It’s no secret that when you complete a four year degree at a college or university, you’re told more or less that marketing is a set of processes design to communicate and deliver value to prospective customer. A structured and straightforward system, rooted in the core of the 4 P’s: price, promotion, place, and product.

Outside of that college or university, marketing is far more nuanced than that. It’s an intangible promise, lifestyle, and mission as a part of your brand or company. These intangibles allow brands to compete for different market segments. Creating strong brand moves your ideal customer beyond seeing you as a practical solution, and into believe you are the sole company that offers what will meet their needs.

Now, with that said, we’ve rethought the 4 P’s of marketing and instead define it as the following.

Personality

Boiled down, creating an emotional connection with your customer will ultimately drive a successful brand. Building a brand personality includes a mix of intended and expected traits. The best brands are those that truly defined those trains, and relates the values and culture to its intended audience.

Purpose-Built

Creating brand purpose and value means going beyond who you are and what your product is. Getting to the core of your product or service, by consulting other departments and deciphering what matters, can help define your brand’s purpose. It’s your job as a marketer to know where the value is.

Promise

Companies can not be everything to everyone. Successful brands don’t pretend to be something they aren’t. They build trust with their customers by offering exactly what they said they would, as a brand promise, and meeting/exceeding customer expectations. Engaging current customers and maintaining is huge for marketing your brand properly.

Patience

Building a brand is time consuming. Its important to not only maintain flexibility and adaption to change, but to understand that this is a process and it will take time. Trust the process, and each step will get you closer to a successful brand.