Product - Mass production of a product or service will put any small business out of business with the quickness. Small business owners cannot afford to mass produce, at least not at the start-up, and two to three year phase. It is best and more cost effective to find a niche of folks that want to buy what your company offers.
Price - Well that is up to you really. Only you get to decide what you're worth if you own a service business. If you sell a product, than you might want to charge market rates.
Place - Your place of business can be anywhere you like, a home office, the internet, a brick & mortar store, you can do business in a coffee shop, just about anywhere with today's technology.
Promotion - Now this is the best part, the part where you have an advantage over large corporate giants. The reason being, consumers really don't pay attention to what big business advertises anymore. Most consumers just buy the brand they like. You on the other hand can be a breath of fresh air to a consumer. There are so many ways to promote a small business today, it's mind blowing. I'll just make a list of some. These are cost effective forms of marketing that most small business owners use.
(Online Promotion)
1. You Tube
2. MySpace
3. Blogging
4. Web Sites
5. Zoodango
6. E-Mail
7. Facebook
8. E-Zines
(Off-line Promotion)
1. Direct Mail
2. Advertisements
3. Promotional Products
4. Networking 5. Trade Shows
6. The Telephone
7. Word Of Mouth
8. Public Relations
The Four Ps at the small business level is implemented on smaller scale indeed, but don't think for one minute that they are not needed. Any business owner should follow these marketing principals to bring in new business. If you don't have the time or the know-how, then hire somebody that does. Marketing your business everyday is a required element, just like breathing. We all know what happens when you stop breathing, you die. That same fact applies to your business, you stop marketing and you are out of business.
