In the world of marketing, we’re all familiar with The Four Ps – product, price, promotion and place. This principle of marketing was held strongly by businesses and marketers alike for decades, until it was highlighted that there is something very wrong with the four Ps. Promoting a great product in the right places at a reasonable price is all well and good, but there’s no mention about the customer, the buyer or the people that you are targeting for the product.
It was only when theorists considered the service industry that they recognised the importance of people in marketing and expanded The Four Ps into Seven Ps to include process and physical environment, in addition to people. But even then, the process was inverted as the focus is on creating the product or service rather than the customer whom the product / service is meant for, reducing customers to a mere afterthought.