PURDUE EXTENSION
EC-730
Marketing’s Four P’s:
First Steps for New Entrepreneurs
Cole Ehmke, Joan Fulton, and Jayson Lusk
Department of Agricultural Economics
Marketing your business is about how you position it to satisfy
your market’s needs. There are four critical elements in
marketing your products and business. They are the four P’s
of marketing.
1. Product. The right product to satisfy the needs of
your target customer.
Audience: Business managers
Content: Presents the four elements of marketing
your products and business
Outcome: Readers will be aware of the range of
marketing decisions they need to make
2. Price. The right product offered at the right price.
3. Place. The right product at the right price available
in the right place to be bought by customers.
4. Promotion. Informing potential customers of the
availability of the product, its price and its place.
Each of the four P’s is a variable you control in creating the
marketing mix that will attract customers to your business.
Your marketing mix should be something you pay careful
attention to because the success of your business depends on
it. As a business manager, you determine how to use these
variables to achieve your profit potential. This publication
introduces the four P’s of marketing and includes worksheets
that will help you determine the most effective marketing mix
for your business.
Product
“Product” refers to the goods and services you offer to your
customers. Apart from the physical product itself, there are
elements associated with your product that customers may be
attracted to, such as the way it is packaged. Other product
attributes include quality, features, options, services, warranties, and brand name. Thus, you might think of what you
offer as a bundle of goods and services. Your product’s
appearance, function, and support make up what the customer
is actually buying. Successful managers pay close attention to
the needs their...