Two groups of marketers have created the 4Cs marketing model. This often leads to confusion about what\u2019s being discussed and where!<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s clarify the two models:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u00a0The 4Cs to replace the 4Ps of the marketing mix: Consumer wants and needs; Cost to satisfy; Convenience to buy and Communication (Lauterborn, 1990).<\/li>\n
- \u00a0The 4Cs for marketing communications: Clarity; Credibility; Consistency and Competitiveness (Jobber and Fahy, 2009).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"4Cs](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_both-models-550x287.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLauterborn\u2019s 4Cs: Consumer wants and needs; Cost to satisfy; Convenience to buy and Communication<\/h2>\n
What is it? <\/strong><\/p>\n
In 1990 Bob Lauterborn wrote an article in Advertising Age saying how the 4Ps<\/a> (he didn\u2019t address the 7Ps<\/a>) were dead and today\u2019s marketer needed to address the real issues.<\/p>\n
He suggested \u2018Consumer wants and needs<\/strong>\u2019 as the focus on being product-led to companies making things customers didn\u2019t want. A good example of this is probably Nokia, making lots of products, but failing to satisfy consumer needs and wants.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/1718x600.png\")
<\/div><\/p>\nHis second \u2018C\u2019 is \u2018Cost to satisfy<\/strong>\u2019 on the basis that price was irrelevant as so many other factors were involved. This is interesting if you consider commodity goods, such as non-brand purchases from supermarkets, where supermarket buyers are forcing down the price they pay with their suppliers. This is likely to be a contributory reason why horsemeat was introduced into ready meals \u2013 suppliers having to provide a \u2018cost to satisfy\u2019 buyers. The challenge for me is the perception of the terms \u2018cost to satisfy\u2019 with a company like Apple.<\/p>\n
The \u2018cost to satisfy\u2019 sounds more like a lower price offer and Apple products are premium-priced. Perhaps that\u2019s the key, as the cost to satisfy, for a brand like Apple, has to be higher than the competitors, to contribute towards the brand\u2019s DNA as a luxury brand. Interestingly with Apple, taking an iPad Air 2 and looking at the \u2018cost to satisfy\u2019 (I really mean price here) across several different locations, the price seems to be universally the same.<\/p>\n
The example taken is Apple iPad Air 2 (specifically the Apple A8X, iOS 8, 9.7\", Wi-Fi, 64GB, Space Grey) sold at \u00a3479.00 at three different stores in the UK. This indicates that price is managed by the brand, to ensure discounting does not take place.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>![\"20150131_4Cs_Apple](\"http:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_Apple-ipad-via-apple-stores1-550x158.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nExample A - Apple iPad Air 2 \u2013 Prices on Apple.co.uk website = \u00a3479<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"4Cs_Apple](\"http:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_Apple-ipad-via-currys-550x99.jpg\")
<\/p>\nExample B - Apple iPad Air 2 \u2013 Prices on Currys.co.uk website = \u00a3479<\/p>\n
![\"4Cs](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_Apple-ipad-via-John-Lewis-550x274.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nExample C - Apple iPad Air 2 \u2013 Prices on JohnLewis.co.uk website = \u00a3479<\/p>\n
The third \u2018C\u2019 is \u2018Convenience to buy<\/strong>\u2019 and admittedly, the \u2018P\u2019 for \u2018Place\u2019 always felt tenuous as it\u2019s really about access to the product and the letter \u2018P\u2019 worked in the alliterative set!<\/p>\n
Convenience to buy is an interesting concept as we live in a 24\/7 always-on world. The concept of shopping from 9am to 5pm, has gone. Although it\u2019s not that long ago (perhaps 15 years) that I remember working in Italy and the shops closed during lunch hours too. And this included supermarkets \u2013 imagine the scene \u2013 you arrive at the supermarket at 12.45pm and at 1pm you haven\u2019t completed your transaction, so you literally abandon your shopping trolley, in the store! Today trolley or cart abandonment is more likely to take place in the online world.<\/p>\n
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Added to this, the development of disintermediation \u2013 giving shoppers the chance to remove the middle man and buy direct, as well as reintermediation \u2013 the middle men re-inventing themselves online, as Expedia has done (aggregating holiday offers in one place) or Skyscanner (all your flights for specific dates in one place) or the UK insurance broker \u2018Compare the Market\u2019 (bringing many car insurance policies to one screen, making it easier to compare). The advent of wearables takes the concept of buying \u2018any place, anytime, anyhow\u2019 to another level.<\/p>\n
The final \u2018C\u2019 in Lauterborn\u2019s 4Cs collection is communication<\/strong>. Lauterborn viewed promotion as manipulative and described it as a one-way system with communications pushed from company to consumer. His view of communication was that it should be about dialogue, a two-way conversation, between company and customer. Applying this in a digital sense, we can see customers creating communications through User Generated Content, so perhaps Lauterborn\u2019s comments were an early insight into the changing nature of customer communication.<\/p>\n
How can I use this model?<\/strong><\/p>\n
The 4 elements can be\u00a0overlaid like a Venn diagram with the customer \u2013 or target market \u2013 at the centre of the circles.<\/p>\n
![\"4Cs](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_Venn-diagram-plus-customers.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEach circle can be populated with details about where your company is now. What are its current 4Cs? How does this compare with your competitors\u2019 4Cs? What other action can you take to improve your 4Cs?<\/p>\n
This useful template enables you to review your organisation using the 4Cs.<\/p>\n
![\"4Cs_Table\"](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_TableA-550x216.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nApplying this to Apple, it seems that there are aspects of the overall picture that are missing. Physical evidence, one part of the 7Ps, is a key factor in the Apple proposition. The look and feel of Apple products is an essential part of its marketing mix, yet the 4Cs doesn\u2019t address this fully.<\/p>\n
![\"4Cs](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_TableB-550x297.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThis is perhaps a less complex model to use and works well with smaller organizations.<\/p>\n
What to watch for<\/strong><\/p>\n
This model may be too simplistic for larger organizations as its overall focus is narrow and excludes critical service elements such as people, processes and physical evidence.<\/p>\n
For more on the original 7Ps of the marketing mix,\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Original Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n
Lauterborn, B. (1990). 'New marketing litany; four P's passe; C-words take over',\u00a0Advertising Age, 41, p. 26, Expanded Academic ASAP, EBSCOhost, viewed 31 January 2015.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The 4Cs for marketing communications: Clarity; Credibility; Consistency and Competitiveness<\/h2>\n
What is it? <\/strong><\/p>\n
The 4Cs (Clarity, Credibility, Consistency, Competitiveness) is most often used in marketing communications and was created by David Jobber and John Fahy in their book \u2018Foundations of Marketing\u2019 (2009). Once a business has segmented its marketing and identified the target audience, the next stage is to position the business. To successfully achieve this, the 4Cs is a useful tool to create a positioning statement or to build an online value proposition.<\/p>\n
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Part of the Digital marketing strategy and planning Toolkit<\/p>
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Looking at each of the 4Cs in more detail:<\/p>\n
![\"4Cs](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_Jobber-and-Fahy.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"4Cs](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_TableC.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Essential-Marketing-Planning-Models.png\" "\\"Post")
<\/p>\n![\n<\/a>](\"http:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/20150131_4Cs_Apple-ipad-via-currys.jpg\"){kind=link}