketing campaign.

Source: thefinancialbrand . com

If you’re in marketing, you have some basic ingredients that you would use to create some magic out of your marketing plan, these ingredients are called the 4Ps of Marketing or the Marketing Mix.

What is Marketing Mix? Marketing Mix is a set of elements, the 4Ps, that are the four decision-making areas in Marketing . Again, getting any of these elements wrong may destroy the rest of the factors you got right.

This is true because, the 4Ps factors are interdependent and rely on one another for an effective strategy. And if you begin to think, any marketing decision that you take essentially lies in any one of these areas.

4Ps of Marketing and all other basic marketing concepts!

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What is the purpose of the 4Ps of Marketing Mix?

Its purpose is to ensure the creation and execution of a successful marketing strategy ; the attempt is to satisfy both the customer and the seller. You will often come across your managers telling you to create marketing plans.

And this is what a marketing plan predominantly covers. The purpose is to ensure that every marketing initiative that you take is brilliantly coordinated with each other.

Marketing incorporates all these physical and non-physical, real and perceptual attributes into four elements of the marketing mix.

The 4Ps is basically about asking relevant questions that will help you to define your marketing mix.

Let me explain to you each of the elements of the Marketing mix , or the 4Ps of Marketing here. Stay tuned for the later part of the article where I will share with you the examples for each of the 4Ps.

Product  

First, it is important to understand the problems your product is trying to solve, because without it, you don’t have a place in the market, and you certainly can’t sell or advertise something that doesn’t exist or doesn’t have any demand.

The key to get this element of the marketing mix correct is by writing down a product definition .

This should include what is your product , what is your target market and most importantly why is your product different from the alternatives out there.

A product can be a physical object, an intangible service, an idea, a campaign or even a personality.

Also, the Unique Selling Proposition of the product must be determined as well as the potential buyers of the product.

There are questions you need to ask when you want to determine the kind of product you should have. They include:

• What problems can this product solve for customers?
• What features are included in the products to meet this need?
• What will differentiate it from the competitor’s own if any?
• How is it supposed to be used by the customer?

Let me know take you through the second P of the 4Ps of marketing - which is Price .

Price  

The price of a product should reflect its value to the customer. This also entails the relative price versus quality level that the product maintains against the competitors.

The marketer’s challenge is to come up with a price that is attractive to consumers while still turning an acceptable profit for the company.

The price of a product will directly affect how it sells . This must be determined by what value the customers attach to the product rather than the objective cost of the product.

If the product is priced higher or lower than its perceived value, then it will be difficult to make sales. Simply put, the value of the product in the eyes of the consumer determines the price.

I have written a series of articles on how to price a product and those articles shall help you with this particular element of the 4Ps of the Marketing mix . Here are some of those posts:

• How to Price your Product – The Fundamentals
• How to Price your Product better in 8 Steps (Part 1 of 2)
• How to Price your Product better in 8 Steps (Part 2 of 2)

Hence, if the value is low or negative , the product may need to be under priced to make sales.

The questions to ask here are:

• What is the perceived value of the product to the buyer?
• What is the market fixed price for this kind of product?  
• How much is your price when compared with the competitor’s?  

Moving on to the third element of the marketing mix and the 4Ps of Marketing - the Place .

Place  

There is a way how the product will be provided to the customer , this is the “Place” factor. Once the place has been decided, the marketing channel to reach the customer is chosen.

The place refers to where the product is to be sold (distribution) .

In the past, this meant how visible your product was in the physical marketplace. In today’s modern world: where your product appears on the Internet is even more important because your reach online can be global whilst as your reach in the physical marketplace is limited by physical space.

You can determine this by answering questions like:

• Where is the first place buyers check when looking for your kind of product. Is it a store, or a boutique, or maybe they check a catalogue?
• How can you determine the best distribution channels?
• Do you need to take a multi-channel approach? If yes, then which channels?

And finally, let me tell you about the 4th element of the marketing mix - Promotion .

Promotion  

Promotion refers to the marketing communication methods used to inform, persuade, and remind the target market of the product or services , basically any interaction that your company has with the consumer regarding your product.

This may include advertising, sales, promotions, special offers, and public relations.  Promotion is quite different from marketing, because promotion is the communication aspect of the entire marketing function.

The marketing mix is a crucial tool to help understand what the product or service can offer and how to plan for a successful product offering. 

• What are the promotion methods of your competitors?
• Which digital channels does your target market use often?
• What is the return-on-investment from each of the promotion channels?

After a brief explanation of the Marketing Mix and the 4Ps of Marketing , I am going to talk about them in a more direct and practical way. I explain elements of marketing mix with examples to show you how simple (and impact driven) the Marketing Mix can be.

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4Ps of Marketing - Video Explanation

Here is a decent video that I found on the 4Ps of Marketing. Purely Branded, explains in brief what the 4Ps of Marketing are all about and how to use them. For all of you who like to watch videos, I suggest you to have a look at it.

4Ps of Marketing - How to develop the Marketing Mix?

If you were to ask me the steps to determine the 4Ps of Marketing Mix , I would suggest to you the following 4 steps.

As you use these four steps in your marketing projects at your college or your work, you will realize that these are the exact steps that will help you bring out the best and the most coherent marketing plans.

4 Steps to Develop the 4Ps of Marketing Mix

• Identify the product to be analyzed. 
• Answer the 4Ps questions surrounding this product. 
• After getting a well-defined marketing mix for the 4Ps, try relating them with the 4Cs (i.e. from the customer's perceptive).      a. Product - Consumer Value      b. Price - Cost      c. Promotion - Communication      d. Place - Convenience
• Review your marketing mix regularly, because things can change.

4Ps of Marketing - Key Features

I had to write this out as a separate section because of how important it is for you to understand the nuances attached with the 4Ps of Marketing.

Let me share with you the 4 points, the 4 features that will make a lot of difference in your understanding of the marketing mix.

They are Interdependent variables. That is, they have different functions, but they must work together. One can hardly do without the other.

The 4Ps of marketing are flexible in such a way that, you can always play around with each of the variables. See the the 4Ps of Marketing as the four lever that you as a Marketing Manager will have with you to pull and do different things with.

Constant monitoring is required to make sure that the elements in the marketing mix stays relevant and updated. Again, as I mentioned, they are lever you can play around with.

The focal point of the marketing mix activity are the customers . Therefore, as I mentioned in one of the paragraphs above, you should at all times evaluate the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix from the 4Cs stand-point, i.e. the standpoint of the customers.

Elements of Marketing Mix with Examples

In this part of the article, my aim is to give you a feel of the four elements of the marketing mix through relevant real-world examples of the 4Ps of marketing . 

In each of these examples, I will take you through those examples that caught my attention and will help you understand the concepts better.

Product: Coca-Cola Life  

When you come to know that there is a Coca-Cola with the Green Label somewhere in the world and that it is still not sold worldwide you probably think

“What-The-H...?”.

Most people still find it weird but after years of dominating the market with the product and powerful advertising campaign, Coca-Cola found itself in a world where everyone wanted to feel more sustainable and healthier.

So, after 5 years of research, they came up with the Coca-Cola Life , with less sugar and stevia, a natural sweetener.

After a Market test in Chile and Argentina, the product was launched in different countries of the world.

What does this teach about the first P of the marketing mix?

Well, that products must always respond to the needs of the market .

No matter how strong your starting position is, no matter how strong your marketing is (so strong that in the case of Coca-Cola they influenced the way the Western World sees Christmas), there are moments where you have to start from a product.

Seth Godin said: Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.  

Price: Organic Apples aren’t Cheap  

Pricing doesn’t just mean: go as lower as you can to attack the market.

The Book “Ecological Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman talks of how producers and sellers of organic products must raise prices otherwise none will believe it’s REALLY organic!

This is the concept of Price Positioning on which I happen to have done a blog post some weeks back. 

Same happens with Apple: considering the hardware and the competition they can be defined unreasonably overpriced but if Apple will launch a new iPhone for 200$ the strong Apple fan base most probably will not react in a positive way.

So, choosing one price instead of another can automatically identify your product to your customers. 

Also Read:  Edible Cutlery won't sell until you do this

Place: Don’t tell everyone what you did last Friday  

Another mistake that most people do is trying to get through as many channels as possible . A lot of “improvised” entrepreneurs without any education in that make this mistake to multiply their distribution channels. 

The problem is that people will also judge not just what you sell and how much you charge for it, but also where they see you.

Imagine that in your city there is a club that is famous for being a place where illegal activities happen.

Now imagine you end up there on a wild Friday night and your partner’s dad finds out: won’t he get a really bad impression of you?

At the same time, your friends will think you are a real bad-ass. 

So, the place where you are seen can give you a certain identity according to your target. You want your friends to know where you were Friday night but not your in-laws.

 This is the same reason certain brands decide to only sell in their own stores, others don’t sell online and some only sell online: you have to select your sales channels carefully. 

Promotion: Loud Enough doesn’t mean Louder  

This point can get into thousands of pages without saying anything. With the concept of promotion, you talk about marketing, advertising, sales strategy and a lot more. 

What people hardly understand at the beginning is that in a crowded market like our World, being loud enough to be heard in the constant buzz doesn’t mean being louder than everyone.

So, the promotion has nothing to do with exaggerated claims, fake claims, obsessive  advertising and all these old-school-tricks .

Yes, they still work for others in certain cases, but they don’t give long-lasting positive fame and sooner or later it will ruin your business.

These old tricks work when you didn’t work on the marketing mix for real (maybe because you don’t have anything valuable to sell) so you have to work all with the promotion.

We tend to think that the 4th P is the most important but this is just because it is the tip of the Iceberg. Promotion is what you see more but there is a lot more than you don’t see. 

Conclusion  

At the end of the day if you want to succeed in business you have to be looking to create long-lasting relationships with your customers. 

The four elements must be in harmony and none most portray conflicting messages. The marketing mix must be customer-centric, that is why the 4Cs must be used alongside the 4Ps while determining answers to the variables.

• The price must be a cost the customer can afford
• The promotion must solely be based on communicating with the customers
• The product must offer a solution to the problem of the customer
• The place must be one that is convenient for the customers to reach  

And, just as in your personal life, you don’t create any long-lasting relationships by shouting loud, showing off and lying.

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What Is a Marketing Mix?

What are the 4 ps of a marketing mix, what are other marketing tools, what are the four elements of a marketing mix, what are the 7 ps in a marketing mix, what is the purpose of a marketing mix, the bottom line.

• Marketing Essentials

Marketing Mix: The 4 Ps of Marketing and How to Use Them

Investopedia / Mira Norian

A marketing mix includes multiple areas of focus as part of a comprehensive marketing plan . The term often refers to a common classification that began as the four Ps : product, price, placement, and promotion.

Effective marketing touches on a broad range of areas as opposed to fixating on one message. Doing so helps reach a wider audience, and by keeping the four Ps in mind, marketing professionals are better able to maintain focus on the things that really matter. Focusing on a marketing mix helps organizations make strategic decisions when launching new products or revising existing products.

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Key Takeaways

• A marketing mix refers to a framework that uses the four Ps of product, price, placement, and promotion.
• This concept traces back to 1960, when marketing professor E. Jerome McCarthy first published it in a book entitled Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach.
• The different elements of a marketing mix work in conjunction with one another with the ultimate purpose of generating higher sales.
• In addition to the 4 Ps, three approaches can also be integrated that include people, process, and physical evidence to reinforce a consumer-centric type of marketing strategy.
• This type of strategy extends beyond a product-focused marketing approach.

The four Ps classification for developing an effective marketing strategy was first introduced in 1960 by marketing professor and author E. Jerome McCarthy. It was published in the book entitled Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. Depending on the industry and the target of the marketing plan, marketing managers may take various approaches to each of the four Ps. Each element can be examined independently, but in practice, they often are dependent on one another. 

This represents an item or service designed to satisfy customer needs and wants. To effectively market a product or service, it's important to identify what differentiates it from competing products or services. It's also important to determine if other products or services can be marketed in conjunction with it.

The sale price of the product reflects what consumers are willing to pay for it. Marketing professionals need to consider costs related to research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution—otherwise known as cost-based pricing. Pricing based primarily on consumers' perceived quality or value is known as value-based pricing .

Value-based pricing plays a key role in products that are considered to be status symbols.

When determining areas of distribution, it's important to consider the type of product sold. Basic consumer products, such as paper goods, often are readily available in many stores. Premium consumer products, however, typically are available only in select stores.

Joint marketing campaigns are called a promotional mix. Activities might include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and public relations. One key consideration is the budget assigned to the marketing mix. Marketing professionals carefully construct a message that often incorporates details from the other three Ps when trying to reach their target audience . Determination of the best mediums to communicate the message and decisions about the frequency of the communication also are important.

Not all marketing is product-focused. Customer service businesses are fundamentally different than those based primarily on physical products, so they often will take a consumer-centric approach that incorporates additional elements to address their unique needs.

Three additional Ps tied to this type of marketing mix might include people, process, and physical evidence. "People" refers to employees who represent a company as they interact with clients or customers. "Process" represents the method or flow of providing service to clients and often incorporates monitoring service performance for customer satisfaction. "Physical evidence" relates to an area or space where company representatives and customers interact. Marketers take into consideration elements such as furniture, signage, and layout.

Additionally, marketers often study consumers in order to refine or update strategies related to services or products. This requires a strategy for communicating with consumers in order to obtain feedback and define the type of feedback being sought.

Traditionally, marketing commences with identifying consumers' needs and ceases with the delivery and promotion of a final product or service. Consumer-centric marketing is more cyclical. Its goals include reassessing customers' needs, communicating frequently, and developing strategies to build customer loyalty .

The four primary elements of a marketing mix are product, price, placement, and promotion. This framework aims to create a comprehensive plan to distinguish a product or service from competitors that creates value for the customer. Often, these elements are dependent on each other.

Product refers to a good or service that meets a customer's needs. Here, companies focus on features that differentiate it from its competitors. An organization may also consider complementary products that fit within its suite of product or service offerings.

Price represents the price point or price range for the product or service. Ultimately, the goal is to maximize profit margins and return on investment while considering the price that customers are willing to pay.

Placement refers to distribution channels. Specifically, where is this product being promoted, and how can you get it in front of your target audience?

Promotion focuses on creating brand awareness around your product or service. Importantly, it looks at how utilizing certain channels can drive sales.

Sometimes, the marketing mix can extend beyond the classic four Ps of product, price, placement, and promotion established by professor E. Jerome McCarthy in 1960. These additional categories include people, physical evidence, and process.

In this way, people represent the employees who interact with customers. A company may consider company culture as it relates to its brand strategy. This may include customer relationship management (CRM) , which aims to increase brand loyalty among customers.

Physical evidence might include the packaging or the layout of a physical store, which can reinforce a brand and create more value to the customer.

Finally, the process identifies areas, often from a logistical standpoint, that enable the customer to have the most seamless experience possible with a product or service. This may include everything from delivery logistics and shipping to managing third-party retailers.

At its core, a marketing mix is focused on promoting a product or service to generate revenue for a company. On the whole, it integrates key marketing strategies that create brand awareness, build customer loyalty, and drive product sales.

The development of a comprehensive, effective marketing plan takes into consideration a marketing mix that includes several areas of focus. Typically, the marketing mix refers to the four Ps: product or service, its price, placement, and promotion. This concept was developed in 1960, when marketing professor E. Jerome McCarthy first published it in a book entitled Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach.

However, because not all marketing is focused on products, customer-service businesses rely on other marketing tools that might include three additional Ps: the people who interact with customers, the process that creates a seamless customer experience, and physical evidence, or the area where customers and company representatives interact.

All of these tools are used to promote a product or service and build brand awareness and customer loyalty in order to generate revenue for a business.

E. Jerome McCarthy. " Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach ," Page vi. R.D. Irwin, 1960.

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4P Marketing Mix Template

Map a marketing mix that meets the needs of your target audience.

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About the 4P Marketing Mix template

What is a 4p marketing mix.

A marketing mix comprises the elements an organization might use to execute a successful marketing plan. The term was coined in the late 1940s, and Harvard professor Neil Borden used it in his 1953 address to the American Marketing Association. 

The 4P Marketing Mix Template allows you to map out four controllable factors affecting your company profits: product, place, promotion, and price. By deciding on the mix of these four factors, you can determine the ideal way to take a new product or service to market. Read on to find out more about how this template can help your team

What are the 4 Ps?

The 4 Ps stand for: Product, Place, Promotions, and Price. Let’s look at each one in more detail.

Product: is the tangible good or service that satisfies the target audience’s needs.

Place: refers to where and when the product is available.

Promotions: include advertising, digital marketing, PR, event marketing, direct marketing, personal selling, channel marketing, and alliances.

Price: consists of the policies regarding basic price, upgrades, discounts, coupons, distributor price, etc.

Benefits of marketing mixes 

An effective marketing mix can help your business develop strengths and limit weaknesses, become more competitive, adapt to the market, and collaborate with partners. Specifically, a marketing mix can help your organization answer the following questions: Who is your customer? What problem do they have? What prevents them from solving it? How does your product or service solve that problem? How does your customer or potential customer feel about your competitors? How do they feel about your business? What motivates them to make a purchasing decision? 

When to use a 4P marketing mix

Organizations can develop a marketing mix at any stage of growth. Once you’ve answered the questions above, you can begin to build your marketing strategy.

Create your own 4P marketing mix 

Miro is the perfect tool to create and share your marketing mix. Here’s how to create yours using this template:

Step 1:  Start by selecting this 4P Marketing Mix template. 

Step 2:  Choose a specific product or service to analyze.

Step 3:  Go through each quadrant, adding relevant information in sticky notes or uploading other file types. 

You may also want to color code your sticky notes so you can distinguish between positive and negative points. Once your team is satisfied with the result, you can easily share with other teams to get their feedback.

Get started with this template right now.

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What Are the 4 Ps?

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The 4 Ps is a marketing term that stands for product, price, place (or placement), and promotion. This “marketing mix” of four key marketing factors is the foundation of successful marketing strategies around the world.

Key Takeaways

• At least four key factors, known as the 4 Ps, go into a successful marketing mix and plan: product design, pricing, placement, and promotional strategies.
• Use a marketing mix of all 4 Ps to ensure that your goods or services are marketed effectively to the right customers, in the right way, and in the right areas. 
• Understanding the 4 Ps and creating an ever-evolving marketing plan can help your business adapt, thrive, and grow in a dynamic, ever-changing market environment. 

Definition and Examples of the 4 Ps of Marketing

The 4 Ps were notably identified by Neil Borden, an advertising professor at Harvard University, in a 1964 article entitled, “The Concept of the Marketing Mix.” However, the concept of four essential marketing factors has been around since the 1950s, although it has evolved significantly since then. 

This four-pronged marketing model is used by most successful businesses and is the foundation of comprehensive marketing plans. Here’s more on the 4 Ps:

• Product : The goods or services your business is offering.
• Price : How much the consumer can or will pay for your goods or services.
• Place(ment) : The location or environment where the product will be sold.
• Promotion : How your product is positioned and advertised.

The easiest way to incorporate the 4 Ps is by answering these four questions: What are you offering? How much is it worth? Where can consumers find it, is it priced well, and why should they care?

In the marketing world, these considerations are referred to as “positioning” and help businesses examine their offering in relation to consumers and the market as a whole.

Sometimes, these 4 Ps are expanded to include three more “P” components:

• People : The employees responsible for creating, marketing, and curating your products.
• Process : Procedure management of your products and/or the methods and flow of your services.
• Physical evidence : The physical assets (location, furniture, signage, layout) used to present your product.

The 4 Ps are more than a simple, static marketing plan; the approach is an evolving and cyclical explanation of your business's offering. Using a blend of techniques, strategies, and focus areas, the 4 Ps help business owners ensure that their marketing plan is hitting all the right points of emphasis, consistently, and over time. 

There is a subtle but essential difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan. Marketing strategies are the methods used to execute a marketing plan. Marketing plans are the road maps, or blueprints, businesses create to implement effective marketing strategies.

How Do the 4 Ps of Marketing Work? 

An effective business marketing plan based on the 4 Ps depends on what you're providing to the public, who wants or needs it, how rare or valuable it is, and the strength of your competition. Let's look into what roles product, price, place, and promotions play in building a marketing plan and shaping marketing strategies for businesses.

Quality, packaging, design, materials, and production cost are vital considerations when designing and branding products. To fully understand this part of the 4 Ps, ask yourself, do I have a product worth buying? What makes this a good product? Who would want it and why? 

It’s important to ask questions such as, who is not interested in my product and why? How could I alter my product or marketing mix to accommodate new or more customers? Which designs, price points, promotional tactics, or product placements aren’t working effectively? 

For example, paper plates should be able to hold food well, be made of sanitary materials, have a low cost, be disposable, and readily available. Therefore, marketing gold-rimmed paper plates as a product would be a marketing failure. Offering expensive paper plates defeats the purpose of their invention.

The sizable current target market for paper plates would not be interested in paying more for this product, or in throwing away something of value (gold) when they only desired a time-saving, low-cost convenience product.

Conversely, offering gold leaf on fancy desserts at a top-tier restaurant to a clientele that spends more makes sense. Those kinds of extravagant products are almost an expected part of a high-end dining experience and, therefore, market well. It’s also worth noting that marketing that same high-end dessert on paper plates would not be as popular, for obvious reasons.

When considering the "price" element of the 4 Ps, it's important to consider the two different pricing structures businesses can adopt: cost-based and value-based. Using market research to determine how much niche, mass appeal, or interest your product has is an excellent place to start.

For readily available products in flooded markets with much competition, cost-based pricing is the norm. If the product is not costly, sought after, or unique, basing the price on the cost to consumers makes more sense, and pricing your product competitively will be effective.

Value-based pricing is dependent on the subjective assessments of worth from consumers. Designer clothing, luxury cars, and rare gemstones are examples of value-based-priced products. The rarer the item, the stronger the social and societal value placed on it—and the greater the demand—the higher a price it can command.

In the marketing mix, "place" refers to the location (virtual or real-world) where you will market your goods or services. Consider who wants your product and where they spend the most time. This explains why most marketers spend their largest marketing ad budget on social media and search engines now rather than on TV or Radio. The reason is that the customers spend their time there. The common expression used now is "meet where they are."

Also, consider which kind of promotions work well with that target audience in order to work this angle successfully. Certain kinds of products perform better when marketed in different venues or environments.

Hardware supplies still sell well in physical stores for a large number of reasons. Consumers enjoy being able to handle such products before they buy them. Often, a trip to a hardware store leads to a few more purchases than the customer realized they needed. Selling a tool in a hardware store or lumberyard is still a smart move, in addition to offering it online .

Placing your product where it makes sense to do so (and where your target audience expects it to be) is smart marketing. That said, innovative, guerrilla marketing (a term for marketing in an unexpected location where consumers least expect it) can also be highly effective. Sometimes the element of surprise can be a powerful addition to a marketing plan.

For other products, sales in physical stores don't make sense anymore. Streaming services , apps, and software programs or services are great examples of this. There is nothing physical to buy, so the promotion, price, place, and product all happens in one place—virtually. This keeps production and advertising costs down and ensures that the products or services are readily accessible and serviceable, improving customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth marketing.

Promoting your product successfully depends heavily on the other three marketing-mix factors as well. For example, how you promote your product or service depends on what kind of offering you have, where it will be sold, how much it costs, and who your target market is.

For example, promoting the launch of your new app through a newspaper advertisement may not make much sense logistically (as your target market may not even see it), but promoting its launch through TikTok videos or Instagram ads does.

Within the 4 Ps marketing mix, you can morph promotional ideas from your marketing plan. Which blend of promotional tactics or strategies will work best for your product? Consider possibilities such as advertising on social media, targeted public relations (PR) releases, personal selling campaigns, direct marketing, and sought-after sales promotions.

Prof. Neil Borden. " The Concept of the Marketing Mix ." Accessed June 14, 2021.

Harvard Business Review. " A Quick Guide to Value-Based Pricing ." Accessed June 14, 2021.

What are the 4ps of marketing and why they’re important

What are the 4Ps of marketing?

The 4Ps of marketing is a simple way of thinking about marketing plans across four main areas: product, price, place, and promotion.

This ‘marketing mix’ can help you formulate a plan to ensure the introduction of your product or service to the market is successful. It’s important to always put the customers needs at the center of your marketing plans. This will ensure you are always delivering a product they actually want, not what your company wants. 

While it’s an essential step in any product launch, it’s not easy. A well thought-out marketing mix can lead to huge sales, while overlooking just one tiny element could spell disaster. Imagine if you were trying to launch a new steak restaurant during Vegan week, or you planned on launching a new toy after the Christmas period. Taking the time to create this plan with your team can help you in the long run.

So let’s take a look at what the 4Ps are:

Definition of the 4Ps of marketing

Product: Define what exactly is the product/service you are offering, and what benefit it will give customers. Plus, why will it stand out compared to existing competitors in the market.

Price: How much will this product be sold for, and how does this compare to competitors in the market. 

One rule of thumb from Neil Patel is: If you are in a new space or already a leader, you can charge a premium amount. If your space is saturated and you are late to the market, you’ll want to consider having a cheaper price.

Place: Where will potential customers go to learn about and purchase your product. This covers the distribution channels, sales outlets and e-commerce markets.

Promotion: Where, when and how will you advertise your product to ensure it reaches your target audience.

4Ps of marketing template

The 4Ps model is a simple way of capturing and filtering through your ideas during the planning phase. Whether you are working alone, in a distributed team, or collocated, using an online template makes it easy for everyone to participate, and store your ideas for future reference. Follow the steps below to start defining your marketing mix using our template:

• Invite your team members to join the Conceptboard template by sending them a link.
• Collaborate together on identifying the product or service you want to work on.
• Go through each of the four sections, encouraging all participants to add their ideas using the existing sticky notes or add more as ideas progress.
• Once the template is full, you can further evaluate points by asking Why? or What If? to determine their importance or flow-on effects.
• The final step is to review and make sure the elements all meet your customer’s needs. You can do this by asking questions from the customer’s perspective: -Does the product meet a current real need? (Product) -Does this price seem valuable? (Price) -Do my customers actually shop here? (Place) -Do my customers watch/read this channel? (Promotion)

After the template is approved by all team members. You can begin taking steps to implement those ideas. Remember, this plan is not static, and it can be reviewed and changed as often as necessary to deliver results.

Use template

4Ps of marketing example

If you want to see an example of 4Ps marketing mix, check out this example below for Nike.

Now that you understand what the 4Ps are and how to create a marketing mix, it is time to get started on your own. Using our  free temp late , you can invite your team to start collaborating together in real-time, and begin implementing a plan of action to how you are going to differentiate yourself from the competition through a clever marketing mix.

If you want to explore more of Conceptboard’s library of free business strategy templates, check them out here . Plus, our blog is full of helpful advice and tools to ensure your team can adapt to remote working with ease.

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The 4Ps, often referred to as the “Marketing Mix,” is a foundational concept in marketing that outlines the four critical elements companies should consider when introducing a product or service to the market. These components work together to deliver value to consumers and achieve the organization’s goals.

• Product: This pertains to what the company is offering to meet a specific customer need or demand. It involves decisions about product design, features, quality, branding, and the services accompanying the product, such as warranties or after-sales support.
• Price: This relates to the cost set for the product or service. Pricing strategies consider factors like production costs, competitors’ pricing, perceived value by consumers, and desired profit margins. The right price can influence purchase decisions and the overall perception of a brand.
• Place: Often referred to as “distribution,” this element determines where and how the product will be available to consumers. It encompasses decisions about distribution channels, inventory management, transportation, and logistics. The goal is to ensure that products are accessible in the right locations and at the right times.
• Promotion: This involves communicating the benefits and value of the product to potential customers. Promotion strategies can include advertising, public relations, sales promotions, and personal selling. The objective is to effectively reach and persuade the target audience.

Together, the 4Ps provide a framework for making decisions that ensure a cohesive and effective marketing strategy, tailored to meet the needs of both the company and its customers.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why are the 4Ps important in a business plan?

The 4Ps are critical in a business plan because they outline the marketing strategy for a product or service. Including them helps in determining how to position the product in the market, attract and retain customers, and achieve sales objectives. They provide a structured approach to thinking about all aspects of selling a product, from its development to its delivery to customers.

• Where do the 4Ps go in a business plan?

While the 4Ps should be integrated throughout the business plan, it can provide a comprehensive framework for for outlining how a product or service will be marketed and sold within the “Strategy & Implementation” section of the business plan.

Related Terms

Also see: 5Ps of Marketing , Marketing Plan

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Starbucks’ Marketing Mix: 4P Analysis

Starbucks Corporation’s marketing mix (4Ps) supports the firm’s industry position as the leading coffeehouse chain in the world. The marketing mix identifies the main components of the coffee company’s marketing plan, namely, product, place, promotion, and price (the four Ps). In this business analysis case, Starbucks uses its 4P to develop its brand image and ensure profitability. With the strongest brand in the coffeehouse industry, the company shows how an effective marketing mix and marketing strategy can support brand development and multinational business growth. Starbucks occasionally changes its 4P to respond to strategic challenges in the market, including competitive forces involving other coffeehouse firms, like Tim Hortons, as well as foodservice companies, like Dunkin’, McDonald’s , Burger King , Wendy’s , and Subway . These competitors challenge the company’s market position, as explained in the Five Forces analysis of Starbucks . The coffee company’s marketing mix functions as a strategic approach to counteract competition.

The marketing mix or 4P is a strategic tool for a unified and systematic approach to bringing Starbucks’ products to food and beverage markets around the world. Based on its 4Ps, the coffeehouse company applies a combination of marketing strategies and tactics to promote the right products at the right places at the right prices. The success of the marketing mix contributes to operational effectiveness and supports Starbucks’ mission statement and vision statement .

This component of the marketing mix focuses on what the coffee business offers to customers. Starbucks Corporation innovates its product mix (and its 4Ps) to capture more of the market. The company modifies food and beverage product lines with the aim of expanding its market reach and growing its market share. The following are the main categories in Starbucks’ product mix:

• At Home Coffee (instant and home-brew coffee)
• Merchandise (cups, tumblers, mugs, etc.)

Starbucks’ product mix is a result of years of business innovation and strategic changes in the marketing mix. For example, the company added the Frappuccino line after acquiring The Coffee Connection in 1994. Today, the business continues its product innovation to offer new foods and beverages that attract and keep more customers. The resulting marketing mix, together with Starbucks’ generic strategy for competitive advantage and intensive strategies for growth , ensures that products match consumer preferences in a diverse international market. Thus, this part of the 4Ps involves beverages, foods, and merchandise that are carefully selected or designed to satisfy the needs and preferences of target consumers worldwide.

Place in Starbucks’ Marketing Mix

This marketing mix component determines the venues where customers access the company’s foods, beverages, and merchandise. Starbucks offers most of its products at cafés or coffeehouses. However, other places or channels of distribution are included in this 4P component. This marketing case shows that Starbucks Corporation distributes its products through the following venues or places to reach target consumers:

• Coffeehouses/Cafés
• Website and mobile apps

Coffeehouses or cafés are the most noticeable distribution venues in Starbucks’ marketing mix. These places are strategically located in areas that have high pedestrian traffic, such as malls and commercial centers. Starbucks’ organizational structure (company structure) facilitates the management of franchising and licensing operations for these store locations. Retailers are also included in the coffeehouse company’s 4Ps, as channels for maximizing distribution and market reach. These places enable the company to distribute coffee products, such as VIA instant coffee and other merchandise. In addition, online venues are in Starbucks’ marketing mix. The company’s website and mobile apps provide easy access for customers who want to check available products or place their orders for pickup or for delivery through third-party service providers. The information technology used in this 4P component addresses the sociocultural and technological trends described in the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis of Starbucks . Thus, the company’s marketing mix involves strategies and tactics that use different types of locations to optimize the distribution of food and beverage products. The high visibility and accessibility of these places contribute to a positive brand image, which is one of the strengths assessed in the SWOT analysis of Starbucks .

Starbucks’ Promotion

In the marketing mix, promotions, also known as the marketing communications mix, refer to communication strategies and tactics for the goal of improving Starbucks’ brand, revenues, and market share. For example, the promotional mix can focus on persuading consumers to buy the company’s tea and instant coffee products. Starbucks’ marketing mix includes the following promotional activities:

• Word-of-mouth marketing
• Advertising
• Sales promotions
• Public relations

Word-of-mouth marketing is the most significant promotional strategy in Starbucks’ marketing mix. The company focuses on high-quality customer experience to encourage people to spread positive reviews that promote the coffeehouse business. Starting with Howard Schultz’s leadership, the emphasis on high quality through Starbucks’ company culture (work culture) helps create such good experiences for customers. In addition, advertising is an integral part of the coffee company’s 4Ps. For example, the company’s coffee and tea ads reach target customers through the Internet and print media. Moreover, the marketing mix involves sales promotions as a communications strategy to persuade consumers to buy more of the company’s foods and beverages. For example, the Starbucks Rewards program provides freebies for customers. In this approach, consumers buy more of the company’s products while expecting freebies, such as free coffee. Furthermore, the company uses public relations to promote its brand and coffee products. In the 4P context, the Starbucks Foundation functions as a part of a public relations strategy. The Foundation assists organizations and communities while promoting the coffeehouse company in the process. Starbucks’ stakeholder management and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG strategy for sustainability and other goals relate to public relations in this marketing mix.

Prices & Pricing Strategy in Starbucks’ 4Ps

Starbucks uses a premium pricing strategy . This strategy involves relatively high price points and price ranges for products that the coffeehouse business presents as superior-quality or high-end (“premium prices” for “premium products”). In the marketing mix context, Starbucks’ pricing strategy takes advantage of the behavioral tendency of consumers to purchase expensive products based on the perception that high prices mean high quality, high value, and high status. This part of the 4P also helps strengthen the premium brand against competitors, like McDonald’s McCafé Premium Roast. Starbucks’ operations management optimizes quality and costs to support the pricing strategy in this marketing mix.

• Reddy, T. N., Ghouse, S. M., & JS, R. K. (2023). Marketing Mix – Review of P. Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 14 (1), 55-58.
• Solberg, C. A., & Durrieu, F. (2023). Patterns of international marketing strategy. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 38 (7), 1532-1544.
• Starbucks Coffee Company Menu .
• Starbucks Corporation – Form 10-K .
• Starbucks Delivers .
• Starbucks Rewards .
• The Starbucks Foundation .
• U.S. Department of Agriculture – Economic Research Service – Food Service Industry Market Segments .
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4Ps Marketing Mix Analysis Template

Are you looking for a free 4Ps framework generator? Check out our free marketing mix analysis template and get a custom report for your project in a matter of seconds! All you have to do is add the data, choose the design, and download the result.

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Using our 4Ps framework tool is quite simple. You can generate stellar results after 3 steps:

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You can access our free tool and generate the perfect marketing plan to boost your business to greater heights.

What is a 4Ps framework ? It is a popular framework used by many businesses to set an effective marketing mix. It consists of 4 elements.

We shall delve into the marketing mix 4Ps in the next section.

What Is the Importance of Marketing Mix?

A marketing mix helps you have a deeper understanding of your products or services and if customers are satisfied. You will also be able to implement successful product deliveries. Apart from knowing how and when to conduct product promotions, you will also be better positioned to handle business risks with a solid marketing plan. You can also use the marketing mix for consulting or innovation purposes to improve your products or services.

What Are the Four Ps in Marketing?

The four Ps of marketing are theoretical elements vital for any business to succeed. Many businesses need a strategic marketing plan to ensure customers get the right product. Thus, the four Ps are major aspects you must consider for successful marketing.

The list below is a representation of the 4Ps:

These components are also known as the marketing mix. Sometimes the framework can go up to seven elements in advanced marketing plans.

What Are the Four Elements of the Marketing Mix?

Let us explore the 4 elements of the marketing mix.

The four Marketing Mix elements are:

What Is Place in the 4Ps of Marketing?

Place in marketing mix refers to the location of your company's operations. Where will the customer access your services? Is it a physical shop or an online store? Whatever the case, your customers should be able to locate your business easily. If you have a website or ecommerce store, ensure it is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

If you want to develop a practical 4Ps framework, follow the steps below:

• Identify one product or service you want to market.
• Evaluate how your product or service will meet the target customers' needs.
• Analyze the market to understand customer behavior, like the preferred shopping locations.
• Set a realistic product price after thorough market research.
• Formulate a promotional plan and marketing concepts.
• Look at your 4Ps and check if the details align with your product.
• Review your marketing mix to determine its effectiveness and adjust where necessary.

It is important to keep evaluating your marketing mix to ensure it provides optimal results.

📂 4Ps Framework Free Example

Let us take an example of the Coca-Cola Company to understand its 4Ps marketing mix.

✅ Marketing Mix Template Benefits

A 4Ps generator is an important tool to help you develop a proper marketing strategy.

Here are the benefits of using our 4Ps framework generator:

• Easy to access. You can use the online tool anytime as long as you have a device and an Internet connection.
• No payments. The tool is free without hidden charges.
• No downloads. You can access the tool directly using your browsers. There are no downloadable apps or extensions.
• Time-saving. Its simplicity saves time because the tool is self-explanatory
• User-friendly. The framework is user-friendly and generates quick results.

Thank you for reading this article! If you want to try other free business analysis templates, check our 7Ps generator , STP template , 7S template generator , and a SMART goals maker .

Updated: Oct 25th, 2023

• Marketing Mix - Definition - The Economic Times
• Rejuvenating the Marketing Mix - Harvard Business Review
• What is the Marketing Mix (4 P's of Marketing)? - TechTarget
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• The 4 Ps of Marketing: What They Are and How to Use Them
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This page contains 4Ps framework generator. The classic 4Ps Marketing Mix model consists of four components: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. These elements are vital for any business to succeed, as they give a deeper understanding of products and services.

8 Business Plan Templates You Can Get for Free

8 min. read

Updated April 10, 2024

A business plan template can be an excellent tool to simplify the creation of your business plan. 

The pre-set structure helps you organize ideas, covers all critical business information, and saves you time and effort on formatting.

The only issue? There are SO many free business plan templates out there. 

So, which ones are actually worth using? 

To help remove the guesswork, I’ve rounded up some of the best business plan templates you can access right now. 

These are listed in no particular order, and each has its benefits and drawbacks.

What to look for in a business plan template

Not all business plan templates are created equal. As you weigh your options and decide which template(s) you’ll use, be sure to review them with the following criteria in mind:

• Easy to edit: A template should save you time. That won’t be the case if you have to fuss around figuring out how to edit the document, or even worse, it doesn’t allow you to edit at all.
• Contains the right sections: A good template should cover all essential sections of a business plan , including the executive summary, product/service description, market/competitive analysis, marketing and sales plan, operations, milestones, and financial projections. 
• Provides guidance: You should be able to trust that the information in a template is accurate. That means the organization or person who created the template is highly credible, known for producing useful resources, and ideally has some entrepreneurial experience.
• Software compatibility: Lastly, you want any template to be compatible with the software platforms you use. More than likely, this means it’s available in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or PDF format at a minimum. 

1. Bplans — A plan with expert guidance

Since you’re already on Bplans, I have to first mention the templates that we have available. 

Our traditional and one-page templates were created by entrepreneurs and business owners with over 80 years of collective planning experience. We revisit and update them annually to ensure they are approachable, thorough, and aligned with our team’s evolving best practices.  

The templates, available in Word, PDF, or Google Doc formats, include in-depth guidance on what to include in each section, expert tips, and links to additional resources. 

Plus, we have over 550 real-world sample business plans you can use for guidance when filling out your template.

Download: Traditional lender-ready business plan template or a simple one-page plan template .

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2. SBA — Introduction to business plans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers two different business plan templates along with a short planning guide. 

While not incredibly in-depth, it’s enough to help you understand how traditional and lean plans are structured and what information needs to be covered. The templates themselves are more like examples, providing you with a finished product to reference as you write your plan.

The key benefit of using these templates is that they were created by the SBA. While they may provide less guidance, you can be assured that the information and structure meet their expectations.

Explore: The SBA’s planning guide and free templates

3. SCORE — Planning workbook

SCORE’s template is more like a workbook. It includes exercises after each section to help you get your ideas down and turn them into a structured plan.

The market research worksheets are especially useful. They provide a clear framework for identifying your target market and analyzing competitors from multiple angles. Plus, they give you an easy way to document all the information you’re collecting.

You will likely have to remove the exercises in this template to make it investor-ready. But it can be worth it if you’re struggling to get past a blank page and want a more interactive planning method.

Download: SCORE’s business plan template

4. PandaDoc — A template with fillable forms

PandaDoc’s library offers a variety of industry-specific business plan templates that feature a modern design flair and concise instructions. 

These templates are designed for sharing. They include fillable fields and sections for non-disclosure agreements, which may be necessary when sending a plan to investors.  

But the real benefit is their compatibility with PandaDoc’s platform. Yes, they are free, but if you’re a PandaDoc subscriber, you’ll have far more customization options. 

Out of all their templates, the standard business plan template is the most in-depth. The rest, while still useful, go a bit lighter on guidance in favor of tailoring the plan to a specific industry.

Explore: PandaDoc’s business plan template library  

5. Canva — Pitch with your plan

Canva is a great option for building a visually stunning business plan that can be used as a pitch tool. It offers a diverse array of templates built by their in-house team and the larger creative community, meaning the number of options constantly grows.

You will need to verify that the information in the template you choose matches the standard structure of a traditional business plan. 

You should do this with any template, but it’s especially important with any tool that accepts community submissions. While they are likely reviewed and approved, there may still be errors.

Remember, you can only edit these templates within Canva. Luckily, you only need a free subscription, and you may just miss out on some of the visual assets being used. 

To get the most value, it may be best to create a more traditional planning document and transfer that information into Canva. 

Explore: Canva’s business plan gallery

6. ClickUp — The collaborative template

Out of all the project management tools that offer free business plan templates, ClickUp’s is the most approachable.

Rather than throwing you into all the features and expecting you to figure it out—ClickUp provides a thorough startup guide with resource links, images, and videos explaining how to write a plan using the tool. 

There’s also a completed sample plan (structured like an expanded one-page plan) for you to reference and see how the more traditional document can connect to the product management features. You can set goals, target dates, leave comments, and even assign tasks to someone else on your team. 

These features are limited to the ClickUp platform and will not be useful for everyone. They will likely get in the way of writing a plan you can easily share with lenders or investors. 

But this is a great option if you’re looking for a template that makes internal collaboration more fluid and keeps all your information in one place.

Sign Up: Get a free trial of ClickUp and explore their template library

7. Smartsheet — A wide variety of templates

I’m including Smartsheet’s library of templates on this list because of the sheer number of options they provide. 

They have a simple business plan template, a one-page plan, a fill-in-the-blank template, a plan outline, a plan grading rubric, and even an Excel-built project plan. All are perfectly usable and vary in visual style, depth of instructions, and the available format.

Honestly, the only drawback (which is also the core benefit) is that the amount of templates can be overwhelming. If you’re already uncertain which plan option is right for you, the lengthy list they provide may not provide much clarity.

At the same time, it can be a great resource if you want a one-stop shop to view multiple plan types.

Explore: Smartsheet’s business plan template library  

8. ReferralRock affiliate marketing business plan

I’m adding ReferralRock’s template to this list due to its specificity. 

It’s not your standard business plan template. The plan is tailored with specific sections and guidance around launching an affiliate marketing business. 

Most of the template is dedicated to defining how to choose affiliates, set commissions, create legal agreements, and track performance.

So, if you plan on starting an affiliate marketing business or program, this template will provide more specific guidance. Just know that you will likely need to reference additional resources when writing the non-industry sections of your plan.

Download: ReferralRock affiliate marketing business plan template

Does it matter what business plan template you use?

The short answer is no. As long as the structure is correct, it saves you time, and it helps you write your business plan , then any template will work. 

What it ultimately comes down to, is what sort of value you hope to get from the template. 

• Do you need more guidance? 
• A simple way to structure your plan? 
• An option that works with a specific tool?
• A way to make your plan more visually interesting?

Hopefully, this list has helped you hone in on an option that meets one (or several) of these needs. Still, it may be worth downloading a few of these templates to determine the right fit. 

And really, what matters most is that you spend time writing a business plan . It will help you avoid early mistakes, determine if you have a viable business, and fully consider what it will take to get up and running. 

If you need additional guidance, check out our library of planning resources . We cover everything from plan formats , to how to write a business plan, and even how to use it as a management tool . 

If you don’t want to waste time researching other templates, you can download our one-page or traditional business plan template and jump right into the planning process.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Kody Wirth is a content writer and SEO specialist for Palo Alto Software—the creator's of Bplans and LivePlan. He has 3+ years experience covering small business topics and runs a part-time content writing service in his spare time.

Table of Contents

• Qualities of a good template
• ReferralRock
• Does the template matter?

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