PHILIP KOTLER, renowned as the Father of Modern Marketing, introduced the concept of the Marketing Mix, composed of the legendary 4 P's, namely Product, Price, Promotions and Place.
Over the years and around the globe, this model has become a staple among practitioners as it provided a framework for formulating marketing plans that was universally applicable across products and services in a wide spectrum of industries.
In recent years, two other P's have surfaced as part of a Marketing Manager's winning bundle. These are Packaging and Publicity.
Packaging has risen to prominence as marketers realized the value it provided beyond its functional utility. Indeed, packaging can be argued to be the most important form of advertising because it is what consumers see on the shelf, pick up and read. It is what they touch and feel. It is what consumers compare versus competitive offerings; what she brings home; stores and disposes or recycles.
Publicity on the other hand, has also grown in significance as consumers became increasingly skeptical of traditional advertising formats which tended to overpromise on benefits, but underdeliver on performance.
As a consequence, public relations campaigns consisting of press conferences, press releases, advertorials or infomercials have been mounted to lend stronger credibility to the claims of marketers and advertisers.
Now that we have the 6 P's of the Marketing Mix, I would now venture a different set of P's. These are what I would call the 6 P's of the Marketing Man.
The first is Professionalism. A Marketing Man must be a Specialist, an Expert and an Authority in whatever he or she markets and sells. At the same time, he or she must be ethical.
The second is Passion. Nothing great was ever achieved without energy and enthusiasm. A Marketing Man must have passion not only in his brand, but indeed, in his profession.
The third is Perseverance. A Marketing Man must remain positive at all times, specially in the face of challenges and adversity because only the Optimists win in this world. The Marketing Man welcomes, if not delights, in turning crises into opportunities. For the enterprising Chinese, "crisis" and "opportunity" are represented by the same character. "While the whole world weeps over a global tragedy, the tissue-maker sleeps soundly."
The fourth is possessing Problem-Solving skills. The Marketing Man seeks creative solutions to various business problems, not just in marketing, but in advertising, media, sales, distribution, R&D (research and development), manufacturing, logistics, finance, and HR (human resources), and even offers creative solutions to problems besetting one's partners.
The fifth is being Participative and People-Oriented based on the realization that no one is as good individually as he or she is good collectively as a member of a high-performance team.
Finally, the Marketing Man must be Persuasive by exuding confidence in all forms of communication--written, oral and yes, visual.
