No, I'm not stuttering. I know exactly what I'm sharing with you. These are The 9ine P's of Marketing.

You have probably heard of the four "P's". Or sometimes five. Nothing wrong with those lists ... except they aren't complete.

There is nothing magic about nine. Just so happens, I think!, the nine cover everything you need to do to introduce a new product, reintroduce an old product, keep the market share you previously earned, establish a maintenance program for a mature product ... i.e., whatever it takes to win in the marketplace.

Marketing 101, during your first year at the University, had a matrix that looked something like this:

Markets are read horizontally - products vertically. So a new product aimed at a new market is in box #3. An existing product directed toward an expanded market is in box #4. A modified product at an existing market is in box #8.

This nine-box grid is a simplified way to look at your product and its marketplace. To be successful you first have to know in which market(s) your product or service fits.

Let's assume you do - you have clearly established the marketplace for what you have to offer. You are comfortable - in fact confident - you have carefully selected the right audience to receive your message. Here's how The 9ine P's will help you be more successful.

The first P is PRODUCT. What is your product or service? What are you offering? Can you describe your PRODUCT in one sentence ... no more than one paragraph?

Is what you offer seen as a need PRODUCT vs. something that fills a want or desire? Is it usually sold with a more emotional, or rational appeal? What does your target audience buy? What do they take home? Physically?

If you are selling personal transportation, people drive away in a car, a truck or ride off on a motorcycle. This is your PRODUCT. Know what your target buys ... know your PRODUCT.

The second P is PURPOSE. Why does anyone want your product? How do they really use it? What PURPOSE does it have ... what objective does it fulfill? Does it make your audience happier, richer, more comfortable? Does it save time or money? Does it make anyone feel better? Does it offer prestige or security? Does it make people powerful or influential?

People, both at home and in the office, do not buy what you have to sell because of the features you offer. They buy because your product/service fills a need. It solves a problem. It makes them feel good or look good - or both. They buy from you because of the benefits you offer. It does something for them. It helps them complete their PURPOSE.

PERFORMANCE is the third P. PERFORMANCE is the rate or level of your PRODUCT compared to others. Are you five stars ... or something less?

There is room in this world for compact and luxury automobiles. And four-wheel drives. We need a Chevy, a Rolls-Royce and a Toyota pick-up truck. All offer personal transportation ... but most certainly not at the same level of PERFORMANCE. They are different. You must know before you go to market, what level you offer to your audience. Against what they have as a PURPOSE for buying your PRODUCT.

Next is POTENTIAL. What is the maximum POTENTIAL market for your PRODUCT? Earlier we assumed you had carefully selected your audience. This is more than that. Now we're talking about the scope, the depth, the numbers available to you.

If you sell business-to-business or to consumers at home, you do not have an infinite number of prospects. No one does. No business has ever had too many customers over a measurable timeframe ... such as a fiscal year. Sure, maybe you had too many Friday morning when you had your Third Annual Special Holiday Sale. Over 12 months no one has too much business.

POTENTIAL requires you to describe your market. Is the need for what you offer general, or specific? Is it geographically spread, or in a concentrated area? How many POTENTIAL customers do you have for your PRODUCT? To be successful as you plan your marketing plan you must know the POTENTIAL.

The fifth point of The 9ine P's is PLACE. Where can your PRODUCT be bought ... the PLACE where it is offered? Is it available retail? Wholesale? At an industry trade show? Through a network of independent dealers or distributors ... or only from your captive sales force? Is the PLACE where I find what you offer a chain of stores - or only in your outlets? Are there several different choices as to where I can buy what you sell?

You buy a McDonald's hamburger only at a McDonald's fast food restaurant. You can buy a specific make of automobile at a

number of different dealerships, through a broker, off a used car lot, from your brother-in-law and several other PLACES. You can bank by computer, in person, through an ATM or a drive-through window, over the telephone or through the mail. Where does your audience buy your PRODUCT ... what is the PLACE?

PRICE is always a factor in any buying decision. PRICE usually is in the top five considerations of any buyer; one of the key elements in making a buying decision. It is never the primary reason people buy.

How much is your PRODUCT ... what is the PRICE? Can I save if I buy in bulk, or today, or before the 30th of next month, or on my next birthday? Do you ever offer a discount? Is there a special this month? Does your PRICE vary by the PLACE where it is bought?

How is your PRICE when compared to similar PRODUCTS from your competition? Is it high, low, in-between? And, from your marketplace ... a lot, some, little?

Because PRICE is an issue in every buy/sell situation, how you PRICE is a key part of the success of your marketing.

PROMOTION is the next P of the nine. PROMOTION is a catch-all word for all the ways you take your PRODUCT to market.

Will you use advertising, such as broadcast and print media? How about the direct marketing tools of direct mail and telemarketing? Public relations? Merchandising? And maybe special events or sponsorship? Sales promotion, with contests, games or other target audience involvement techniques?

What are the usual ways to PROMOTE your PRODUCT? What are the unusual ways? What does the competition do? What did you do last year that worked - that should be repeated? What is expected of you by the marketplace?

The world will not beat a path to your doorstep ... even if you do have a new mousetrap. That is, they won't unless you make your offer, unless you tell your story through PROMOTION.

POSITION comes next. What is your POSITION in your marketplace? Where do you see yourself? How does your competition view you? And most importantly, what about your customers ... how do they think about you, what is their opinion about your POSITION?

Part of POSITIONing is knowing where you have been in the past, where you are currently, and, in what direction you are now going. You are "ranked" by your marketplace based on your PRODUCT, your PERFORMANCE, the convenience of PLACE, your PRICE and how your audience sees your PROMOTION. You do earn your POSITION ... whatever it is.

Is part of your POSITION leadership of your category? You can be a very local company or association, and still hold the leading POSITION in that community. You don't have to be a worldwide organization to hold a high POSITION.

You could be the best there is in all of South Georgia - known only to that marketplace - and still be the leader. You could be the best Thai restaurant in Venice, California. That is your POSITION.

POSITION will affect your POTENTIAL. It might affect your PLACE. It will affect your PROMOTION and PRICE. Your POSITION is a very important part of your marketing program.

The ninth P is PROFIT. A PROFIT comes only through a thorough plan. Thinking smarter/working harder. Both!

When you know what your PRODUCT really is, when you know the PURPOSE your marketplace has for it ... what they do with it, their objective in purchasing from you, and when you know your PERFORMANCE level compared to the competition, you are getting ready to make a PROFIT.

When you have clearly identified the true POTENTIAL for your PRODUCT, when you have decided upon and set-up the best possible PLACE for your audience to buy, when you have established your PRICE as it relates to PERFORMANCE, you are getting ready to make a PROFIT.

When you create your PROMOTION and go to market with it, when you have done all of this keeping your POSITION in the forefront of your thinking, and based on that knowledge have put your marketing plan in order ... then you will earn and enjoy a PROFIT.

PRODUCT,

PURPOSE,

PERFORMANCE,

POTENTIAL,

PLACE,

PRICE,

PROMOTION,

POSITION,

and PROFIT. The 9ine P's of Marketing.