While 4Ps of Marketing Mix are about the role of products in a business organization, 4Cs of Marketing focus on the role of customers in a business.
Some business managers consider the 4Ps of Marketing Mix approach to be too much focused on the business itself and its products. Hence, the 4Cs of Marketing has been established as an alternative view of the crucial elements of conducting successful marketing.
What are the 4Cs of Marketing?
4Cs are all about putting the customer first in all marketing decisions. The combination of factors that help a business take into account customer’s needs and wants when selling a product.
Typical 4Cs of Marketing can be summarized as follows:
1. CUSTOMER solution. The product needs to solve the real problem that a customer has which he cannot solve by himself. The business can ask the following questions: What problem is the product going to solve? Which needs and/or wants is the product going to fulfill? How is the firm going to add value into the customer’s life?
2. COST to customer. The final price of the product that a customer pays is only one factor in the total cost of a product. Additionally, the total cost of the product also includes the cost and time to acquire that product, delivery fees, guarantees which usually last for a few years, etc. Also, cost of ownership such as any maintenance required, any financing costs, any fees to dispose the product and change into a new one or the opportunity cost of not selecting the second best alternative.
3. COMMUNICATION with customer. Providing as much information to the customers as possible as well as offering customer service and support are the basics of appropriate Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The business should enable easily accessible two-way communication links between the business and a customer not only to promote products, but also collect invaluable feedback for market research.
4. CONVENIENCE to customer. It should be made as easy as possible for a customer to find and purchase the product. Marketers need to be aware if how particular customers like to make their purchases in order to cater to their needs. Pre-sales information should be easily accessible anytime, product demonstrations should be offered upon the customer’s request, convenient locations for buying the product, etc. With the development of Internet technologies, they have made distribution a whole new ball game for businesses. Just think about the convenience of online shopping using a smart phone, using debit cards and credit cards to pay for products or using online catalogues where changing product features lasts only few seconds.
Therefore, establishing successful relationships with customers to maintain customer loyalty is very important for those businesses which focus their business activities around customers rather than products.
Linking 4Ps of Marketing Mix with 4Cs of Marketing
4Cs of Marketing can be linked to 4Ps of Marketing Mix. This is done through market segmentation trying to find out who customers are and what their characteristics are. It is fairly easy and cheap these days with the usage of technology, especially social media and big data.
This is how the connection between 4Ps of Marketing Mix and 4Cs of Marketing looks like:
4Ps: Product
4Ps: Price
4Ps: Promotion
4Ps: Place
4Cs: Customer solution
4Cs: Cost to customer
4Cs: Communication with customer
4Cs: Convenience to customer
So, start with collecting as much data and information about your customers as possible, both existing customers and potential customers. Then, use different types of market segmentation:
- Geographic factors include location, climate and population density.
- Demographic factors include age, gender (sex), race and ethnicity, marital status, family size, occupation (job), income, language and religion.
- Behavioral factors include outlet type, occasions, usage, loyalty and benefits sought.
- Psychographic factors include lifestyle, hobbies and interests, values and attitudes, social status, culture and personality.
Finally,, adapt the current 4Ps of Marketing Mix to meet the needs and wants of customers as closely as possible.
In summary, 4Ps of Marketing Mix put products in the center of all marketing activities while 4Cs of Marketing put customers as the core aspect of doing marketing.
