The 4P principle in marketing during a crisis

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The principle implies that a company's marketing strategy is built on four important components, each of which undergoes changes during periods of production decline.

Product
Any business is based on a product, which can be conditionally classified into one of two categories: consumer goods or business products. The choice of promotion methods, pricing, and medical mail list many other issues depend on the product and the niche in which you conduct business.

The demand for certain consumer goods or business products is to a large extent adjusted by the demand for their constituent elements - as, for example, the demand for cars and the materials for their production (steel, chrome, rubber) is interconnected. This also applies to the consumer category of goods. Therefore, it makes sense to produce not one line of goods, but several: this reduces risks.

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Yes, customers are offered a product, but first and foremost they care about its value. Therefore, one of the main tasks of retailers is to quickly and competently (ahead of competitors) differentiate the product range by any available means. Change the design, prices, offer a higher quality product or scarce goods, use branding, etc.

By the way, working on brand positioning is very important: this creates greater trust on the part of buyers, convincing them that you offer only high-quality goods.

When a person needs something, the first thing he remembers is a popular brand. During a crisis, people buy less and choose something cheaper. Releasing something new to the market during a recession may not be the best decision. But if the possibilities allow, a company (especially a large one) can think through marketing in a crisis and, taking advantage of the moment, expand its product line, and in the future, prevent competitors from entering its niche.

This approach is most applicable for the second row of the product line, where there are quite high-quality and not very expensive goods. When planning the launch of a new product, do not forget that for the consumer, quality and reliability are in the first place.

Price
When setting the price of a product, you should take into account the ratio between supply and demand for it. Moreover, the price, unlike other 4P indicators, is much easier to adjust. You may need more than one month to change the product itself or advertising activities to promote it, while you can raise or lower the price very quickly.

Price

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Adjusting prices requires almost no expenses, but it is a completely different matter when you change the product itself, the retail facility or the advertising campaign. Here you need money, and a lot of it.

Price becomes an important element of marketing during a crisis. At this time, the consumer spends money very carefully, meticulously comparing all available offers. Often, in order to win the fight against competitors, companies reduce prices in order to sell more. But do not forget that in general this is bad for business: the crisis will end sooner or later, and the profitability of the enterprise will have to be restored for a long time.

In Great Britain, for example, an assessment of the work of construction companies was carried out, and it turned out that this industry does not depend on price stability in any way.

Price marketing in a crisis can be done in two ways: either improve the quality of the product without changing the price, or reduce the price while leaving the quality the same. In the first case, quality indicators are put at the forefront.

Yes, but customers with low purchasing power will most likely switch to competitors. But when the economy stabilizes, you will already have a ready-made expanded range of goods that you can sell at high, favorable prices. The second option, in fact, is completely unpromising, as a result, the company's position can only worsen. It is very easy to drop the price, but it will be much more difficult to raise it again later. You should not rush with this - it is better to try to play on discounts, all kinds of promotions, etc.

Interesting point: the opportunity to buy something at a discount or on promotional terms works better from a psychological point of view (compared to free prizes). In difficult times, people are inclined to save money and therefore are very happy when they make a profitable purchase.

The “high-low pricing” strategy can also be quite effective, when prices are first artificially inflated, and then attractive promotions are announced, sales, discounts, etc. are arranged.