The New Ps of Marketing in the Digital Age

Many of you know the traditional 4 Ps of Marketing: product; price; place; and promotion. Also known as the marketing mix, they form a foundational pillar of business education in tertiary institutes everywhere.

While these concepts still apply in the digital and knowledge economy, they are probably less relevant now, given the lightning speed in which things move in the tech-enabled age.

Today's audiences are also different from those in the past. They are impatient and seek immediate gratification. They expect things to be done at the click of a button—or a swipe of a screen. They are easily distracted.

And they are also savvy in checking out what your competitors are offering. All they need to do is to toggle their screens on their devices, go into "Google" and type.

Given the immense competition that you'll face both online and offline, focusing purely on product benefits or value-for-money alone will not suffice?—you need to stand for something far more than that.

Distribution channels may also shift overnight with the "app-ification" of the economy. Hence, the traditional "place" in marketing needs to be reconsidered.

And what about promotion? Well, gone are the days where consumers will view, read, or listen to your ad just because "its there." On the contrary, a poorly placed digital ad may prompt the reader to close it, report it, and stop seeing it, resulting in a higher distribution cost and poorer outcomes.

So what are the new 'P's of the digital age?

#1 Participation

If old school marketing was all about pushing a product to customer, then new school of marketing is all about enlisting members to your movement.

In the Participation Age, digital and social networks have radically changed the dynamics of how consumers think, feel, and act. Purchasing a product or service is less about utility and more about community.

A good example here is Apple. While few would argue that they make beautifully designed and sexy products, it is the sense of belonging and community which drives sales. Fans of the iPhone, AirPods or Mac are willing to shell out the premium dollars for the brand as it makes them part of a bigger "cult" of cool, hip, creative, and trendy folks.

#2 Personalization

This is about precision-targeting and being pin-point accurate in your messages and offers. In the online world, audience targeting no longer becomes a hit-and-miss affair.

Given the hyper-targeting options available on Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and other channels, brands can now develop customised campaigns that track individuals based on their demographics, social groups, and behaviours.

And then there is retargeting or remarketing—the "creepy" but effective advertising strategy where a customised ad "follows" a user who visited a brand's website, clicked on an email, or interacted with a social media post.

#3 Pathways

In the new digital world, marketing isn't a once-and-done affair. On the contrary, it involves mapping out your customer's buying journey and tracing each step.

Here's an example of these stages, complete with some of the questions and thoughts that a potential client or consumer may have.

Instead of trying hard to push your product features and benefits, what you need to do is to answer your customer's questions and to be helpful.

Depending on your marketing goal—be it in generating brand awareness, improving engagement, attracting leads, or triggering sales—you can craft different messages and content to address their specific query or concern.

Funnels are the way to go, and if you have no clue how these work in the digital world, take a look at this example of a Content Marketing Funnel:

(You can learn more about digital marketing funnels here.)

#4 Publishing

In a world awash with screens, brands have found that they can't ignore the need to produce content.

But haven't marketers always produced content? I mean there are ads, brochures, press releases and newsletters which we've churned out to communicate our offerings.

The difference between content in the past and now is that your focus should now be on producing valuable content. In other words, marketing content that is so good and useful (to your target audience) that they will even pay for it.

A good way to do so is to switch your mindset—from a brand focused on producing the best ads to a publisher focused on producing the best content. In short, businesses must now act like media and aspire to make their online properties content hubs that their customers can congregate around.

#5 Problem & Solutions

If you haven't already learned, the noblest goal of marketing isn't to push unwanted products down your prospect's throat. Rather, it should be to identify your customer's problems and provide solutions to address those challenges.

And if your brand is able to do so, you do not need to look for clients. They will gravitate to you (like bees to honey).

I've been producing helpful content on my website for over a decade, and I've also regularly shared useful tips on topics like Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, SEO, and Website Development on my social media channels.

99 percent of the stuff I write and share are targeted at addressing specific problems that brands and companies face online. And they've helped me to continually attract leads to my training and agency business.

Every. Single. Week.

#6 Platforms

Yes, the world is shifting towards online platforms, and the biggest billion dollar unicorns in the new world of tech-fueled marketing are those who own them.

Amazon.com? ? Check

Apple's iTunes store? ? Check

Facebook.com? ? Check

Google.com? ? Check

Netflix? ? Check

Alibaba.com? ? Check

Now you don't have to be as large as these stalwarts of the digital age, but you should still ensure that you have your online assets. Begin with building a highly converting website, and roll-out social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

You should also have an email capturing mechanism so that you can build an email list. This can be the most valuable asset in your digital marketing inventory.

#7 Performance

Data is now sexy, and in the world of digital marketing, virtually every action (or inaction) which your customer takes online can now be tracked.

Ensure that you understand your digital analytics—from the number of impressions and clicks which your online ads generate all the way to your cost per lead, cost per conversion and your Return On Ad Spend (ROAS).

As we move into the next decade of the 2020s, I believe that every marketer needs to learn how to read and use Google Analytics, Social Media Insights, and to track their performance on social media campaign managers.

#8 Programming

Accentuated by A.I. and algorithms, marketing in the digital age is now about BOTH creativity and processes.

Savvy companies know the power of A.I. and deep learning networks. They use automation to reduce the number of human interactions (and hence mistakes) on their marketing efforts.

Virtually everything can be programmed these days—from Pay Per Click (PPC) ads on programmatic ad buying platforms, Chatbots that help to automate commonly asked questions and queries, to apps that can help you create content.

Are You Ready To Embrace The New Ps?

In a world of consumers who are glued to their screens, the age-old strategy of pushing out fancy ads and promotions alone doesn't suffice.

Embracing the new Ps of marketing—Participation, Personalisation, Pathways, Publishing, Problems & Solutions, Platforms, Performance, and Programming—is the new way to go.

Which of the new Ps have you adopted so far? And which do you need to spend more time on?

Walter is the founder and editor of Cooler Insights—a critically thinking content marketing, social media marketing and brand storytelling agency. Fuel your business with the latest insights in digital and content marketing, public relations and personal branding.