The recent grads coming into the marketing field today don’t remember a world without the internet. They are social savvy digital natives. Their mobile phones are an extension of their hands. And according to my old employer Nielsen they send as many as 100 or more text messages a day.
But how do the leaders in marketing and advertising train their staff for marketing in this new age? According to Eloqua, we need a new training program and we need to re-visit the 4 Ps to keep up with the digital age…
In another stroke a content marketing curation genius, Eloqua has created a training program for the new age of marketing that includes links to 56 amazing resources. According to Eloqua Chief Marketing Officer Brian Kardon, marketing is changing like never before. He explains:
That’s why we created the “Real World Marketing Syllabus,” a new hybrid of original content from the likes of Brian Clark, Geeta Sachdev and Todd Defren, along with curated content featuring lectures, readings and lessons from the best marketers out there. It’s our attempt to spice up the stodgy principles of marketing. Because, though the 4 P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) may still hold true today, a new set of P’s are emerging in this publish-or-perish, social media driven, data hungry marketing environment.
I was honored to have my thoughts on the “Role of B2B Marketing” be included in the effort along with so many others that I admire. So here are the new 4 Ps:
The New 4 Ps of Marketing
- Personality: We need to understand our buyers’ needs and show them that our brands have real personality.
- Publishing: Publish or perish in today’s buyer driven world.
- Packaging: The marketers that can learn to package information in creative ways for buyers will win.
- Physics: Marketing has become more of a science and leaders expect us to contribute to the business.
I was especially happy to see that they led with “Personality.” I think that the real battle for customer mind share is going to come down to brands that can present a human face to what they do, why they exist and how they help their customers.
At SAP, we are using customers of all sizes in our advertising under the tagline “Run Better” to both express the benefit we provide our customers but also as a call to action. This approach has helped us to gain the 24th spot on Interbrand’s Top 100 Global Brands list.
I’ve said this probably 100 times but people do business with brands they know, like and trust. Showing your brand personality is the best way to start that process.
I also agree that “publishing” and “packaging” are key. You can have all the personality in the world, but if you keep yourself hidden behind registration gates and only express yourself on your website, no one will get to see your shining brand “face.”
And finally, I have been arguing for the more scientific or “physics” approach to marketing since I entered this exciting career. Companies exist to serve customer needs. Marketers must demonstrate every day how we do that and help our businesses grow and thrive in a competitive environment. We need to be business people and customer advocates first and foremost.
So once again, congratulations to Eloqua for providing a great piece of content and also for demonstrating how Content Marketing backed by a solid and focused Content Strategy can pay off.
Now tell me what you think: do these new 4 Ps reflect the new world of marketing?
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I really enjoyed the new Four P’s of Marketing. After being drilled for four years on : Product, Price, Promotion and Place, it was a breath of fresh air to hear a NEW way to market. I’ve heard of the 4 C’s of marketing: Consumer, Cost, Convenience and Communication, I was still not quite satisfied with how marketing worked. Seeing this article on Personality, Publishing, Packaging and Physics I am ready to learn more about promoting this to clients. So much has changed and I am glad that the basics are still there for marketing, but I do agree a new outlook needed to happen to keep us aggressive within the field.
Thanks Nicole. I think the original 4 Ps still apply but this is a nice fresh approach to considering the new age of marketing.
Nope. These may be important considerations, but they cannot redefine Marketing. Sorry. Just because most modern “marketing” is really advertising, we don’t change the rules.
Hi Jeff, I think we can agree they are important considerations. Maybe it’s just about acceptance that the approach we take to successful marketing has changed.
As someone who has had the original 4 Ps drilled into me, this was a refreshing take on the old structure.
I don’t think we should forget the standard though. A brand can have all the personality in the world and the best packaging but the market (and customers) will turn quickly if there isn’t a good, solid product backing it up, that addresses their pains and solves problems.
I love the “Physics” P and you are completely right. I like to think about the science of marketing in terms of “a strong defence is a good offense.” Taking on marketing value head on, applying credible metrics and reporting against them, will go a LONG way in lifting marketing’s credibility in the C-suite and throughout an organization.
These new P’s are a great extension to the old P’s. So, should we now have 8 P’s? I wonder if there are any more P’s we can add 🙂
Great blog.
I agree. I guess the old and the new should come together for 8 Ps!
I have 3 P’s – one is yours, Personality…the other two are Persistence and Passion. If “Don’t Take It Personally” began with rather than ended with a ‘P’ it would make four on my list, too!
Michael –
A great post and interesting thoughts; there is no doubt that marketing as we know it, especially B2B, has changed dramatically.
I had to laugh a bit though. How much does SAP spend on print, space, and media advertising? I’m sure that “Promotion” P had more than a little to do with the Interbrands ranking. Congrats, BTW.
Over the past 5 years I have extended the 4 Ps to include the following (similar to some of your thinking):
• People – Definition of market segments, business problems, buyer personas, and key messages.
• Packaging – It’s not about content, but more about putting together technology and services in a way that better addresses the real needs of the market. “Think ¼” holes rather than ¼” drill bits.” SaaS and subscriptions models have opened a completely new world of methods for packaging and delivering solutions aimed at specific market segments.
• Process – Defining the buyer’s experience from Awareness though Interest, Purchase, and Loyalty.
• Performance – The lag and leading measures that tell you whether you are being successful or if a mid-course adjustment is warranted.
Keep up the great work.