If you’ve ever taken a college marketing course, then it’s likely that you covered what’s known as the Four P’s of Marketing. They form the foundation for a company’s marketing mix or strategy.

Although the world has changed (a lot) since the Four P’s were first introduced back in 1960, the ideas are still critical for business success—even if they’ve been updated a bit to keep up with today’s world.

Entrepreneurs should regularly review their marketing mix and the Four P’s to make sure they’re not drifting off course.

What Exactly Are the Four P’s?

The Four P’s represent your overall marketing mix. They are:

• Product: What do you sell (or what service do you provide) that fulfills a need or want of a consumer?
• Price: This is how much you charge for your product or service. It reflects your position in the marketplace and whether you’re considered a luxury or budget option for consumers.
• Place: Before the Internet, this simply meant the location where people could buy your product or service. Now it also incorporates your online presence.
• Promotion: The fourth P is how you communicate the benefits of your product or service. That includes both the message and the channel used to deliver it.

To build a business that succeeds in the long run, you must get the foundation right, and that means addressing all four components equally. You could have really clever advertising (promotion) that draws strong interest, but if there’s no real demand for the product, or it’s priced incorrectly, or people can’t get to it easily, it’s not going to sell.

Reviewing the Four P’s in Your Company

Let’s look at the Four P’s in more detail, especially as they relate to entrepreneurs.

PRODUCT (OR SERVICE) It starts with having a product or service that fulfills a need or want of a consumer. The key part of that sentence is “that fulfills a need or want of a consumer.” Entrepreneurs who start a business without doing their due diligence to verify there is actually a demand for their product or service are the first ones to fail.

Ask yourself: What problem are you solving for your customers? What’s unique about your product or service—that your customers would care about? Is there clear demand for your solution?

PRICE Pricing is one of the most important parts of the marketing mix, but often is also the most misunderstood or even neglected. The primary goal of your pricing analysis is making sure the business is generating a profit. Pricing also reflects the positioning you wish to have in the market. Are you a premium provider? Are you the low-cost option? Does your product support that pricing position?

Ask yourself: Do you know the detailed profitability of your product per unit? If not, then how do you know if you’re really making money? Or how much you’re making? When’s the last time you raised prices? Does your product support a premium price compared to competitors? Why? Why not?

PLACE Place is where your products or services are available to the consumer. For some businesses, geographic location might still be critical, but with the Internet, companies now have a more global outlook on their marketplace. While geographic location may still be very important, having the right “place” on the Internet is likely even more important.

Ask yourself: Is it easy for potential customers to find you both online and offline? If they do find you, is it easy for them to buy or use your products or services? If not, what needs to change?

PROMOTION Promotion means telling potential customers or clients about the availability and benefits of your product or service. Promotions enable people to understand what your product is, what they can use it for, what problems it solves and why they should want it. That means your marketing message has to focus on the benefits of the product rather than the features.

Promotion also considers the best way to reach your targeted market—who are your best potential customers, and what’s the best way to get in front of them? Realistically, you need to have multiple marketing channels and tactics if you want to be successful in the long run.

Ask yourself: Can I clearly state the problem I’m solving in a simple sentence? Can I explain my solution to that problem in a sentence or two? What action do I want the potential buyer to take based on my promotional activities? Go to our website? Call this number? Download this report?

It All Has to Work Together

The Four P’s provide the strong foundation for your marketing mix, but to really work, they have to be closely aligned. Start by getting the product, price and place right, which likely will take some testing. Then, and only then, should you worry about your promotional strategy.

When’s the last time you reviewed the Four P’s of your business? Maybe it’s time to look again.