The 4 P's of Marketing are out, the 4 C's are in.

4 C’s of Marketing.

Anyone who has ever taken a marketing course would know of the 4 P's of marketing...
Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. These four aspects were created in order to simplify how to sell a product or service. And for years it worked well, but times have changed and so have consumers.

Below is the 4 C's of Marketing and how they relate to the 4 P's.

1. Customer Value (Product) –
'Product' was based on what the seller offered, 'Customer Value' refers to how the product benefits from the buyer's point of view.

2. Cost to Customer (Price)–
'Price' was based on the price of the product or service, how it related to competition and cost, 'Cost to Consumer' refers to every and any cost incurred during the procurement of the product/service (shipping, time to get to the store, parking, gas, etc)

3. Convenience for the buyer (Place) –
'Place' referred to the location of where something would be sold, 'Convenience for the Buyer' refers to how easy it is to find information and purchase. With e-commerce available, catalog sales, delivery services, some businesses (like amazon.com) barely need a store or 'place' at all.

4. Communication (Promotion) –
'Promotion' referred to how one would tell a market about a product/service, 'Communication' is a dialog, a two way communication. Market research, social media, and formalized customer feedback gives businesses a chance to listen to their customers and begin to try and better understand their needs.

The idea here is that businesses have shifted or are shifting to a much more consumer focused orientation in order to maintain a viable business model and market products and services successfully. So, I ask you... do you know what your customers want? Have you asked them? or even better, do you give them a chance to tell you?