4Ps
Diagnose falling sales through product, price, place and promotion. Use the 4Ps to choose the next question and test the most likely cause.
Use the idea inside a branch. Never say the name.
- Product
- Quality and design
- Substitutes: a new alternative
- Complements: something it depends on
- Price
- Our price went up
- Competitors cut prices
- Place
- Online channels
- Offline channels
- Promotion
- Our marketing
- Competitors' campaigns
- Bad publicity
Watch out: Check substitutes and complements under Product; they are the branches most often missed.
On a case
A packaged atta brand's sales fell 12% in Tamil Nadu.
- Product: rice-first diets
- Price: store brands 15% cheaper
- Place: kiranas losing to quick commerce
- Promotion: little Tamil-language advertising
Illustrative case. Figures and conditions below are assumptions for practice, not market data.
For the atta brand, first separate lost distribution from weaker sales in stores that still stock it. Product questions test pack size and customer preferences; price questions compare the same quantity and quality. Place checks shelf availability and channel changes. Promotion checks reach and whether the message leads to trial.
Assume active stores fall from 1,000 to 880 while sales per active store remain constant. That alone explains the 12 percent sales decline. The next question is why those stores stopped stocking the product, rather than whether all advertising needs replacing.
A 15 percent cheaper rival could still matter, but it is a hypothesis until switching or retailer evidence supports it. Test whether restoring profitable distribution recovers volume before recommending a broad price cut that reduces margin everywhere.
Sources and further reading
- OpenStax: the marketing mix and the 4Ps
Defines product, price, place and promotion as distinct marketing decisions.