Basics of Digital Marketing: What are 4 P’s in Digital Marketing
The 4 P’s in digital marketing, product, price, place, and promotion, have been taught for ages. They still do exist in digital marketing, but they take on different dimensions because of the online environment and digital tools available.
Let us go over the 4 P’s of the digital marketing mix:
1. Product
In digital marketing, the product is not just the physical thing you sell. It includes the digital products and services you offer, including:
Physical goods: Such as clothing, gadgets, or books.
Digital goods: eBooks, online classes, software, applications, or subscription plans.
Services: Coaching, consulting, or digital marketing services.
In the digital world, the product also needs to be well presented through websites, mobile applications, or any digital touchpoint. Here UX is truly important so that the customers understand the product benefits and are able to smoothly find their way through the purchasing journey.
2. Price
Pricing in digital marketing is about being competitive, flexible, and transparent. This can include:
Dynamic pricing-Prices change as per demand, time of the day, or any other variables.
Discounts & offers-Special offers, flash sales, bundle pricing, loyalty discounts to push sales.
Subscription models-A subscription for the use of products/services such as Netflix or Spotify.
In digital settings, pricing is at most transparent and easy to compare with other alternatives.
On digital platforms, transparency is one of the attributes of pricing, where pricing can be compared with competitors, ultimately making the price strategy one of competitor prices, perceived value, and customer expectation. Although instant price changes or promotions can be established on digital platforms, businesses are free to decide in real time.
3. Place
In the classical 4-P’s terminology, place is the means of distribution through which the product reaches the customer. Digital marketing mainly refers to where and how customers engage with your product online. These include:
Your website featuring your eCommerce store or landing page is the primary environment wherein the transaction takes place.
Social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and Twitter can also be considered as places where you can promote and sell your products directly (for example, Instagram Shopping or Facebook Marketplace).
Marketplaces: Placement sites where products get sold, such as third-party platforms Amazon, Etsy, or eBay.
Mobile apps: Sell and promote through mobile apps (own or third-party apps, e.g., Google Play or App Store).
Email: Email marketing campaigns are also an effective “place” to direct your customers to make purchases or take any action.
The object: Wherever customers may be, on a website, social media, or search engines, have your product ready for them.
4. Promotion
Here is where digital marketing has its biggest moment. Promotion in the digital realm is essentially the means by which you communicate the value of your product to potential customers. All sorts of promotional Services in digital marketing may take place through:
Content marketing: Blog articles, videos, webinars, or infographics that offer valuable content for your audience while softly promoting your products.
Social Media Marketing: Regular updates on posts, paid ads, or influencer marketing.
Email Marketing: Sending targeted promotional offers, newsletters, or follow-up emails to engage customers.
Pay Per Click Advertising: Paid ads on Google, Facebook, or elsewhere where you get charged when your ad gets clicks.
Affiliate Marketing: Using affiliates to promote your product in exchange for a commission.
SEO: Optimizing your website to be found by search engines on queries when users look for products similar to the one that you provide.
In essence, a promotional effort in a digital marketing campaign is targeting the right audience with the right message at the exact right moment. The data can be measured against the effectiveness of certain promotions, thereby giving way to optimization.
How These Work Intertwined in Digital Marketing:
Product: It’s your eco-friendly yoga mat.
Price: Discount offered for Earth Day.
Place: Storage and selling of your yoga mats through your website, Instagram, and Amazon.
Promotion: To advertise the discounts, you do Instagram ads, ambassador influencer partnerships, SEO for blog posts about yoga, and email marketing.
So, the 4Ps still center around a product, one produced under the right conditions and offered at the right price, and placed at the right place-which, in this case, is online channels-where it gets promoted through the right channels to the right audience.
