Marketing legend Philip Kotler taught us the power of the 4 Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and later the 7 Ps (adding People, Process, Physical evidence). But business environments change. Small firms now compete in digital, local and global arenas, with audiences that expect clarity, purpose and human connection. Kotler’s proposal for “6 Ps for strategic marketing” offers a sharper lens for today’s marketers.
What are these 6 Ps, and how should a small business use them?
1. Purpose – Why you exist. For a small business, purpose anchors everything: your brand identity, your audience connection and your strategic direction. A brand without purpose sounds like many others.
2. Positioning – Where you stand in your market. Small firms must choose either niche or clarity in the marketplace; positioning ensures you’re not “just another option.”
3. People – Everyone who connects to your brand: employees, partners, customers. For small business, people are your key differentiator.
4. Promise – What you commit to delivering. It must be real, credible, and consistently kept. For a small business, each interaction counts.
5. Performance – The actual delivery and results. Strategy without performance is empty. Small businesses must measure what matters, not just metrics.
6. Propagation – How you spread your brand and message. Digital and local mechanisms, storytelling, referrals — small businesses can leverage networks smartly.
Compared with the classic 4 Ps, these 6 shifts focus away from mere tactical offers to strategic clarity and human dimension. For small businesses, that shift is vital: the playing field is crowded and noisy, so smart marketing matters more than big budgets.
What to do right now?
- Clarify your purpose: Write a 2-line statement of why your business exists beyond profit.
- Set your positioning: Define who you serve, how you serve and why it matters.
- Engage your people: Identify customers and staff as brand ambassadors.
- Craft a bold promise: What is the one thing you reliably deliver better than most?
- Track performance: Choose 2-3 meaningful metrics (not vanity ones) and review them monthly.
- Plan your propagation: Map where your audience is (local, online, hybrid) and design “small but smart” tactics to reach them.
In closing, marketing for small businesses should not be an echo of big-business tactics. It should be smarter, purpose-driven and human.
That aligns perfectly with our agency’s ethos: Smart Marketing. Human Thinking.
If you’d like to discuss how your business can work through the 6 Ps and build marketing with clarity and impact, let’s talk.
