Introduction
E. Jerome McCarthy conceptualized the 4 Ps of marketing that used Product, Price, Place and Promotion for managerial decision making. Though technology has changed many aspects of marketing, we feel that it would be wise enough to revise our basics from time to time to understand the role of traditional marketing concepts in the modern times.
The 4Ps of eCommerce Merchandising
As we have seen, the 4 Ps of Marketing are Product, Price, Place and Promotion, now let us understand their relevance to eCommerce:
Product
Before the digital revolution, customers had the privilege to touch and feel the product that they were planning to buy. In the case of products sold over the internet, it is very difficult to understand about the product without physically seeing it.
Tech savvy customers now resort to social media to seek reviews and recommendations. The features of your product, price, and its performance will surely be the key differentiators that will decide the life of your product in the market. So make sure to offer only products with the best quality to stay ahead of competition.
Price
Price is one of the most important factors that influences a customers purchase decision, so maintaining a healthy equation between price and quality is the key for the success of your product. Till you build a value for your brand, make sure to offer the best product at the most competitive price.
Place
Place refers to the place where you sell your product. It could be your own website or a market place like Flipkart or Amazon. The choice of a right place to sell your products definitely influences the sale of your products. Choose the right place that offers maximum visibility to your products and helps you to reach your desired target audience.
Promotion
Promotion refers to the process that you choose to tell the customer about your product. We now have different channels of marketing such as email, social media, search engine, content, targeted etc. The choice of medium depends entirely on the product and the target audience that you desire to reach. Also, marketing in this digital era is highly measurable and data driven. So, keep a tab on the performance of your promotions to understand which channel or medium is offering the best return on investment.
Conclusion
Over the years, the 4Ps of marketing have evolved to a great extent. Thanks to the technological advancements, marketing is now a highly measurable activity. Make sure to define the right Key Performance Indicators for your campaigns, monitor their performance at regular intervals, and analyse your returns to evaluate their performance.