Marketing Mix: 4Ps vs 4Cs vs 4As

Traditionally, marketing strategy has revolved around the dominant framework of the 4Ps(Kotler, 1999) – Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

In the 21st century this framework has been deemed inadequate (Kotler, 2003). Two of the most prominent alternative paradigm existing in the marketing literature is that of the 4Cs – Customer value, Customer costs, Customer convenience, and Customer communication (Kotler, 2003) and the 4As – Awareness, Availability, Affordability and Acceptability.

The 4Cs and 4As make more sense in today's world because the 4Ps look at marketing from the provider's point of view rather than from the customer's perspective. In today's world, the customer is in charge and demands are to be served as per the requirement of the customer.

Let us have a look at the 4As, the 4Cs and the 4Ps from the Snickers point of view:

AAAA

Awareness:

Snickers has managed to create awareness in the minds of the Indian consumer due to it's great product positioning and brilliant advertising campaigns. Also, the product delivers on taste.

Availability: 

Snickers has ensured that it seeps in every household by ensuring a continuous supply of its products through all the retail stores - big or small - that the customers have easy access to.

Affordability: 

The price of Rs. 15 and Rs.30 makes Snickers affordable to all sections of the society. All the competitors have placed their chocolates within this price range.

Acceptability: 

MARS, the owner of Snickers, has come out with a vegetarian (eggless) version of Snickers just to cater to the demands of the Indian consumer base. This has widely been accepted throughout India.

CCCC

Customer value: 

In a market ruled by Cadbury Dairy Milk, it was important to stand out. Snickers realised that the Indian customer has a fancy for imported chocolates. However, most of them could not be consumed by Indians due to the presence of animal gelatin or egg in them. Thus, it tapped the Indian market with a vegetarian version of it's international chocolate snack that stood out from the other plain milk chocolates and wafer chocolates of the same price.

Customer Costs: 

Snickers is placed at an affordable Rs.15 and Rs.30, which in today's world is the price of an average chocolate bar in India.

Convenience:

Snickers has been strategically placed throughout the country so that it is available everywhere, from malls to the local baniya stores.

Communication: 

Snickers has successfully managed to communicate to the customer about how it is different from other chocolates through it's visuals and advertisements. The ads clearly state that the best way to satisfy your hunger is to grab a Snicker.

PPPP

Product:
Snickers is a product that promises complete satisfaction from hunger to the consumer. It is essentially a chocolate bar marketed as a snack bar.

Price:
Snickers is placed at an affordable Rs.15 and Rs.30, which in today's world is the price of an average chocolate bar in India.

Place:
Snickers has been strategically placed throughout the country so that it is available everywhere, from malls to the local baniya stores.

Promotion:
Snickers has successfully managed to communicate to the customer about how it is different from other chocolates through it's visuals and advertisements. The ads clearly state that the best way to satisfy your hunger is to grab a Snicker.

The Product, Price, Place and Promotions will be discussed in detail in the coming blogs.