The marketer E. Jerome McCarthy proposed a four Ps classification in 1960, which has since been used by marketers throughout the world.[1]

• Product - A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer needs or wants. It is a tangible good or an intangible service. Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry, the hotel industry and the financial industry. Tangible products are those that have an independent physical existence. Typical examples of mass-produced, tangible objects are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass-produced service is a computer operating system.[1]
  
  Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth phase followed by a maturity phase and finally an eventual period of decline as sales falls. Marketers must do careful research on how long the life cycle of the product they are marketing is likely to be and focus their attention on different challenges that arise as the product moves through each stage.[1]
  
  The marketer must also consider the product mix. Marketers can expand the current product mix by increasing a certain product line's depth or by increasing the number of product lines. Marketers should consider how to position the product, how to exploit the brand, how to exploit the company's resources and how to configure the product mix so that each product complements the other. The marketer must also consider product development strategies.[1]

• Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The price is very important as it determines the company's profit and hence, survival. Adjusting the price has a profound impact on the marketing strategy, and depending on the price elasticity of the product, often it will affect the demand and sales as well. The marketer should set a price that complements the other elements of the marketing mix.[1]
  
  When setting a price, the marketer must be aware of the customer perceived value for the product. Three basic pricing strategies are: market skimming pricing, market penetration pricing and neutral pricing. The 'reference value' (where the consumer refers to the prices of competing products) and the 'differential value' (the consumer's view of this product's attributes versus the attributes of other products) must be taken into account.[1]

• Promotion - represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. Promotion comprises elements such as: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion.[1]
  
  Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema commercials, radio and Internet advertisements through print media and billboards. Public relations is where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events. Word-of-mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important role in word of mouth and public relations (see 'product' above).[1]

• Place - refers to providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to access. Place is synonymous with distribution. Various strategies such as intensive distribution, selective distribution, exclusive distribution  franchising can be used by the marketer to complement the other aspects of the marketing mix.[1][3]
  
  The seven Ps is an additional marketing model that refers to the already mentioned four Ps, plus 'Physical evidence', 'People', and 'Process'. 'Physical evidence' refers to elements within the store -- the store front, the uniforms employees wear, signboards, etc. 'People' refers to the employees of the organization with whom customers come into contact. 'Process' refers to the processes and systems within the organization that affects its marketing process.[4] These latter three factors are not cited nearly as often as the first four outlined in depth above.

* Four Ps: the producer-oriented model

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1. a b c d e f g h i j Needham, Dave (1996). Business for Higher Awards. Oxford, England: Heinemann.
   
2. Banting, Peter; Ross, Randolph E.. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (Springer Link) 1 (1). http://www.springerlink.com/content/mn58860185200184/. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
   
3. Kerin, Hartley and Rudelius "Marketing, The Core," 4th Edition, McGraw Hill Publishing 2001.
4. "The 7 Ps of Marketing". Retrieved 2011-11-12.
   
5. Don E. Schullz, Stanley I. Tannenbaum, Robert F. Lauterborn(1993)“Integrated Marketing Communications,”NTC Business Books, a division of NTC Publishing Group.
6. Koichi Shimizu (2009) "Advertising Theory and Strategies,"16th edition, Souseisha Book Company. (Japanese)
7. Koichi Shimizu (2003)"Symbiotic Marketing Strategy,"4th edition, Souseisha Book Company.(Japanese)
8. Brian Solis(2011) Engage!: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp.201-202.
9. E. Jerome McCarthy (1975)”Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach," fifth edition, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., p.37.
   

References

Since 1989

Four Cs: the consumer-oriented model

Kings International Marketing Corp.

Robert F. Lauterborn proposed a four Cs classification in 1993[5] which is a more consumer-oriented version of the four Ps that attempts to better fit the movement from mass marketing to niche marketing:

• Product part of the four Ps model is replaced by "Consumer", shifting the focus to satisfying the consumer needs. By defining offerings as individual capabilities that are combined and focused to a specific industry, the result is a custom solution rather than the pigeon-holing of a customer into a product.
  
• Price is replaced by "Cost", reflecting the total cost of ownership. Many factors affect Cost, including but not limited to the customer's cost to change or implement the new product or service and the customer's cost for not selecting a competitor's product or service.
  
• Promotion is replaced by "Communication", which represents a broader focus. Communications can include advertising, public relations, personal selling, viral advertising, and any form of communication between the organization and the consumer.
  
• Place is replaced by "Convenience". With the rise of Internet and hybrid models of purchasing, Place is becoming less relevant. Convenience takes into account the ease of buying the product, finding the product, finding information about the product, and several other factors.
  

Export Management Company

Kings International Marketing Corp. is a leading Export Management Company specialized in automotive products, providing US manufacturers with a full-service alternative to their own export department. Our mission is to provide the best international distribution for US manufacturers, and offers foreign importers the most cost effective and efficient ways to purchase products from the USA.

Since 1989, Kings International Marketing Corp. operates as the Export Sales Department for many leading US manufacturers.  Headquartered in South Florida with a 55,000 Sq.Ft. warehouse, Kings is strategically situated near one of the busiest ports in the world, Miami. Satellite warehouses are set up in New York, Texas, and California. Kings have the flexibility and capability of arranging shipments either by full container, or Less than Container, allowing overseas buyers to purchase various products and make one consolidated shipment, at the most convenient port of export.

Kings’s multilingual sales executives travel and attend trade shows in various countries, establish close relationship with overseas distributors, and keep a close eye on each country's unique requirements, as well as economic conditions, competition and market trends.

Kings operates as an Export Arm for manufacturers, bears all fixed costs associated with export operations, including inside and outside staff, international travel and communications, as well as invoicing and collections.

Field Sales

Kings International provides manufacturers with professional and aggressive sales coverage in the selected world market. In the field, sales executives provide sales and product training, conduct joint customer calls and consult with local partners on how best to promote products in their market.

Direct Marketing

Kings International utitlizes web sites and social media, and extensive customer databases to capture and pursue sales leads and to maintain a steady stream of communication with existing accounts. Our contact with customers and channel sales groups is frequent and personal.

Product, Price, Promotions, and Place vs Consumer, Cost, Communication and Convenience

Kings International studies and applies the marketing 4-P’s and 4-C’s * concept, providing manufacturers with valuable insights based on each country’s unique conditions and consumer preference. 

Foreign Credit and Collections

Kings International takes title of the products and assumes the foreign credit risk. In essence, manufacturers sell the products to Kings, and invoice Kings. Kings in turn pays in accordance with the terms set forth in the export agreement. Kings assumes sole responsibility for collecting the foreign receivables, with no recourse to manufacturers in the event of non-payment, eliminating the potentially high cost of managing complex international credit and collections.

Kings International works closely with the US EX-IM Bank (www.exim.gov) to provide export credit to worthy customers.

Export Traffic and Logistics

Kings International partners with leading trucking companies, global freight forwarders and steamship lines, ensures export compliance, and provides foreign importers with an array of critical services, proper documentations, products consolidations, and the most convenience port of export.

Consolidation Service

Kings International headquarter of 55,000 sq ft warehouse is strategically situated near one of the busiest ports in the world, Miami.  Satellite warehouses are located in New York, Texas and California, providing foreign importers choices to the most convenient port of export to their countries.  Importers have the options to ship either by Full Container Load, or Less Than Container Load, include in their shipment various brands of automotive products to make one consolidated shipment, thereby saving shipping expenses and reducing the overall landed cost of the products.