What Is 4C Marketing? Combining the 4C and 4P Models

The 4C model is a modern model widely used in marketing strategy. It is considered to bring many benefits to a business’s advertising and promotion. In the article below, let’s look at Mona Media look at what the 4C model is, its role, and how to combine the 4C and 4P models to support your marketing strategy.

What is the 4C model?

The 4C model is regarded as a modern marketing model. It was proposed by Robert F. Lauterborn in 1990. It is an improved version of the traditional 4P model that keeps the focus on marketing strategy increasing the business’s conversion rate.

The 4C model has 4 main elements: Customer, Cost, Convenience and Communication. The 4C model helps a business sell more and keep loyal customers.

The 4C model is arguably one of the most widely used models today. Applied in Marketing it brings significant advantages such as:

• Used properly, the 4C model helps a business offer solutions to customers’ needs, wants and problems. It is not only a way to sell but also a way to build the business’s credibility.
• The 4C model helps a business price products reasonably and competitively and create benefit for customers, rather than simply pricing from production cost.
• The 4C model is a good way to choose a distribution channel that is suitable, easy to reach and improves the customer’s experience. Beyond pushing a product onto the market, it also helps a business raise product value and build customer trust.
• Helps a business set up effective communication channels with customers, such as advertising, media, promotion, consulting and customer care, rather than one-way advertising.

We have to admit that traditional marketing methods are far less effective than in past years. At the same time, customers are getting pickier, more price-sensitive and more demanding about product quality. Most companies today find it hard to build a base of loyal customers, and customers walk away from a company without hesitation and switch to another’s products.

That is why more and more businesses are paying attention to the 4C model, for its benefit in attracting loyal customers and best keeping existing ones. Using the 4C model wisely together with other marketing strategies is a sound way to optimize profit in today’s tough economy.

-> See also: Tips on building customer loyalty

The role of the 4C model in marketing

The 4C model is an optimized model that focuses mainly on niche markets rather than the broad general market. 4C focuses on exploiting target customers, grasping customer insight and making use of them to carry out an effective marketing strategy.

According to businesses’ general assessment, the 4C model in marketing plays these roles:

• The 4C model helps a business sell more while keeping its loyal customers for the longest time.
• The 4C model is a solution that helps a business meet customers’ needs, wants and problems.
• Helps a business price its products reasonably and create benefit for customers.
• Helps a business find a suitable distribution channel and improve the customer experience.
• The 4C model helps set up effective communication channels with customers. Some marketing channels include advertising, media, promotion, consulting and customer care.
• Helps a business listen to and learn from customer feedback, creating interaction and engagement with customers.

The elements of the 4C model

The 4C model is made up of four basic elements:

Customer Solutions

The customer element is the most important in the 4C model. It requires a business to offer solutions to customers’ needs, wants and problems. A business must create products or services of value to customers, not simply sell.

Once you understand customer pain points are the most important issue for a business to find its audience potential customers, meet their needs and at the same time increase conversion rate to your business.

Understanding customers helps a business position its products and services in the market. It lets the business produce and supply the products most useful for solving the target customers’ needs. In short, knowing customers deeply is the best way to increase competitive advantage, drive revenue and bring real value to customers.

To do this element well, a business needs to answer these questions:

• The a competitive advantage of the business compared with its competitors?
• What value does the business’s product create?
• What needs and wants do customers have for the product?
• Who are the business’s target customers?
• What factors influence customers’ buying decisions?

Customer Cost

Cost is a factor to weigh when launching a product or service to customers. It relates to what customers must pay to use the business’s product or service. Cost includes not only price but also time, effort, risk and opportunity. A business must set a price that is reasonable and competitive while creating benefit for customers.

To do this element well, a business must answer these questions:

• What price will bring the business a profit?
• What factors is the product priced on?
• Roughly what total cost will target customers bear when buying the product?
• Does the product’s value match the price the business sets?

Convenience

Convenience relates to how easy it is for customers to buy and use the business’s product or service. The business must choose a distribution channel that is suitable and easy to reach, and improve the customer experience.

Questions a business should care about include:

• Business website design has been optimized as well as it can be?
• What obstacles will potential customers meet when buying?
• Is the online buying process simple and convenient?
• Is the buying process easy enough for customers to complete with simple actions?

Communication

Last in the 4C model is Communication. This element is about effective communication between the business and its customers. The business must set up communication channels such as advertising, media, promotion, consulting and customer care. It must listen and learn from customer feedback, creating interaction and engagement with customers.

To do this element well in the 4C model, a business needs to answer these questions:

• What is the business’s communication plan?
• Does the communication strategy both promote the business and communicate with customers?
• How do customers respond to the communication strategy?
• Which channels do the business’s target customers usually use?
• What benefits does customer interaction bring the business?

-> Read more: How to build an online customer care system

Steps to apply the 4C model in marketing

The 4C model is an important marketing model that helps a business aim at the right target customers, understand their needs and map out the best marketing strategies.

The steps to apply the 4C model in marketing for a specific business are as follows:

Step 1: Get to know your customers

Getting to know customers is the most important step. The business must research and understand the needs, requirements, habits and psychology of its target customers. It also needs to work out the customer’s cost of using the product, including money, time, effort and risk, then set a price that is reasonable, competitive and creates value for customers.

Step 2: Connect customers and the business

The business needs to set up effective communication channels with customers, such as advertising, media, promotion, consulting and customer care. The business needs to listen and learn from customer feedback, creating interaction and engagement with customers.

In addition, the business needs to make it convenient for customers to buy and use the product. It needs to choose a distribution channel that is suitable and easy to reach, and improve the customer experience.

Step 3: Answer your customers

Whether customers leave good or negative reviews of the product, the business should reply politely and professionally. Customers always want their opinions to be valued, so the business should check its platforms regularly and answer every question and comment as thoughtfully as possible.

Step 4: Research and gather customer feedback

Taking in customer opinions and finding ways to fix issues is what a business should do to raise customers’ goodwill. While improving products, you may also find ways to create new products that serve exactly every client to increase the business’s profit.

Differences between the 4C and 4P models

The 4C model is an improved version of the 4P model, putting the customer at the center of marketing strategy. The 4C model corresponds to the 4P model as follows:

However, the 4C model is more widely used today because of its practicality and benefits, such as its focus on understanding communication and connecting with customers through multimedia channels.

How to combine 4C and 4P in marketing

How to combine 4C and 4P in marketing is an important question marketers need to understand. 4P is the Marketing Mix traditional model, consisting of Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

Meanwhile, 4C is the modern marketing mix, consisting of Customer Solutions, Customer Cost, Convenience and Communication. Both models have their own strengths and weaknesses and should be combined flexibly to suit each case.

Some ways to combine 4C and 4P in marketing you can consider:

• Define customers’ needs, wants and values (Customer Solutions) before designing the product (Product) to make sure it can meet market requirements.
• Assess the customer’s total cost (Customer Cost) of using the product, including purchase, ownership, operation and maintenance costs, to set a reasonable, competitive price (Price).
• Distribute the product where it is convenient for customers (Convenience), relying not only on traditional channels like stores and supermarkets but also on digital channels such as website, app mobile, social media to improve reach and attract customers.
• Run communication (Communication) in two directions, not only promoting the product (Promotion) but also listening, interacting and building relationships with customers, to create trust and who stay loyal to the brand.

Frequently asked questions about the 4C model in marketing

Does the 4C model have any drawbacks?

Some drawbacks of the 4C model are:

• Little focus on the product: The model does not address the core elements of the product/service in specific terms.
• Dependence on customer information: To implement the 4C model successfully, a business needs accurate, continuous information from customers to understand their needs.

Why is the 4C marketing model considered an improved version of the 4P model?

The 4C model is considered an improved version of the 4P model because it focuses more on the customer. In the digital age and a competitive business environment, customer relationships matter more than ever. The 4C model stresses understanding customer needs, creating superior value, ensuring convenience and building effective communication.

This article covered what the 4C model is and the points to note when applying this model in marketing. We hope this knowledge helps you get a broader view of the 4C model and how to combine it with other models to get the most from your advertising.