Experiential Marketing: Upgrading to the 4Es

Like many of you, I was "raised" on the 4Ps of marketing: product, price, place and promotion. It's a concept that has been around since Neil Borden introduced it in the 1950s - and it worked very well until the rise of the digital age when the consumer changed.

Today's consumer is more savvy. They are getting their information from more locations. They have shorter attention spans and want interactive experiences. They want to feel special and that the messaging has been tailored to them. They are talking to one another all the time - sharing their thoughts and experiences with products and companies. The 4 Ps were developed during a different era and they aren't keeping up with this evolution. They put the control in the hands of the companies and their marketers when consumers have moved beyond that. They have seized control and changed the game.

Marketing Needs to Evolve.

Several years ago, Brian Fetherstonhaugh of Ogilvy & Mather proposed replacing the 4Ps with the 4Es, and yet marketers continue to cling to the 4Ps. Why? Because they are simple and no one likes change - and that's been ok, until now. Now marketers are in a place where there is even more competition for digital real estate and digital audience attention. If we don't change now, we'll be left behind with DVDs, Zunes, and other relics that didn't quite make the evolutionary grade.

What Are the 4 Es?

The 4Es still maintain the basic framework as defined by the 4 Ps, but take into consideration today's environment. We live in an magical and turbulent time where there are dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, of marketing channels, content is free, and distrust of corporations and other powerful entities is on the rise. The 4 Es comprise:

• Experience
  Experience replaces product. How? Yes, we still need to sell the product, but first and foremost we need to understand the customer journey. How do they get from first contact to customer to brand advocate? If you consider the retail experience, they succeed not so much by what they sell as by how they sell it.

• Everyplace
  Place becomes Everyplace. It used to represent only the place where the product or service was distributed. The problem is that this places the power in the hands of the company - which is no longer true. The power is in the hands of the consumer and the "everyplace" concept forces marketers to undertake omnichannel marketing to get their products or services in front of the consumers in the places and on the platforms where they spend most of their time. Not only that, but we must get the offering in the right place, at the right time, in the right channel.

• Exchange
  Price evolves into Exchange. In today's world, the customer's time is worth as much, if not more, than their dollar and marketers need to understand and respect that. Today, it's not just about price in trade for goods; it is the entire value experience the consumer goes through. A great example of this is the freemium model SaaS companies have adopted. They get the customer interested through a free limited version with the hope of upgrading them to a full paid version.

• Evangelism
  Finally, Promotion turns into Evangelism. We all know the customer journey doesn't end when the dollar is handed over. Customers share their experiences with those they know and suddenly, with the advent of social, word-of-mouth is exponentially more powerful. WOM drives 13% of sales, 2/3 of which is offline. We need to find the passion and emotion in the brand and share that. Authenticity is king and this is what makes user-generated content so valuable. Apple has this "E" nailed.

Out With the Old. In With the New.

It's time for marketers to step away from the 4P marketing model and evolve to the 4E approach. Consumers want an experience and a relationship with their business partners. They want value in exchange for their time. In the end, like all of us, they want to be respected and spoken with - not pushed at and felt taken advantage of.