44p MARKETING

The 43P’s of MarketingThe four P’s of marketing is a common starting place for planning marketing. But marketing is much more than your advertisement. Everything you do is a part of your marketing.The 44 P’s of marketing is a more comprehensive list of things to consider whenyou market anything.1. PackagingPackaging is one of the four P’s of marketing. If no one notices your product, no one will buy it. And if no one wants to buy your product after seeing it, no onewill buy it. Many companies spend millions in packaging design. And for some huge brands that’s a sound investment.Whatever you sell, you need to think about the packaging. If you sell a service, the packaging means the way you and your employees look, your website, and everything else your customers see of you before the purchase.2. PainDo your potential customers have fears associated to your product? In most cases they do, even if they don’t know it.For example people who buy a car fear accidents, high maintenance costs, pollution, and what the car does to their status. If you don’t know what they fear, you may easily induce fear instead of using it to your advantage.3. PandemicIs there a reason why people would spread your advertisement or story? You cannot create an advertisement, which would certainly go viral. But you should try.Create something highly valuable or entertaining and people will gladly spread it. Content marketing is in part so effective because of this.A wonderful example is Toyota’s Swagger Wagon. Toyota created a rap music video for a car (Sienna SE), which wentviral. At the time of this writing over a million people had seen it. It wasn’t certain that so many people would see the ad, but it was likely. It’s really entertaining, so why wouldn’t you tell your friends about it?4. PartThis is one of the core aspects of marketing. What’s the part your product will play in the customer’s life? If it’s an important part, people spend more time thinking about their options; you can’t hard sell a house through advertising. Your marketing has to fit your product into the part it plays in the minds of your customers.

5. PartyIs there a group of users that form a tribe that customers can join when they make the purchase? Users’ discussion forums, private meetings, or special content?People want to belong to groups. These groups are often the best marketing tools you have. They help other members with problems, and intensify the feeling that you provide something meaningful.6. Pass-along valueWill the product hold its value? You can of course market and sell successfully products that are meant for one time use only. But you need to take this into account.Resell value is most important in expensive purchases. I’m surprised car manufacturers don’t use this to their advantage. “Our cars hold their value better than any other cars.” That would make a difference to me. Would you listen? Unless you’re a Rockefeller, you’d probably pay attention.7. PeersAre there others using your product? Social proof is maybe the most effective way to gain trust. Social proof is relatively easy to deliver. Quotes, pictures, videos, recordings... Use an image of the person who refers the product. It makes the recommendation more effective.When you provide socialproof, you lend the credibility of that person to your product. So, a well-known person providing the recommendation is always better than a “nobody”. But a “nobody” is much better than no social proof at all. It works because people want the certainty that a decision will pay off. If someone has already took the risk, and proved it to be worth it, there’s more certainty.8. PerceptivenessIntuitive products, especially technological products, are a pleasure to use. There’s nothing more frustrating than to know you can do something with a product, but you just don’t know how.Apple’s computers and iPhone’s are so popular because of this. They work, as you’d guess them to work, if you’d never touched a computer before.There’s probably no better example of this than a poor one. After 9/11 a company decided to create a parachute for such situations. They were invited to demonstrate the use of the product in a TV-show. What happenedwas that they couldn’t figure out how to put on the parachute. And you’re supposed to do it in seconds when you see a plane coming your way... As far as I know, the product was never released.

9. PersonasThis is one of the core ideas of marketing. Marketing should always be directed to a specific group of people. “Specific” doesn’t necessarily mean a small group, but a clearly defined group. Unless you understand who buy from you, you can’t target them with your marketing.Create buyer personas for each different buyer type. You can then target your marketing straight to them. Understanding your buyer personas is detailed in the guide to Premeditated Marketing.10. PictureA picture says more than a 1000 words. People notice pictures more easily than words. Especially close-up pictures of people’s faces capture our attention. This is why women’s magazines nearly always have a close-up picture of a face on their cover.To understand a phrase, you need to read it. To understand a picture, on an intuitive level, you only need to glance at it. Reading takes time, glancing doesn’t. Don’t expect people to take the time to read.There’s a great rule of thumb for moviemakers, “70% of information should be conveyed through pictures (the rest with sound).” Use the force of pictures to tell your story whenever possible.11. PilotPeople want certainty and there’s no better way to get certain about a purchase, than to test the productfirst. You wouldn’t buy a car without test-driving it first, would you?The larger the purchase the more important this is, but even the smallest purchases are easier when you can put your mind at ease. If, for any reason, you cannot offer a free trial, at least offer a nearly free trial and a money back guarantee.AWeber, the email list company, does just that. They charge $1 for the first month of service. With this they discourage people to sign up for the service if they’re not serious about the purchase. But with a 30-day money back guarantee they make the investment irrelevant.12. PlaceboA placebo is a fake medicine, given to some patients (without their knowledge) to test the effects of a real drug. If there’s no difference between results, thereal drug doesn’t actually work.You cannot sell a placebo. You might be able to sell it for a while, but sooner or later you’d be caught. And this doesn’t apply to medicines only. Whatever you sell has to be authentic. Your product has to meet the expectations people give to it.

13. PlanningThe most important part of marketing is the research for it. Understanding your story, your customers, and the general situation takes time.

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