Outside Voices: Small Business

The Four P's for Growing a Business

February 20, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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Becky McCray

If you are looking to grow or expand your business, where can you look? Start with the Four P's of Marketing.

Back in Marketing 101 class, you may have learned that the Four P's are Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. They are a great place to start looking for growth potential.

Here are some questions to help spark your thinking.

Product:
What else do your customers want?
What other expertise do you have?
What other products or services capitalize on your existing network of relationships?

Promotion:
How can you grow your existing customers' awareness of your products, so they help you grow?
What can you do to spur more referrals?
How can you network your way to new people, new potential customers?
Can you make use of social media and other new online tools for more outreach and conversation?

Place:
What other geographic areas make sense to serve?
Is there an open or underserved market near you? Can you do business, or more business, online?
Do you have personal international contacts that could help you to explore global markets?

Price:
How long has it been since you evaluated your pricing structure?
Can you raise your prices and change your whole value proposition?

Becky McCray is a small-town entrepreneur, the coowner of a liquor store and cattle ranch. She writes about small-business and rural issues at Small Biz Survival, based on her own successes and failures. As a consultant, she helps small businesses and small-town governments to get things funded and get things done. McCray also is a noted speaker on small-business issues. She blogs at Small Biz Survival.