In today’s competitive landscape, managers and contributors with a strong grasp of marketing principles add enormous value. While only some teams are in charge of creating campaigns and marketing strategy, understanding key marketing frameworks can enhance your decision-making, improve your team leadership, and align business strategies with customer needs. In this article we will explore these marketing fundamentals: The 4 P’s, 4’Cs, and S.A.V.E.
The 4 P’s
We start with the framework put forward by Edmond Jerome McCarthy in 1960. For him, any marketing endeavor is comprised of four components known as the Four P’s of Marketing or the original marketing mix:
- Product: What are you selling? How is your product or service positioned? What makes it desirable? Who is it for?
- Price: How much will people pay for your product or service?
- Placement: Which distribution channel will you use? Where will you sell your product or service?
- Promotion: How will you get the word out? Where should you advertise? How do you make your communications meaningful? What incentives will you offer consumers to act (e.g. discounts, sweepstakes, etc.)?
Mark Ritson, a top columnist on Marketing Week, summarizes perfectly the role of McCarthy’s framework on the marketing profession. His 2021 very blunt article, “Attempts to update the Marketing Mix are embarrassing: They have endured for a reason”, states:
[…] the marketing mix is not the totality of marketing. McCarthy and those who followed him always meant the four P’s to represent the controllable levers that a company operates to satisfy its objectives in the marketplace.
Put more simply, the four P’s summarize the tactical considerations of what a company wants to do. […] They encompass the tactical decisions but not the steps in the marketing process upon which they are predicated – namely diagnosis and then strategy.
The 4 C’s
Mark certainly is a proponent of the 4P’s timeless value. However, critics deemed the 4 P’s framework too supply focused. Enter the thoughts of Robert F. Lauterborn. In 1990, without discrediting McCarthy’s work, he added a consumer-centric twist . His four C’s of Marketing are:1
- Consumer: Who are you selling to? What consumer need does your product satisfy?
- Cost: What is the total cost of ownership for the consumer, including functionality and disposal? For instance, buying a car with a three-year guarantee differs from one with a one-year guarantee.
- Convenience: Can the consumer easily access and purchase your product?
- Communication: How do you advertise and manage public relations? Do you have relationships with your customers? What’s the buzz about you in the news?
S.A.V.E.
Fast forwarding to 2013 we find the work of Richard Ettenson, Eduardo Conrado, and Jonathan Knowles. Their HBR article Rethinking the 4 P’s adapts the 4 P’s to the B2B world. For the authors marketing entails looking at four components (S.A.V.E.):
- Solution. Identifying the solution (not specifically the product or service) we are offering to solve a customer problem or need.
- Access. Which should be easy and convenient at each phase of the purchase journey.
- Value. Beyond price, valuate the economic, non-economic, tangible and non-tangible benefits that are provided to customers.
- Education. Provide information that is relevant to the customer at each interaction, up to purchase and post-purchase experience.
There are countless books dissecting each component of the marketing mix. It’s fascinating how all marketing concepts can be tied back to just twelve words, or more, if we were to consider other lists out there.
As a manager, or member of a team, integrating marketing strategies into your leadership toolkit isn’t just about boosting sales – it’s about understanding your market, your customers, and aligning your team to deliver value. By applying the 4 P’s, 4 C’s and S.A.V.E. frameworks, you’ll be better equipped to make informed, strategic decisions that drive sustainable success for your organization.
- Lauterborn, B. (1990). New Marketing Litany: Four Ps Passé: C-Words Take Over. Advertising Age, 61(41), 26. Subscription required. ↩︎