Marketing Equals the Four Ps

Part of marketing is identifying the mix of "Ps" that make your service unique. This is also called your marketing mix. The next step is to shape your marketing mix andposition its components to create a unique identity for your business that attracts and retains customers. Your market position is one or more selected benefits or features that make your operation unique and different.

The following steps will help you define your marketing mix:

Identify your target market.
Determine what the target consumer desires.
Assess whether you have any advantages over your competition in delivering the desired service.
Choose the position that is most valued by the consumer.

PRODUCT

Features
Optional Services
Product Quality
Staff Quality
Style
Brand Name
Packaging
Parking
Scenic Beauty
Guarantees

PLACE (DISTRIBUTION)

Location
Frequency of Service
Transportation
Distributors
Inventory

PROMOTION

Publicity
Sales Promotion
Personal Selling
Advertising
Mailing List

PRICE (COST)

List Price
Discounts
Credit Terms
Inclusive/Not
Remoteness

Possible Positions for Marketing Your Operation

The feature that makes your product or service different than the offerings of competing attractions (e.g., a restaurant on an organic farm, a B&B on an exotic animal farm, a cornfield maze at a u-pick produce stand, etc.)
The length of time your organization has been in business (e.g., a family-run farm for over a century.
The unique people involved in your operation (e.g., clinics by a nationally-renowned horse trainer, entertainment by a cowboy poet, home cookin' by a country fair blue ribbon winner, etc.)
Your location (e.g., in the heart of prime bird watching habitat, within an hour of the pacific Ocean, far off the beaten path, etc.).
The size of your operation (e.g., a small, intimate inn on a working ranch; a 120,000 acre cattle ranch, etc.).
The benefits of your product or services (e.g., catch the romantic spirit of the West, restful solitude and tranquility, fulfill a childhood dream, guaranteed catch or wildlife sightings, etc.).
The services of your organization (e.g., outdoor recreation for young singles).
Your price (e.g., an affordable family adventure).
Your reputation
The lifestyle-defining aspect of your offering (e.g., escape the ordinary, edge of danger rockclimbing, etc.).

This Fact Sheet was adapted by Desmond Jolly, Cooperative Extension agricultural economist and director, UC Small Farm Program, from the Agri-tourism Workgroup and Resources, Oregon Department of Agriculture.

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