The Marketing Ps: Overview and Roles

By now, it is fairly clear that being an entrepreneur entails a series of decision making. Some of the decisions are obviously for what they are while others are subsumed by more overt decisions. At a general level, the choice of enterprise and the decision to undertake it presupposes that the business will be profitable.

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And for that profitablity to be realized, the goods and services offered by the enterprise must be capable of satisfying the needs of the identified customers at a price they are able and willing to pay. The marketing function deals with this aspect of business activity.

It encompasses the decision on what goods and services to offer as a derivative of consumer's demand (or product), the process of alerting consumers about available offerings (promotion), and the structure for making the goods or services available as at where and when needed (place) at affordable prices (price).

The four sub functions or elements that is, product, promotion, place and price are collectively referred to as the four Ps of marketing. These four represent the broad facets of marketing activities aimed at moving goods or services from the point of production or supply to where they are needed at a profit.

The entire process takes place in a dynamic environment necessitating a discretionary and strategic blend of the four Ps factors. Thus, while one situation demands that the highest weight in the total marketing effort be placed on price, a different situation may demand that product, place and promotion or any combination thereof be given the highest priority.

That part of the marketing effort which entails the choic and combination of the elements of the the four Ps was first called the marketing mix and has gained immense popularity ever since. It is necessary to have some understanding of the elements of the 4-P format becaus of their importance in the total marketing effort.