Tag Archives: product

Every business has a product or service offering that’s key to its marketing efforts. An offering is more than just a product or service, however. It should include elements that represent added value––such as availability, ease of use or delivery, technical support and quality customer service. Some examples might include a free guide, a sample, an e-book, a slideshow, case studies, industry research or a demo.

Marketing managers around the world have been utilizing the “marketing mix” for years. The term was coined in 1949 by Neil Borden, a professor of advertising. E. Jerome McCarthy provided the framework for the marketing mix in 1960 with the 4 P’s model—product, promotion, price and place (distribution). Since then, there have been many variations, including the 7 P’s model, which added three drivers to include physical evidence, people and partners. A founder of Creative Solutions created the 4E’s Model—earn, engage, evolve and energize, which is an adaptation of the 4P’s providing a lifecycle dimension to the marketing mix.

The beauty of marketing credit cards lies in the unique dynamics of the product. Anticipate and address these dynamics and you can continue deriving income from the same customer over a lifetime.

For more than half a century, marketers have relied on the 4 Ps of marketing, a framework first written by E. Jerome McCarthy in his book Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. McCarthy’s formulation, which includes price, product, promotion and place (distribution), has informed the bedrock of product and marketing management since 1960.