The Five Ps of Marketing in a Post-Pandemic World

We’re working at home (if we’re fortunate enough to be working).

We’re inundated with pandemic news.

We’re cutting our own hair and baking our own sourdough bread.

We’re returning from the grocery store like victorious hunters of old, weary from the quest but content that our loved ones will eat well until we again have to venture beyond the safety of home.   

Um, Yeah... About the Business?

Some tell us that everything will be back to normal soon. Others say things will never again be the same.

Some tell us to stop marketing and selling. Others tell us we absolutely mustn’t stop.

Everyone says “lead with empathy” but advice about what that actually means tends to get vague pretty fast.

The Current Messaging Bingo Card

I’m thrilled to know that every company I’ve ever encountered is “with me in these uncertain times.”

Their “abundance of caution” as they “navigate uncharted waters” brings me great comfort.

Indeed, we’ll “get through this together”. Whatever that means.

Concern Fatigue

Concern-fatigue is real and it’s growing. 

It’s not that we object to such messages. Generally, they’re sincere and well-meaning. We appreciate that the seller or marketer is mindful that the recipient may be going through a tough time, and certainly knows many who are, and they’re doing their best to be respectful. To signal empathy and compassion. 

The problem isn’t the intent, it’s that it has all very quickly become background noise. It’s a given.

It has become a standard pleasantry that is very quickly losing any significance. 

It’s today’s “how are you?” or “all the best”. Well-intentioned but ultimately insignificant routine words we utter because that’s what we’ve become accustomed to hearing, reading, saying and typing.

How Can We Stand Out (In a Good Way) in a Post-Pandemic World?

We can elevate our companies above the fray, become signal from the noise, by re-thinking what really matters. 

It’s been 60 years since “The Four Ps of Marketing” appeared on the scene, and they’ve been expanded and revised ever since.

I’m taking another crack at it.

Origins

The original “Four Ps of Marketing” date back to 1960 and the publication of E. Jarome McCarthy’s “Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach.” He proposed that it all really boils down to Product, Price, Place (distribution), and Promotion.

Later writers added three more: People, Process, and Physical Evidence.

Someone tried to tack on an awkward 8th that never really stuck, not because it’s wrong but because it brought a stowaway with it that messed up the alliteration: Productivity and Quality.

The Digital Marketing Age

The dawn of the digital marketing age brought new versions, emphasizing such P-words as Platform, Publishing, Persuasiveness, and of course Performance.

One thing is clear. There are A LOT of words that begin with the letter P.

Why Do We Need a New Version?

We need a new version because the old approaches to business don’t really cut it today.

We need a new version because it’s not helpful to think digital vs. offline because everything is omnichannel today.

We need a new version because people and companies are struggling to find their way in a pandemic world and in what will (soon we trust) become a post-pandemic world.

We need a new version because excellent companies that make a positive contribution the world, and who make a real difference for their customers, their employees, and their communities, are more important than ever.

The Five Ps of Marketing in a Post-Pandemic World

Point of View – A clear and coherent set of beliefs about something that’s broken. Something that no longer works, or perhaps never really did. Something that could be much better. Something that needs to be much better.

Purpose – An all-encompassing drive to deliver on the PoV. To build a transformative product or service and evangelize its value widely and deeply to change mindsets, earn the trust of loyal customers, deliver exceptional value and utility, and bring more and more champions into the cause.

People – Founders and leaders can’t do it alone. Success requires exceptional people at every level and in every function. Every aspect of the way you hire them, train them, measure them, manage them, compensate them, and help them advance their careers plays a role. They’re not extras in your hero story. They’re everything.  

Passion – Changing minds is hard. Changing the world is a daunting task. Old biases and habits, change-resistant blockers, entrenched competitors and much more conspire to block your path. Only the sustained passion of your people to deliver on your powerful purpose will see you through.

Practice – Your product or service, and your company as a whole, has to practice what it preaches. You have to deliver. Keeping with the “P” theme, the “proof is in the pudding.” All the PoV, purpose, people, and passion in the world won’t matter if your customers can’t put your solution into practice and achieve their goals.

The Road Ahead

This is core to the way I’m looking at the future.

The companies I want to work for, partner with, and buy from, think and operate like this.

Much of the value I deliver to companies is in terms of clarifying, deepening, operationalizing, and magnifying these attributes.

I welcome input to strengthen and expand this thinking as we all build a better future together.