According to the Harvard Business Review, the four P’s of marketing are over. The new model is SAVE, Solution – Access – Value – Education. Here’s what it means for B2B marketing.
Market Solutions
Instead of marketing products, we need to focus on solutions. Solution selling is not new – for years marketers have been stressing selling benefits, not just features.
Provide Access to Your Solutions
Today there is less focus on a physical or geographic place to sell a product (such as in what media do we advertise, at which trade shows, etc.) than there is on access – do you have your product well-positioned online so that when someone wants or needs it, they can find you?
Market the Value of Your Solution
Value-based pricing has been used for years because B2B marketers realize that their ability to differentiate from the competition drives pricing. Selling on price, for example with a cost-plus pricing approach, is not as profitable.
Educate Prospects about Your Solution
Instead of promoting your solution with cool ads, catchy phrases and “push” marketing (marketing that is pushed upon prospects), educate prospects about your solution and attract (“pull”) them to your solution.
I would add to this that the type of education depends on the stage of your solution lifecycle (this used to be called the product lifecycle).
In the early stages of a solution’s lifecycle, you need to educate prospects about what your solution is and why they need it. As the market for your solution begins to grow, you need to get more aggressive and get market share quickly. Then, as the market matures, you need to differentiate and perhaps choose a niche on which to focus. In a declining market, continued value-add information about your solution can help keep sales going.
Do you need to SAVE your marketing? Contact New Incite today. We provide analysis, planning and marketing execution to help you achieve your business goals.
The image used in this post is from The 4 P’s of Marketing No Longer Apply in B2B Today.
