Key Words: marketing mix, 4P s, marketing strategy, internal forces, and external forces,

Transcription

1 1 CPR for the 4Ps Breathing New Life into the Marketing Mix By Dr. John Fitzgerald, Neal Cavanaugh, Rebecca Bhiro Keiser University Ft. Lauderdale, Florida USA Presenting at the International Academy of Business and Economics 2014 Neil Borden and Jerome McCarthy s creation of the marketing mix, especially the 4Ps, has been the mantra of marketing practitioners and scholars alike for decades. However, in recent years, numerous authors have proposed various changes and modifications to the 4Ps to account for multiple updates in the field of marketing since the idea of the 4Ps was first introduced. This paper briefly reviews Borden s and McCarthy s original ideas and then provides a comprehensive summary of the various alternatives proposed to improve the 4Ps. A new marketing mix model, CPR, is presented that not only includes all of the elements outlined by Borden and McCarthy and the vast majority of the most commonly recommended changes to the 4Ps, but it also retains the simplicity, mnemonic appeal, adaptability, and utility that made the 4Ps model so successful for so long. Key Words: marketing mix, 4P s, marketing strategy, internal forces, and external forces, CPR for the 4Ps: Breathing New Life into the Marketing Mix The marketing mix s 4Ps, product, price, place, and promotion, have been the cornerstone of marketing for decades. However, the calls for adding, changing, or in other ways updating the 4Ps seem almost endless. In spite of the durability of the 4Ps, so many calls for change inevitably place the future relevancy of the 4Ps in doubt. To speculate on where the 4Ps are going, however, it is worth reviewing where they have been. There are numerous detailed reports of the historical beginnings of the 4Ps (Anderson & Taylor, 1995; Constantinides, 2006; Goi, 2009; Gronroos, 1994; Van Waterschoot & Van den Bulte, 1992). By way of a summary, the idea of the marketing mix was originated by James Culliton as early as 1948 (Borden, 1964). However, it was Neil Borden who gave the concept of the marketing mix widespread attention, so most authors credit Borden with the underlying concepts behind the mix. With that said, it was Jerome McCarthy who distilled Borden s original ideas down to the 4Ps now known the world over (McCarthy, 1960). A thorough examination of the original ideas of both Borden and McCarthy is presented later in this paper. However, first it is worth addressing both the praise and the criticisms that the 4Ps have received over the years. The list of strengths of the 4Ps includes simplicity (Constantinides, 2006; Goi, 2009; Gordon, 2012; Gronroos, 1994; Harvey, Lusch, & Cavarkapa, 1996; Van Waterschoot & Van den Bulte, 1992); usefulness (Anderson & Taylor, 1995; Constantindes, 2006; Goi, 2009; Gordon, 2012); memorability (Constantinides, 2006; Harvey, Lusch, & Cavarkapa, 1996; Van Waterschoot & Foscht, 2009); mnemonic appeal, expressiveness, liveliness, and compactness (Van Waterschoot & Foscht, 2009); focuses allocation of scare resources more efficiently (Goi, 2009); applicability, richness, comprehensiveness, and an undisputed record (Constantinides, 2002); and robustness (Anderson & Taylor, 1995), In contrast, the list of weaknesses of the 4Ps includes internal orientation and lack of customer focus (Constantinides, 2006; Goi, 2009; Gordon, 2012; Gronroos, 1994; Moller, 2006; Ranade, 2012; Schultz, 2001; Striss & Zavodska, 2011); short-term focus (Gordon, 2012); static nature (Gordon, 2012); too simplistic (Mason, 2007); lack of personalization, lack of strategic dimension, lack of interactivity, and offensive posture (Constantinides, 2006); void of theoretical content (Moller, 2006); and it alienates other departments (Gronroos, 1994). Efforts to change the 4Ps generally fall into one of three categories. First, some suggest adding more Ps to the mix to account for missing factors, elements, or variables. Second, some suggest adding other letters to account for missing factors, elements, or variables. Third, some advocate for a complete revision of the 4Ps by creation of an entirely new model or acronym. In spite of the many calls for modification of the 4Ps in some manner, some authors vigorously defend the 4Ps as adaptable and, therefore, universally applicable in their present form (Anderson & Taylor, 1995; Dann, 2011; Logman,

2 CPR FOR THE 4PS ; Mason, 2007; Moller, 2006; Van Waterschoot & Foscht, 2009). The durability of the 4Ps displayed over the past half-century offers strong support for their continued relevance. Even though the 4Ps remain largely unscathed, there have been significant changes in the field of marketing, as well as in the broader field of business. One of the most significant changes has been the invention of the internet since Borden and McCarthy wrote about the marketing mix. Many authors have described how the web has changed both consumer buying behavior and marketing methods (Azadi & Rahimzadeh, 2012; Claffey, 2006; Constantinides, 2002; Mosley-Matchett, 1997; Rousey & Morganosky, 1996; Wang, Head, & Archer, 2000). Other authors have pointed out how business patterns have changed from mass marketing and a goods economy to one of personal marketing and a services economy (Afridi, 2009; English, 2000; Goldsmith, 1999; Gronroos, 1994; Lauterborn, 1990; Logman, 1997; Melewar & Saunders, 2000; Pluta-Olearnik, 2011; Wang et al., 2000; Yelkur, 2000). Still other authors have argued that the advent of various marketing sub-specialties, such as services marketing, relationship marketing, B2B marketing, non-profit marketing, cause marketing, social marketing, societal marketing, and sustainability marketing, all demand a more tailored approach (Anderson & Taylor, 1995; Healy, Hastings, Brown, & Gardiner, 2001; Gordon, 2012; Gummesson, 1997; Webster, 1992). This paper was written to answer the following question: Is it necessary, or even possible, to update the 4Ps model in such a way that would satisfy both the defenders and the attackers of the mix without sacrificing any of its utility? To answer that question, this paper has three main sections. First, a review of Bordon s and McCarthy s original ideas is presented as both a refresher and as a framework of analysis for the various criticisms and proposed changes to the 4Ps. Then, in section two, an exhaustive compilation of the multiple recommendations for altering the 4Ps is presented as a method of identifying similarities, differences, and patterns among the various proposals. From the results of sections one and two, a third section is presented which offers a new marketing mix model that not only contains all of the original elements from Borden s and McCarthy s writings, but that also addresses the most commonly cited missing elements proposed by various authors to account for the new marketing sub-specialties and the new dynamics of marketing in this millennium. However, perhaps most importantly, the new mix, CPR, retains the simplicity, mnemonic appeal, adaptability, and usefulness that made the 4Ps so popular for so many decades. By way of an introduction, CPR has the potential to breathe new life into the marketing mix. McCarthy and Borden: A Refresher While Borden (1964) is credited with popularizing the idea of the marketing mix, it was McCarthy (1960) who distilled the ideas down to the 4Ps that have become the basis for marketing, so this discussion begins with him. Figure 1 depicts the concept of the 4Ps marketing mix as first described by McCarthy in his 1960 book. Figure 1. McCarthy s original concept of the 4Ps marketing mix. Cultural & Social Environment Political & Legal Environment Product Place Resources & Objectives of The Firm C Price Promotion Economic Environment Existing Business Situation

3 CPR FOR THE 4PS 3 As mentioned in the introduction above, the most common criticisms of the 4Ps idea is that it fails to account for the customer and that it is internally focused. However, as shown, McCarthy depicted the 4Ps in a circle surrounding the customer at the center. In other words, McCarthy knew back in 1960 what is widely trumpeted today that everything revolves around the customer! It appears many people have either forgotten or overlooked that component of McCarthy s model. Furthermore, the outer circle surrounding the 4Ps includes various external forces that shape or influence creation of the optimum 4Ps marketing mix. In other words, McCarthy also knew back in 1960 what is widely known today that an optimum marketing mix must consider various external forces. Once again, it appears many people are unaware of that aspect of McCarthy s model. As a result, it would be reasonable to defend the 4Ps concept as is, as some authors continue to do, since if it was known and applied in the spirit and intent when first penned by McCarthy, the main criticisms become invalid. That is likely one reason why the 4Ps have lasted so long. In spite of that, however, simply defending the 4Ps fails to address the technological changes to marketing since 1960 (e.g., the internet) and the creation of various marketing sub-specialties since 1960 (e.g., services marketing, relationship marketing, non-profit marketing, etc.). More importantly, defending the status quo of the original 4Ps continues to ignore the apparent reality that most people do not associate the customer-centered and externally-influenced nature of the marketing mix model espoused by McCarthy with the 4Ps that most marketers know by heart. That is a deficiency that can be remedied. Turning now to Borden (1960), Table 1 lists his original ideas regarding both the marketing mix and the external forces. As shown, he had 12 elements in the marketing mix and four external forces that must be considered. Table 1: Borden s original marketing mix concept. 12 Marketing Mix Elements 4 External Behavioral Forces Product Consumers Buying Behavior Pricing The Trade s Behavior Branding Competitor s Position and Behavior Channels of Distribution Governmental Behavior Personal Selling Advertising Promotions Packaging Display Servicing Physical Handling Fact Finding and Analysis With respect to the 12 elements, he addressed product, price, distribution (which McCarthy later called place), and promotion, so those elements transfer nicely to McCarthy s 4Ps. However, Borden also listed branding, personal selling, advertising, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. McCarthy s book has a chapter on branding and packaging, which are really included in his promotion P and product P respectively. He also has chapters on both personal selling and advertising (he calls advertising mass selling to distinguish it from personal selling), which are both part of his promotion P. He does not mention display, but most people consider that also part of the promotion P. He also has a chapter on physical distribution, which is the same as Borden s physical handling so it is included in the place P. Therefore, the only elements from Borden that are missing are servicing and fact finding and analysis. Servicing is confusing because there are two aspects to service as defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA-2013). One relates to after the sale servicing of the product, which is addressed very briefly by McCarthy and may be considered part of his product P. The other definition is service as a product, as opposed to goods as a product. Once again, McCarthy only very briefly addresses services as a product. That is understandable because in 1960 the U.S. had a goods economy, not a service economy as it has now. However, that is also a legitimate criticism of his 4Ps mix because it was designed for goods, not services. Borden s other element of fact finding and analysis is also not covered by McCarthy s 4Ps. Therefore, that is also a legitimate criticism of the McCarthy model since research is vital to any good

4 CPR FOR THE 4PS 4 marketing plan. In fairness, McCarthy has a chapter on gathering market information and a chapter on forecasting market opportunities, but since it is not explicitly part of either the 4Ps or the 5 external forces, it is a definite flaw in his model. Turning now to Borden s four external forces, McCarthy has a chapter on uncontrollable variables that addresses most of Borden s forces. Additionally, as mentioned above, his model includes a circle around the 4Ps that accounts for external forces, both controllable and uncontrollable. Specifically, Borden s discussion of trade behavior and competitor s position and behavior are part of McCarthy s discussion of existing business situation. Another force according to Borden is consumer buying behavior. McCarthy has three chapters discussing consumer buying behavior and consumer is at the center of his 4Ps model, so one might safely conclude that it is part of the model. The final force from Borden is governmental behavior. Once again, McCarthy has a chapter on the influence of legislation and one of the five forces in his model is political and legal environment, so that force is covered. As a result, all four of Borden s external forces are covered by McCarthy. In fact, McCarthy has three other external forces in his model that Borden did not directly address. The first is cultural and social environment. One might argue, therefore, that the model accounts for international marketing differences and also accounts for social marketing, cause marketing, sustainability marketing, societal marketing, nonprofit marketing, and public sector marketing. However, that does not stop those sub-areas of marketing from calling for changes in the 4Ps to account for those differences. The next force that is part of McCarthy s model is resources and objectives of the firm. Some authors claim the 4Ps are tactical or operational in nature and so they fail to account for the strategic considerations of the firm. However, if people actually knew that McCarthy s model includes those elements as forces that shape the 4Ps, then those arguments would be moot. In any event, the final force, according to McCarthy, is economic environment. Once again, that partially addresses Borden s force of trade behavior and partially addresses criticisms regarding the model not being strategic in nature. Before summarizing this section, it is worth briefly addressing another criticism of the 4Ps. Some claim it is consumer marketing (which contradicts those that claim it fails to focus on the customer!) and not retail marketing, industrial marketing, or business to business (B2B) marketing. McCarthy has a chapter on marketing to businesses rather than consumers. However, admittedly, the model does not specifically mention B2B marketing so some have called for modifications accordingly. In summary, there are flaws in McCarthy s model. However, the biggest problem is that only a small portion of McCarthy s model regarding the 4Ps is well known. The other elements of the model have been forgotten. That has led to criticism of the 4Ps and calls to either add other Ps or other letters that in many case are actually part of the full model, if it was better known. As a result, the best way to address all of the criticisms, valid or not, is to create a model that addresses the alleged deficiencies. Summary of Proposed Changes to the 4Ps Numerous authors have proposed changes to the 4ps to account for the real or imagined deficiencies. This section builds on the work done by Constantinides, who in 2006, listed various suggested modifications in summary format. The tables below are based on his tables, but they include other ideas he excluded or that have been proposed since The intent of such a summary is to identify patterns or trends. All of the various ideas regarding more Ps or other letters are lumped together below under the headings of consumer marketing (which is a catch-all category that includes classic goods marketing), services marketing, relationship marketing, B2B marketing (which includes industrial marketing and retail marketing), online marketing (which includes e-commerce marketing, mobile marketing, and web marketing), and other marketing (which includes non-profit marketing, social marketing, societal marketing, cause marketing, public sector marketing, and sustainability marketing). Table 2: Consumer Marketing Source Proposal

5 CPR FOR THE 4PS 5 Mason (1958) Bucklin (1963) Trout (1969) Ohmae (1982) Kotler (1984) Traynor (1985) Wind (1985) Johnson (1986) Kotler (1986) Tellis (1986) Zeithaml (1988) Berry (1990) Robins (1991) Doyle (1994) Vignalli & Davies (1994) Packaging Proposed a new retail strategy regarding consumer goods, but no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Positioning Customers Competitors Corporation Mix should include customers, environment, and competition. Specifically, add: Politics Public. Add a fifth P to account for Borden s missing fact finding and analysis (i.e., research) element: Probe Positioning Portfolio of Products Portfolio of Countries Political Considerations Public Relations Program Purpose Probe Perceive Perform Predict Plan People Professional Power Public Relations Proposed new pricing strategies, but no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Proposed new strategies for understanding consumer buying behavior, but no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Service Customer Sensitivity Customer Convenience Customers Competitors Company Capabilities Services Staff Proposed a MIXMAP technique to enhance the mix, but no actual additions or changes to the 4Ps.

6 CPR FOR THE 4PS 6 Bennett (1997) Yudelson (1999) Schultz (2001) Dev & Schultz (2005) Marcu & Gherman (2010) Striss & Zavodska (2011) Table 3: Services Marketing Source Booms & Bitner (1981) Cowell (1984) Vignalli (2001) Bruner (1989) Ruston & Carson (1989) Fryar (1991) Huevel (1993) Doyle (1994) Kotler & Keller (2006) Hill (2014) Proposed the 5Vs that relate to the customer (Value, Viability, Variety, Volume, and Virtue), but no actual additions or changes to the 4Ps. Replace with new 4Ps: Product: Performance Price: Penalty Promotion: Perceptions Place: Process Proposed that the mix should consider the triad of marketer, employee, and customer, but no actual additions or changes to the 4Ps. Replace with SIVA: Product: Solution Promotion: Information Price: Value Place: Access Proposed new promotion strategies based on product life cycle stages, but no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Considered adding: Process, People, Physical Evidence, Physical Environment, Position, and Partners. Also considered adding: Relevance, Returns, Relationships, Response, and Retrenchment. Also evaluated: Consumer or Customer, Company, Cost, Competition, Channel, Capability, Context, Convenience, and Communication. However, they finally just proposed replacing the 4Ps with 4Cs: Product: Customer Price: Cost Place: Convenience Promotion: Communication Proposal Participants Physical Evidence Process Adopted Booms & Bitner s 7Ps exactly as they used them. Replace with 4Cs: Product: Concept Place: Channels Price: Costs Promotion: Communication Acknowledged that services marketing is unique, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Personnel Kept Product & Price Replace: Promotion: Communication Place: Distribution

7 CPR FOR THE 4PS 7 Goldsmith (1999) Melewar & Saunders (2000) English (2000) Grove, Fisk, & John (2000) Beckwith (2001) Afridi (2009) Pluta-Olearnik (2011) Table 4. Relationship Marketing Source Lauterborn (1990) Rozenberg & Czepiel (1992) Gronroos (1994) Webster (1992) Gummesson (1997) Patterson & Ward (2000) Adopted Booms & Bitner s 7Ps, but called them Personnel, Physical Assets, and Procedures. Then added: Personalization Adopted Booms & Bitner s 7Ps exactly as they used them, but then added: Publications Replace or augment with 4Rs: Relevance Response Relationships Results Actors Audience Setting Performance Replace and/or augment with: Price Brand Packaging Relationships Considered: Paradox, Perspective, Paradigm, Persuasion, Passion, Planning, Purpose, Problem, Positioning, Performance, Portal, Pathways, and Payments. However, he finally adopted Booms & Bitner s 7Ps, but called them People, Physical Evidence, and Process. Used 5Is to characterize the nature of services (Intangibility, Inseparability, Inconsistency, Inventory, and Inability to own), but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Proposal Replace with 4Cs: Product: Consumer Price: Cost Place: Convenience Promotion: Communication Acknowledged that relationship (and retention) marketing is unique, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps People Process Organizations He discussed 30Rs, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Communication Customization Collaboration Clairvoyance

8 CPR FOR THE 4PS 8 Healy et al. (2001) They argued that the mix must consider the trilogy of relationships, neo-relationships, and networks, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Table 5. B2B Marketing Source Webster & Wind (1972) Van der Ster(1993) Boekema, Van Bueren, Lobstein, Oosterhuis, & Schweitzer (1995) Rousey & Morganosky (1996) Turnbull, Ford, & Cunningham (1996) Anderson & Narus (1999) Kotler (2003) Davis & Brush (1997) Mulhern (1997) Parasuraman (1998) Wang et al. (2000) Note: This article also applies to Relationship Marketing and Online Marketing, but it is included here. Ettenson, Conrado, & Knowles (2013) Proposal Proposed new strategies for understanding organizational buying, but no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Acknowledged that retail marketing is unique and that the logistics and commercial mixes must also be unique. Kept Price, Place, and Promotion, but dropped Product and added: Assortment Shop Presentation Personnel Adopted Lauterborn s 4Cs as described under Relationship Marketing above, although they use Customer instead of Consumer to reflect the difference between consumer and B2B marketing. These articles have more to do with how to apply the marketing mix in retail or industrial marketing situations rather than the mix itself. The authors argue that the 4Ps are not suitable for industrial marketing and they present 13 strategic elements to consider, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Acknowledged that retail marketing is unique, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps He says marketing must be personalized with emphasis on customer service, teamwork, quality, and excellence, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. He says any marketing mix for relationship, retail, and web marketing must consider: Database Interaction Network Replace with SAVE: Product: Solution Place: Access Price: Value Promotion: Education Table 6. Online Marketing Source Peattie (1997) Alderidge, Forcht, & Pierson (1997) O Connor & Galvin (1997) Bhatt & Emdad (2001) Allen & Fjermestad (2001) Mosley-Matchett (1997) Proposal These articles are about how to apply the 4Ps in e- commerce marketing, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Proposed using 5Ws as factors to consider when using web marketing (Who, What, When, Where, and Why), but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps.

9 CPR FOR THE 4PS 9 Evans & King (1999) Chaffey, Mayer, Johnston, & Ellis-Chadwick (2000) Lawrence, Corbitt, Fisher, Lawrence, & Tidwell (2000) Kambil & Nunes (2000) Constantinides (2002) Claffey (2006) Azadi & Rahimzadeh (2012) Table 7. Other Marketing Source LeDoux (1991) (sustainability marketing) Belz (2006) (sustainability marketing) Gordon (2012) (social marketing) This article is more about web site management (e.g., planning, access, design, and promotion), not really about the marketing mix. They described eight factors that influence web marketing (potential audience, integration, marketing support, brand migration, strategic partnerships, organizational structure, and budget), and then presented 6Cs that describe the characteristics of a good web site (capture, content, community, commerce, customer, and credibility), but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Considered new 5Ps to describe the nature of web marketing (Paradox, Perspective, Paradigm, Persuasion, and Passion). Then he suggested adding 2Ps to the current 4Ps: People Packaging Replace or augment with: Community building Convenience Connectivity Original Event Programming Replace or augment with 4Ss: Scope: Strategy, analysis, customers, objectives Site: Web site experience Synergy: Integration with other departments System: Technology administration Described the five attributes of ICT to web marketing (pervasive communications, mobility, ubiquity, context, and personalization) to provide context on how the 4Ps should be modified accordingly in web marketing, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. They combined the 4Ps with Porter s (1979) five competitive forces (threat of new entrants, rivalry among firms, threat of substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers, and bargaining power of customers) to make the application of the 4Ps more effective in online marketing, but proposed no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Proposal Preservation Proposed new sustainability marketing concepts, but no additions or changes to the 4Ps. Replace or augment with: Consumer Cost Channels/Strategies Circumstances Process Organization/Competition

10 CPR FOR THE 4PS 10 There are several observations and conclusions that can be reached regarding the tables above. First, as well-intentioned as they may be, proposals to completely replace the 4Ps with other letters or even other acronyms such as SAVE (Ettenson et al., 2013), have not met with success. Presumably, that may be because they have either failed to address the most commonly cited deficiencies or because they are too narrowly focused, and so have not garnered enough widespread support from marketing practitioners or scholars in the various sub-specialties. Second, efforts to explain how the 4Ps can be modified to specific circumstances have successfully contributed to the continued use of the 4Ps in their present form. However, doing so has become a work-around that ignores the legitimate flaws that so many other authors have identified. Third, the addition of other P words, C words, or R words, in that order, are the most commonly proposed modifications to the 4Ps. Therefore, proposals to either more effectively apply the 4Ps or to change the 4Ps through the use of words beginning with other letters, such as I, S, V, and W, as intriguing as they may be, do not enjoy enough support to ever replace or perhaps even augment the 4Ps. As a result, the following section more closely examines the proposals to add P, C, and R words to the marketing mix. Development of the CPR Marketing Mix Model In aggregate, the most commonly cited additional P words are people/participants (5), positioning (4), public relations (3), process/procedures (3), physical evidence/environment/assets (3), politics (2), purpose (2), probe (2), performance (2), planning (2), packaging (2), personnel (2), partner (1), portfolio (2), program (1), perceive (1), predict (1), professional (1), power (1), personalization (1), publications (1), paradox (1), perspective (1), paradigm (1), persuasion (1), passion (1), problem (1), portal (1), pathways (1), payments (1), and preservation (1). There are three conclusions that can be derived from the list of proposed P words. First, the ones listed only a single time do not have enough widespread support to be viable additions to the 4Ps. Second, three of the most recommended P words, participants (or people), physical evidence (or environment), and process (or procedures) have largely been adopted by marketers in the services industry as first proposed by Booms and Bitner (1981). Third, the only other commonly cited P word, positioning, can arguably be said to already be present in the product, price, and promotion elements of the existing 4Ps. However, according to Kotler and Keller (2006), positioning really comes before the 4Ps during the market analysis and segmentation phase, which, as identified above, is not part of McCarthy s original model. Turning now to the second most popular letter associated with modifications to the 4Ps, the most commonly cited C words are customer/consumer (6), cost (4), communication (4), convenience (3), competitors (2), corporation/company (2), channels (2), community (2), credibility (1), commerce (1), circumstances (1), capabilities (1), concept (1), customization (1), connectivity (1), capture (1), and content (1). Once again, some conclusions can be derived from that list. First, as with the P words listed only once, it is reasonable to dismiss the C words that were listed only a single time due to their lack of broad based support. Second, the most commonly cited C word, customer, is already at the center of McCarthy s 4P marketing mix model. However, since most people have forgotten that, it must somehow become part of the 4Ps model again. Third, the next three most cited Cs, cost, communication, and convenience (or channels), are frequently suggested as replacements for price, promotion, and place respectively. Given the stated purpose of this paper to improve upon the 4Ps model without actually changing any of the existing 4Ps, those proposals will, therefore, be ignored. Fourth, the remaining Cs listed more than once, competitors, company, and community, are valid options for extending the 4Ps in some way. Finally, regarding the letter R, the most commonly cited R words are relevance (2), relationships (2), response (2), returns (1), results (1), and retrenchments (1). As with the P words and C words discussed above, the R words listed only a single time can reasonably be dismissed as not having enough support to be viable additions to the 4Ps. That leaves only relevance, relationships, and response as possible additions. Going back full circle now to the discussion of Borden s and McCarthy s original marketing mix ideas from section one above, the question becomes, which of the proposed Ps, Cs, and Rs best address the forgotten aspects of the 4Ps model as well as the three elements missing from the model; servicing, fact finding and analysis, and the internet? The easiest, and perhaps most important and obvious, addition is a C for customer. Although consumer behavior was one of Borden s external forces and the letter C for customer was part of

11 CPR FOR THE 4PS 11 McCarthy s original marketing mix model, it remains the most common criticism of the 4Ps concept from those who claim it fails to account for the customer. Any attempt to re-create the 4Ps model must, therefore, include the concept of customer orientation. It is worth noting that the appropriate C word for that element is customer, and not consumer as some authors (even Borden himself) have suggested. The reason is the use of the word customer would make the model equally applicable to B2B marketing as it would be to consumer marketing, while use of the word consumer would leave the model vulnerable to continued criticism from B2B marketers. The second best addition to the 4Ps model is another C for competition. Adding a C for competition would account for two of Borden s external forces, trade behavior and competitor behavior, as well as two of McCarthy s external forces, existing business situation and economic environment. The remaining external force, according to Borden at least, is governmental behavior, which is included in McCarthy s influence of legislation external force that is part of his model. The addition of some letter to include that force is necessary in order to address the alleged flaw of the 4Ps being only internally oriented. Kotler s (1984) suggested addition of a P word, politics, would cover it. However, the list of P words is long enough. The addition of an R word, regulations, would also address that external force, but regulations is not one of the most commonly cited R words listed above. That dilemma will be further addressed below. Turning now to the two elements from Borden s list that are absent in McCarthy s model, servicing and fact finding and analysis, servicing has largely been addressed by marketers in the services industries with the addition of people, physical evidence, and process, as mentioned above. That leaves only fact finding and analysis. An examination of the list of C words above does not uncover an appropriate C word that would fill that gap. As far as P words, the use of the word probe, was suggested by Traynor (1985) would work, but he only proposed the word probe instead of the word research to stick with the use of only P words. As a result, it would not be unreasonable to propose the use of the more appropriate R word, research, to correct the failure of McCarthy s model to account for the importance of marketing research. While all four of Borden s external forces and all 12 of his marketing mix elements have now been addressed, there are still two forces from McCarthy s model that need to be resolved. The first is cultural/social environment. The addition of a C word, community, would fill that gap using one of the commonly cited C words from the list above. The second, and final force from McCarthy s model is resources/objectives of the firm. Once again, the addition of a commonly cited C word, company, would fill that gap. However, as an alternative, the addition of an R word, resources, would also fill that gap, perhaps even more directly and clearly than the use of the word company. One final force neither Borden nor McCarthy addressed is that of the internet, since obviously they wrote about the marketing mix before the creation of the internet. An examination of the lists of C words and R words above does not reveal a word that would address that element. However, the addition of a C word, computer, would easily fill that gap. By way of an interim summary, the proposed addition of the four C words, customer, competition, community, and computer addresses all of the remaining most commonly cited C words from the list above. Assuming adding additional P words is undesirable, that leaves only the R words. As already discussed, the addition of the words, resources, research, and regulations, is justifiable because they address legitimate and imaginary gaps in McCarthy s and Borden s original concepts. However, as far as the most commonly cited R words, only relevance, relationships, and response have been untouched so far. Because all 12 of Borden s elements and all of the external forces from both Borden s and McCarthy s models have already been addressed, there does not appear to be a need for including any additional words starting with any letters. With that said, however, the addition of the R word, relationships, would serve two important purposes. First, it would provide a fourth R to balance out the 4Ps and 4Cs already discussed. Admittedly, that is poor justification for including the word, relationships, in any proposed updated marketing mix model. However, a more powerful justification for inclusion of the word, relationships, comes from an acknowledgment of the importance of personalization in marketing and the increasing acceptance of the role of relationship marketing as a special interest group, according to the AMA (2013). As a result, the following CPR model depicted in Figure 2 flows naturally from the analysis above.

12 CPR FOR THE 4PS 12 Figure 2. CPR marketing mix model. Customers Competition Community Computer Product Price Place Promotion Research Resources Regulations Relationships The CPR model retains the simplicity and easily-recallable mnemonic appeal that came with the 4Ps. Moreover, it retains the utility of the 4Ps since it contains the original 4Ps that are so widely known and employed. However, it expands the 4Ps to include not only the forgotten components of Borden s and McCarthy s original concepts, but adds additional components to account for technological changes and updates in marketing concepts that have occurred over the past five decades. Additionally, it addresses the majority of criticisms that come from various marketing sub-specialties in order to make the model more applicable and acceptable to marketers in every industry. In addition to the strengths just discussed, the CPR model is easily adaptable if needed. For example, it does not preclude the services industry from expanding the 4Ps to include people, physical evidence, and process. For that matter, it allows other marketers to include their personal favorite C, P, or R words without sacrificing the main structure behind the derivation of the CPR model. In other words, adoption of the CPR model has the potential to reduce or even eliminate the seemingly endless efforts that either criticize or propose changes to the 4Ps. Of course, the CPR model is not without its limitations. The choice of the selected C, P, and R words can easily be questioned since there are so many to choose from. Additionally, the CPR model ignores other letters and acronyms. As a result, the final selection was, in a limited number of cases, a trade-off between optimization and mnemonic appeal. Another obvious limitation is that it now requires memorization of 12 words, instead of the previous four words. However, just like the 4Ps, given enough time and use in the marketing community, CPR may well become second nature, just as the 4Ps have become over time. The bottom line is the CPR model was designed to work for almost everyone in almost every situation so it is worth giving it a try. Conclusion This paper carefully examined the origins and intent behind the creation of the 4Ps marketing mix model, along with its strengths and weaknesses, and determined that Borden s and McCarthy s original ideas have become increasingly misunderstood and even forgotten as time has elapsed. It then added an important contribution to the existing literature on the 4Ps by providing the most comprehensive

13 CPR FOR THE 4PS 13 summary to date of the various recommended modifications of the 4Ps concept. Most importantly, a new model, CPR, was derived that makes the 4Ps more useful, relevant, and widely applicable given the changes that have taken place in the study of marketing since the marketing mix concept was first proposed, specifically the advent of the internet and the creation of various marketing sub-specialty areas. The CPR model, therefore, has the potential to breathe new life into the 4Ps.

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