From 7 P's to 7 C's of Marketing

Rating

From 7 P's to 7 C's of Marketing

Anyone who has taken a marketing course learned about the 4Ps and later 7Ps of Marketing. They are Place, Price, Promotion, Product. Later People, Physical Evidence and Process were added.
However, there is no doubt that recently the marketplace has changed from an industrial-driven one to knowledge-based one; from just as a place for buying and selling to one of conversation and collaboration; and from a product-based economy to market-based economy.
Internet, digitalization, competition and globalization have changed the entire market space and have caused the above changes (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013).

As a result, in the present marketspace, customers are now king and a key determinant of which way and how the market goes (Fill, 2011). Customers are now better informed and very selective, they seek personalization and want value from the market (Miles, 2012).

Consequently, the known 7 Ps of marketing are changed to 7 Cs to reflect these new market realities that place a premium on customer’s needs and wants (Miles, 2012). The seven marketing Cs are:

1. Product ⇒ CUSTOMER: Product changed to Customer given that businesses have to consider and reflect the aspirations and wants of customers a lot more than before when producing products.
2. Price ⇒ COST: Price has now been replaced by the Cost to satisfy the customer.
3. Place ⇒ CONVENIENCE: Convenience which denotes easy to buying has replaced the P of Place.
4. Promotion ⇒ COMMUNICATION: Communication has replaced Promotion, as businesses are fast learning to transact, dialogue, engage and collaborate with consumers on their needs and wants before customizing or producing such need.
5. Physical Evidence ⇒ CREDIBILITY: Physical Evidence has been replaced with Credibility as present market demands ‘Doing what you say you will do when you say you will do it’. Customer trust has to be earned.
6. Process ⇒ CONNECTION: Present businesses engage and empower customers to generate brand loyalty. Connection replaced the Process.
7. People ⇒ CUSTOMER SERVICE: Build strategic relationship with customers rather than just focusing on your People.

Sources:
Fill, C. (2011) Essentials of Marketing Communications, England, Pearson Education Ltd.
Jobber, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2013), Principles and Practice of Marketing, 7th edn, Berkshire, McGraw-Hill Education.
Miles, J.A. (2012) Management and Organization Theory: A Jossey-Bass Reader, San Francisco, Wiley Imprint.

		Comments by date▼ Comments by rating Rating
		12 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	History from Marketing 4 Ps to 7 Ps to 4 Cs to 7 Cs Thanks Omenugha for sharing this. Indeed in simple terms and chronological order: 1960 (McCarthy): The original Marketing Mix (4 Ps). Primarily useful for marketing tangible products. 1981 (Booms & Bitner): The Extended Marketing Mix (7 Ps). More useful for marketing intangible services. 1990 (Lauterborn): The 4 Cs Model (Consumer wants and needs, Cost, Communication, Convenience). A more consumer-oriented version of the four Ps. ? (?): The 7 Cs Model. Recommended for marketing through digital e-commerce.

		2 KARTHIKEYAN Manager, India
	From Marketing Mix 4 P's to 7 C's Thank you Mr. Omenugha Nelson Obinna, for this wonderful explanation on the move from product-based economy to a market-based, digital economy with simple terms.

		3 KALEELUL RAHUMAN Management Consultant, Saudi Arabia
	From 7Ps to 7Cs: Cost doesn't Cover all Pricing Aspects Hi Nelson, good thinking. But Price includes many factors, Cost is just one of them. Therefore if only cost is considered, Pricing is not complete. For example Pricing = Cost, ATL, BTL, Margin etc.

		1 Ricardo Bravo-Montenegro, Peru
	From Organization to Customer Approach Thanks, the approach from the point of view of the organization was replaced by an approach from the customer's point of view. We need to understand that this marketing era has the customer in the center of all activities. If you change your mind from organization to customer, you can understand better what customers think about your products and service.

		3 Mudukula Mukubi Business Consultant, Zambia
	Consumer Focus yes, but Still with Product Value: 7PC Given the increasing uniformity in product quality (the goods and services) offered by different firms these days, it is those who win the heart of the customer that succeed best. So I agree, cautiously, with the 7Cs approach to marketing. However, the fundamentals must be right, at all times: the 7Ps are still important, as givens or basic minimums, while we delve into the realm of customer satisfaction. For instance, loyalty to the firm, engendered by customer-driven marketing, evaporates instantly as soon as there is a clear breach of values regarding how a desired good is produced. This is why high-end clothing firms in Europe have stuttered under the weight of revelations of collapsing factory buildings and general workforce neglect in India. Therefore, the 7PC is perhaps more pragmatic and will prove to best ultimately.

		1 Yemi Smith Management Consultant, Nigeria
	The Evolution of Marketing Remains Centered around Value Marketing is quite extensive and keeps evolving. Both as a function, course of study and life style. The principal characters however remain the same: the providers and the consumers who have a symbiotic relationship Value however is still the bottom line of it all. Nice round up though taken with some cautious reservations: The best strategy remains the simple one. A lot of these innovations only complicate matters.

		0 Ibrahim Ali, Saudi Arabia
	7C - Cost Factor has many Sub-factors Hi, that was great subject and discussions. I agree with the cost factor but I think it needs more explanation, because it has many sub-factors under it. Thanks to all of you.

		0 aziza abubakr Sudan
	From 7Ps to 7Cs Not for all Industries? I think that this concept of 7 Cs is most effective in highly automated organizations with high standards of communication and relationships such as those in the advanced, internet world. But in simple industries it is hard to be applied, since people pay attention only towards price other relevant factors.

		2 Andreas J. Klemm Netherlands
	The 7 A's Marketing Mix - A Holistic Approach A good way of explaining the 7C's. However, as with most summaries, the summary can't cover the full depth of the concept. This is why I prefer the approach of 7 A's, this is an even more holistic and comprehensive approach that is applicable not only to the highly automated but also to less sophisticated industries. In the attempt to stretch the fundamentals in a holistic way and ultimately achieve exhaustive coverage, the step from 7 C's to 7 A's might lead into the right direction: Assets: the α & Ω of the business process is where Products and Customers’ needs overlap Attributes: cost + value creation (real value as well as customer-perceived value) Allocation: ease of information placement through all applicable channels Advanced Knowledge: (over-)communicate to reach the perceived status of being knowledgeable (and subsequently empowered) in all Alliances (see below) Appreciable Identity: a positive image, credibility & trust implied into the corporation, brand, product, customer (!) and consumer (!) Attitude: ethical foundation of all business processes (trustworthiness, doing the “right” thing, moral & legal integrity & responsibility) Alliance: relationship to all participants of the business process (employee, customer, vendor, consumer, public opinion) Comments & critics welcome.

		2 David Elmo Turnaround Manager, United States
	An Issue with Connection While the C's have been evolving for sometime, I would submit that "Connection" misses the point of Process which implies Continuous Improvement (CI) and those linkages necessary for SCALE. Thus, I wo...

		2 Khalil Rajati, Iran
	7Cs of Marketing Mix not for All Products and Industries The 7 C's are not for all products. They need to be changed in relation to a lot of factors such as low total cost, complete customer solutions, product innovation… These products are industrial produ...

		1 Mkhumbuzi Ncube Project Manager, Zimbabwe
	Development from 7Ps to 7Cs Interesting It's a very interesting topic and/but we should not discard the 7 Ps yet… A close look at the subject reflects the evolving economies....

		1 Patrick Mulvey Management Consultant, United States
	4P to 7Cs Discussion Excellent discussion. As with any framework, these are not meant to imply exhaustive coverage, but rather, to ensure we address most of the fundamentals. As the side-bar on Extended Marketing Mix indi...

		1 Ramji Sharma, PhD Professor, Nepal
	7Ps Vs 7Cs - Not satisfied with Cost, Communication & Connection Among the 7Cs, "Cost" may not carry the essence of "Price", "Communication" simply seems underweight with "Promotion" and in case of "Connection", I am with David Elmo's view of "Continuous (Improveme...