2 More Ps and a Thank You Can Change Your Approach to New Product Development

You’ve heard of the 4 Ps? Well, we’re adding two more.

If you need a quick refresher, the 4 Ps of Marketing are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. They represent a pretty simple framework in product development that can help describe why you’re beating your competitors—or why they’re beating you if that’s the way you want to think about it.

Why add more Ps? There are some gaps in the 4 Ps and we’re here to add two more Ps to your list of things to think through as you’re developing new products.  

People

First, people. At the core of business success lies personal relationships. Strong relationships drive profit in a business. Poor people relationships can sink future success.

When developing a new product strategy, think through effects on people. How will your product connect with and benefit individuals? How do people view your product or service and what will you change?

Or think through it more personally. How do the people you work with—your team—represent and benefit your product and brand? Can you change the way people see your product through the way they view your employees?

Quick Example: In 2020, Delta Airlines presented its 90,000 employees with a profit-sharing bonus that totaled $1.6 billion. Talk about keeping people engaged and happy at work. And as a plus, Delta has increased its status as a kind, generous employer, likely motivating others to work there.

Point of View

Next is point of view. What point of view do you take when thinking about your new product? Do you get too focused on what your competitors are doing? When was the last time you sat down with customers to understand how they view your brand?

As a 4 Ps thought exercise, think through the 4 Ps from the mindset of a customer. Do they see your brand as a price leader? Where do they buy your products? What promotions do they see? Then ask yourself if the answers you found out are in-line with your current strategy or if you need to change your point of view.

Thank You

One more tool to add to your marketing frameworks is gratitude. It sounds like something reserved for a Sunday sermon, but it works wonders.

In 2014, researchers found that expressing gratitude increases the effectiveness of long-term thinking and planning (DeSteno). Practicing gratitude for the things that are going well may actually help you better think through solutions to current problems, eventually giving you more to be grateful for. It’s like a self-perpetuating goodness trap.

Dale Carnegie wrote “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated” (How to Win Friends and Influence People). So as a final recommendation, say thank you more and work on gratitude. 

References:

DeSteno D. Gratitude Is the New Willpower. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles [Internet]. 2014 Apr 9 [cited 2020 Feb 19];2–3. Available from: http://search.ebscohost.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=118647160&site=ehost-live&scope=site).