Marketing - the four Ps
What is marketing?
There is a well-known phrase that identifies the various
areas of marketing. The phrase is 'the four Ps', and the
Ps stand for product, price, place and promotion.
Product
For a marketer, the most important things about a
product are the following.
• Its features (= important and interesting things that
will help to sell it).
• Its benefits(= how those features translate into a
better experience for the user). Marketers often
use the phrase 'value proposition' to mean the key
benefits of the product.
• Its USPs (=unique selling points, in other words
features that the competitors' products don't have).
Price
A high price says to the market, 'this product is high-
quality and exclusive'. If the quality really is good,
and people enjoy the feeling of owning the brand, then
some consumers will pay the high price. However, a
high price often means fewer sales and less market
share, and so identifying the exact price point for a
product is an important issue. Usually a company has
different products with different price points aimed at
different segments of the market.
We say ...
We need to set our price points carefully. (=charge as
much as possible without damaging sales)
The cost price to us was €40, and rve sell it in our stores for
€80, so the margin (= percentage profit) is 100% and
the mark-up (= amount added) is €40.
The recommended retail price (US: MSRP -
manufacturer's suggested retail price) is €399, but
you can often find it at a discounted price.
Our prices range from €1,250 for tile standard/ economy
rnodel to €1,950 for the deluxe/executive rnodel.
We need to cut/bring down/lower our prices.
We need to increase/put up/raise our prices.
We charge €65 per hour for our services.
Our f ee will be €8,450, all included.
Read the text for general understanding.
., Read it again and underline the words you don't know.
Check their meaning.
18
Place
This refers to the distribution channel, often referred to in
marketing simply as 'the channel'. A customer can find a
product in a retail outlet, such as a store or supermarket,
but how did the product get there? What logistics
operations were necessary (warehousing, handling,
transportation)? How many intermediaries were there?
Was there a distributor? an agent? a wholesaler?
All these people - logistics companies, intermediaries
and retailers - are referred to as the 'channel partners'.
Direct marketing is a type of marketing with no
•
intermediaries or outlets - it 'cuts out the middleman'.
Direct marketing includes email marketing, catalogue
shopping, direct mail, door-to-door leaflets, etc.
In the future m-commerce (using mobile devices as
a shopping platform) will grow and take its place
alongside e-commerce (using a computer).
Promotion
There are many different forms of promotion.
• Online advertising (banner ads, flash animations,
and search marketing that uses links on the results
page of a search engine).
• Ads in the media (TV, magazines, newspapers).
• Outdoor advertising (billboards, buses).
• Promotional materials (brochures, catalogues,
leaflets, flyers).
• Sponsorship (eg associating your logo with one
particular football team).
• Sales promotions (special offers such as 'buy-one-
get-one-free', coupons/vouchers, etc).
• Public relations.
• Word-of-mouth (especially important in the age of
social networks on the Internet).
• Trade shows/trade fairs (especially in B2B).
We say ...
run an advertising carnpaign
place an ad online/in a rnagazine
make a TV cornmercial
sponsor an event/ a sports teanz
attend a trade fair
3 Highlight words you know passively, but don't use
actively. Choose some to write sentences of your own.
4 Check pronunciation at macmillandictionary.com
Exercises 7 MARKETING - THE FOUR Ps

7 1 Complete the text about a pizza service using the 7 4 Make w ord partnerships by matching an item
words in the box. from each column. One solution uses each word once.
1 value campaign
coupon delivery difference guaranteed
2 price \ channel
leaflet offer online range 3 retail engine
4 distribution '\ partner
Near to my house there are two or three pizza 5 channel \ point
stores, all offering home 1 J 11 r . I usually 6 public outlet
choose Pizza Place - I love their pizzas. They have a 7 search '- proposition
much better 2 of toppings than the others. 8 advertising relations
and their pizzas are thin and crispy so you really taste
7 5 Complete the sentences with a word partnership
the topping not the base. They put a 3 _ _ _ __
from Exercise 7.4.
through my door most weeks. and there's always some
kind of special 4 ____ . For example, you can
1 Looking at the competition, I think we should try a
different nr -_f " . Let's sell it for €49 instead
cut out a 5 and use it in the store to get
special deals on desserts and drinks. There's a code of €54 and see what difference it makes.
printed on the coupon so you can use it over the 2 In the summer we're going to run an ______ _
phone or to order 6_ _ . And every Monday across various media: online, TY and magazines.
they have a 'buy-one-get-one-free' offer. But the best 3 I think we need to expand our range of
thing about Pizza Place is their 7 _ delivery - - - s to include small local shops.
time. They say that if they don't deliver in 30 minutes or 4 As an online retailer, the logistics company we work with
less, it's free. None of the other pizza stores offer that, is a very important --- . We use their
and when you're hungry it makes a 8_ _ _ __ warehousing services as well as their delivery services.
5 When people type 'Rome hotel', we want our name to
appear on the first page of the _ results.
7 .2 Use the text in Exercise 7.1 to underline the
correct word in 1- 2 below. 7 .6 Complete the sentences with the verbs in the box.
1 Thin, crispy pizzas are a feature I benefit.
aim at attend charge handle
2 Being able to taste the topping not the base is a
place ~ sponsor translate
feature I benefit.

7.3 Fill in the missing letters.
1 If the quality is good and people enjoy the feeling of
owning the b .. d, then some consumers will pay a
higher price.
2 Usually a company has different products aimed at
different seg ___ts of the market.
3 The cost price to us is €200 and we sell it in our store
for €300. So the m___ in is SOo/o and the m__ k-up
is €100.
4 Our prices ra e from €600 to €900, depending on the
model.
5 Professionals offering a personalized service, such as
lawyers, don't really use the word 'price' with clients.
Instead they say 'f __ '.
6 We ch e €90 per hour for our services.
7 Between the manufacturer and the end-user there are
just two inter___iaries: a distributor and a retailer.
8 We use various retail out___s, including large
supermarkets, small neighbourhood shops and kiosks.
9 Billboards are an example of door advertising.
10 In the age of social networks such as Facebook•
w_ -of-m __th marketing is very important.
1 We need to the right price point to maximize
profits - not too high and not too low.
2 The consultants' fees are very high. They spent two days
in the company and then ___ d us €2,400 for a
report which said nothing new.
3 Our advertising budget is limited and we have to be very
careful about where we this ad.
4 We have a reputation for high quality and high prices.
But in the current economic climate I think we also need
to _ the value-oriented shopper.
5 It's possible to make this product with all sorts of
additional features. The question is this: do those features
___ into benefits for the customer?
6 The cost of the stand is very high, but we have to
····-·-··--- the Frankfurt trade fair every year. It's the
best place to meet all our customers at one time.
7 In order to attract wealthy clients from the local area
I think we should the next season at the
Opera House.
8 A lot of customers are calling to complain about
damaged goods. We need to investigate how they're
- ____ d at the warehouse and in transit.

See page 146 for some discussion topics.

Markets, products and customers 19

 Marketing strategy and brands
Marketing strategy
The four Ps described in Unit 7 is a good way to look
at the marketing of individual product lines over the
short te rm. But a company also needs a longer-term
strategy with realistic objectives in order to plan its
overall marketing effort. The marketing strategy is
likely to include the follo,.ving.
Collecting data to try to forecast (= say ...vhat is likely
to happen in the future) market trends.
• Revie\·ving the positioning of the company. Which
segments of the market does the company want to
target(= aim at)? Who do the products appeal to(=
who finds them interesting and wants to buy them)?
Reviewing the company's existing product range
to see ho"'' well it fits the needs of the market.
Which products need a quick facelift? Which
need a completely new model? Which need to be
withdrawn from the market?
• Developing new products, working closely with
production, R&D and sales staff.
• Doing market research to get feedback on existing
products and ideas for new products. This may
involve interviewing both existing customers and
potential customers (= people who may become
customers in the future).
Analyzing and deciding how to respond to the
behaviour of competitors.
Allocating(= deciding how to use) resources. What
should be the overall size of the marketing budget?
How is this money going to be divided between the
different promotional activities?
• Making decisions about sponsorship, for example
deciding which sports/cultural activity to be
associated with.
Making decisions about endorsements, for example
deciding which famous person is going to be 'the
face' of the company or a certain product.
Developing the corporate image in general.
• Developing and promoting individual brands (see
next section).
Note
sponsor an event sponsorship
endorse a brand endorse111e11 t
Read the text for general understanding.
Read it again and underline the words you don't know.
Check their meaning.
20
Brand development
A brand is a product or group of products that has a
well-known name. Some brands have the same name
as the company, for example Google, BMW, Sony.
Other brands have a different name to the company,
for example Dove, PersiJ, Ben & Jerry's (all made by
Unilever, which is not in itself a brand). A brand is
usually associated with:
A logo (= symbol of a company), for example Nike,
Apple, McDonaJds.
A particular style of le ttering, for example Disney,
Carlsberg, Yahoo! '
A slogan(= short phrase that is easy to remember),
for example Life's Good (LG), Because we're worth it
(L'Oreal), High Perforn1nnce, Delivered (Accenture).
A good brand has a personality, an identity, an image.
It can be young and fun, conservative and safe, edgy
(=radical) and innovative, warm and comforting,
expensive and exclusive, soft and romantic. The idea is
that consumers will get the feeling associated with the
brand every time they use it.
Sponsorship and endorsements are very important
to building a brand identity - you buy a product
associated with a football team or movie star and you
feel personally connected to the values and lifestyle they
represent.
A 'white label product' is one produced by a company
that no-one has heard of so that another company
(usually a retailer) can put their own brand name on
it. This is very common in supermarkets (with food)
and also in consumer electronics and clothing. With the
supermarket's name on it, the product is now called an
own-label brand, or store brand.
ote these collocations with the word 'brand'.
n leading / top brand
n famous I favourite I popularI well-knawn brand
promote a brand name
develop a brand identity I image
i ncrense brand awareness I recognition
brand loyalty (= when people regu larly b uy the same
brand and refuse to change)
3 Highlight words you know passively, but don't use
actively. Choose some to write sentences of your own.
4 Check pronunciation at macmillandictionary.com
 8 MARKETING STRATEGY AND BRANDS
Exercises

8 .1 Underline the correct word in italics. 8.3 Complete the table below. This exercise includes
1 Our strategy must have a realistic object I objective. some items from Unit 7.
2 We have to decide which segments of the market we Verb Noun
want to aim I target. 1 promote pron1or1on ....
3 We should do some market investigation I research to 2 compete (act ivity)
see what customers think about our brand. (person)
4 The senior management team has decided to 3 distribute ..... -·-·-·-··-- (activity)
allocate I delegate fewer resources to promotional _ _ _ (person)
activities next year. 4 advertise .. . . .. . .. ···-·- __ (long form)
5 I hear that the company is looking for a new 'face' after . . .......... (short form)
the latest scandal. Even sports stars are human, and 5 sponsor ........... ··········-··--- (activity)
w hen you choose someone to endorse I sponsor your 6 target
products, you always take a risk. 7 recognize
6 Our marketing budget is large, but not large enough to 8 (be) loyal
endorse I sponsor a team like Manchester United, Real
8.4 Complete the text about the Japanese store Muji
Madrid or Bayern Munchen.
using the words in the box.
7 We need a softer, more romantic image. Something
that will appeal to I attract to women.
appeals brand budget packaging
8 A brand is a product with a known/well-known name.
range solutions strategy word-of-mouth
9 In today's world there are many competing I competition
products with a similar price --------------------------------~
I
10 In a recession consumers buy cheaper products, or
products on special offer. It's much harder to maintain ls it possible to develop a brand by l1aving 'no brand' as
your 1•••• -~_tratfg_gy ____ .? The answer is yes, according to the
brand fidelity I loyalty.
Japanese retail con1pany l--1\uji, wh ose full naiue (1'1uji rushi
8 .2 Replace the underlined word or phrase with one Ryohin) nicans 'no brand quality goods' in English.
word from the box. The meaning must stay the same. £.1luji sells a wide variety of household and
consu1uer goods, yet yo u won't find their name on
awareness behaviour facelift forecast any of their products. Every th ing tha t they sell is just
identity positioning slogan withdraw si1uple, 1uo dern and functional. A ll 2 ····--- ______
is n1ini1ual - designed no t to make the product
1 I think our main competitor has changed their decision look 1uore than it is. C lothes come in a limited
about w hich segments to target in the market Now they 3
. ....... ... . of colo urs and have no patterns or
have more exclusive items at a higher price. positioning designs; household goods and stationery are easy to use
2 The range of white goods we introduced three years ago and practical. Inside the stores there is no iuarket ing -
is doing well in the market. Maybe we just need to give just a Zen-like sense of calru. And their advertising 4
them a superficial redesign of the exterior to make them . .. .............. is close to zero as Muji re lies rnai nly on
look more contemporary.
3 The new advertising campaign isn't designed to produce O n their website Muji state that, 'As life gets niore
6
immediate sales. Instead, we want to increase brand cornp lex, t he need fo r simple lifesty le ·---····----·····-···· ...
recognition at a more general level. becomes all tl1e niore necessary'. T hey explain that the idea
4 This line is looking old now and sales are very low. I th ink behind 'n o brand' is tliat 'tlie quality and credib ility of each
prc)tluct speaks for itself - wl1at you sec is wl1at you get'.
it's time to remove it from the market completely.
So i\>luji have devel(Jped a very c lever brand strategy:
5 It's difficult to predict market trends exactly, but the
fu ncti onality, a sin1ple shopping experi ence, and an
computer screen might become less important as the
anli-brand image. In th e age of brantls th is is a powerfu l
mobile phone screen becomes more important.
differentiating fact or.
6 We need to think of a good short phrase that will stick in
lv\uji's brand identity 7 . strongly to
people's memory to help launch the new brand.
people who don't like conventional 1uarketing 1 and the
7 We have spent a lot of money developing the brand. 8
... _ (because that is what it is) is now
Now it has a clear image that makes it differen t from the expanding into Europe and North 1\merica.
others.
8 We are just a small company and we only started a
few years ago. We can learn a lot by studying our See page 146 for some discussion topics.
competitors' way of doing things in the market

Markets, products and customers 21