Marketing Mix: 4P / 7P

Overview

When to Use

• User planning a product launch or go-to-market
• User needs to audit or redesign their marketing mix
• User asks "how should we price this?", "where should we sell?", or "how do we promote?"
• User has completed STP and needs the next step

• Before STP is done — mix without a target is unfocused
• For strategic-level decisions → use STP, SWOT, or Ansoff
• For brand identity work → use Brand Positioning

Framework

IRON LAW: All Ps Must Be Internally Consistent

The 4/7 Ps must reinforce each other. A luxury product (Product) at a
budget price (Price) sold in discount stores (Place) with mass-market
ads (Promotion) is contradictory. Every P must tell the same story.

Before finalizing, check: "Does the Price match the Product? Does the
Place match the Price? Does the Promotion match the Place?"

IRON LAW: Marketing Mix Follows STP

The mix must be designed FOR the target segment identified in STP.
Different segments require different mixes. A 4P designed without
a specific target segment is guesswork.

The 4Ps (Product and Service Businesses)

• Core benefit, features, quality level, design, branding
• Product line breadth and depth, packaging, warranty
• Question: "What does the target segment need, and how does our product deliver it?"

• Pricing strategy: cost-plus, value-based, competitive, penetration, skimming
• Discounts, payment terms, price sensitivity of target segment
• Question: "What is the target segment willing to pay, and what does price signal about our positioning?"

• Distribution channels: direct, retail, online, wholesale, marketplace
• Channel coverage: intensive, selective, exclusive
• Logistics, inventory, geographic availability
• Question: "Where does our target segment expect to buy, and how do we get the product there?"

• Advertising, sales promotion, PR, personal selling, digital marketing
• Content marketing, social media, influencer partnerships
• Question: "Where does our target segment get information, and what message resonates?"

The Extended 3Ps (Service Businesses)

• Employee training, customer-facing attitude, recruitment standards
• Customer's role in co-creating the service experience

• Service delivery steps, standardization vs customization, wait times
• Technology enablement, self-service options

• Store design, website UX, uniforms, receipts, packaging
• Anything the customer can see, touch, or experience that signals quality

Step-by-Step

1. Confirm target segment (from STP)
2. Design each P with the target in mind
3. Check internal consistency across all Ps
4. Identify gaps — which P is weakest?
5. Prioritize actions — which P has the biggest impact on the target?

Output Format

# Marketing Mix: {Product/Service}

## Target Segment
{From STP — who is this mix designed for}

## 4P Analysis

### Product
- Core benefit: ...
- Key features: ...
- Differentiation: ...

### Price
- Strategy: {cost-plus / value-based / competitive / penetration / skimming}
- Price point: {$X}
- Rationale: ...

### Place
- Channels: ...
- Coverage: {intensive / selective / exclusive}
- Key channel: ...

### Promotion
- Primary channels: ...
- Key message: ...
- Budget allocation: ...

## Extended 3P (services only)

### People
...

### Process
...

### Physical Evidence
...

## Consistency Check
| P vs P | Consistent? | Notes |
|--------|------------|-------|
| Product ↔ Price | ✓/✗ | ... |
| Price ↔ Place | ✓/✗ | ... |
| Place ↔ Promotion | ✓/✗ | ... |
| Promotion ↔ Product | ✓/✗ | ... |

## Priority Actions
1. ...
2. ...

Examples

Correct Application

Incorrect Application

• Premium glass-bottle tea (Product) sold at NT$25 (Price) in every store (Place) with price-cut promotions (Promotion) → Every P contradicts the premium positioning. Violates Iron Law: internal consistency.
• Designed the mix without specifying a target segment → No basis for decisions. Violates Iron Law: mix follows STP.

Gotchas

• Price is not just a number: Price communicates positioning. A NT$65 tea at 7-ELEVEN says "premium but accessible." At NT$25 it says "commodity." The number is a message.
• Place decisions are hard to reverse: Entering discount channels erodes premium positioning permanently. Exiting a channel alienates existing customers. Choose carefully.
• Digital changes Place and Promotion: For online businesses, Place = platform (Shopee vs own website vs LINE Shopping) and Promotion = content + ads + SEO. The framework still applies.
• 7P for all service businesses: If there's a human delivering the service, you need People, Process, and Physical Evidence. A SaaS product with customer success is a service business.
• Promotion ≠ advertising only: Promotion includes PR, events, sales, partnerships, content. Don't default to "run ads" — match the channel to where the target segment pays attention.

References

• For detailed pricing strategy techniques, see

  references/pricing-strategies.md

• For channel strategy frameworks, see

  references/distribution-channels.md