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In the previous article, we learned more about what marketing is. There are so many things we can do in marketing, and there are so many aspects to consider. How can we analyze and execute marketing activities simply and quickly? Next, let’s analyze marketing activities in more depth. 

You may have heard of many frameworks, but the most classic one is the 4Ps. Although some people later expanded it to 7Ps or even 12Ps, and others proposed various models such as 4Cs and 4Rs. 

However, having been in marketing for many years and having dismantled and operated hundreds of marketing cases, the most important experience I have gained is that the 4Ps is the most practical and effective framework. No company’s marketing activities can escape from the 4Ps. It can even be said that marketing is all about the 4Ps. 

Let’s review a little bit. The 4Ps are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. This framework was proposed by Professor Jerome McCarthy of Michigan State University in 1964. 

Please note that there is one word I repeated several times: framework. Yes, the 4Ps is actually neither a method nor a theory; it is just a framework. Then the question arises again: why is a framework so important? Is it too absolute to say that marketing is all about the 4Ps? After all, it’s 2023 now. 

I have two reasons, please listen to them: 

The first reason is that the 4Ps framework covers all aspects of marketing activities. 

As long as you are doing marketing, you must have a product, price the product, consider sales channels, and do various promotions. The 4Ps framework allows us to execute marketing activities more simply, quickly, and systematically. 

The second reason is that the 4Ps framework will never become outdated. 

No matter how technology develops and how consumer purchasing behavior changes, this framework remains effective. For example, 20 years ago, the main channel for many products was supermarkets. Now it has become e-commerce, Food Panda, Grab, and live streaming. However, this is only a change in the form of the channel and does not change the basic structure of the 4Ps. 

Therefore, I say that marketing is all about the 4Ps. Over the years, the marketing world seems to have undergone tremendous changes, but it can never escape the 4Ps framework. When you get used to using the 4Ps to think and examine marketing issues, you will find that it is like opening your eyes, and all new marketing practices, phenomena, and concepts can be explained within its scope. 

Okay, after discussing the practicality of the 4Ps framework, I would like to take you one step further to see the relationship between the 4Ps which is the topic we’ll discuss this in the column next week.. 

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