argument It was also thought to be more

argument that 4P’s mix is too product oriented. Critics of
this standpoint (Lauterborm, 1990) hold that a successful marketing plan must
place the customers in the centre of the marketing plan. Thus, instead of the
product-centric nature of the 4p’s one is encouraged to purse a
customer-focused strategy which would take as its focus customer needs, convenience,
communication and customer’s cost (Lauterborm, 1990). In his defense, the need
to move from product to customer oriented model is as a result of the dynamic
nature of the current marketplaces and customers (Constantinides, 2006) who are
now informed of the best market offers for them by electronic and competing
devices. Hence it 4p’s as a marketing mix has outlived its days as the most
efficient and relevant for today’s marketers.


In a survey  carried
out in 1992 using UK’s Marketing
Education Group (MEG) Conference participants and the European Marketing
Academy (EMAC) Conference participants as respondents (mostly professors,
associate professors, lecturers and research fellows of marketing and/or
economics). It was inferred by Rafiq & Ahmed (1995) that 85% of the
respondents felt dissatisfaction with the 4Ps, they felt that the 4Ps concept
was deficient in some respects as a pedagogic tool. The respondents saw 7ps as
a better model citing comprehensiveness as the most frequently mentioned strength
of the 7Ps model. It was also thought to be more refined and detailed than the
4Ps model and was seen as providing a broader perspective. Some respondents
explicitly mentioned the inclusion of participants/people as a strength. The
process variable was also mentioned but not as frequently  the participants/people variable. The 7Ps mix
was also thought to be more  of a model
than the 4Ps mix. The standardization of the mix by extending the 7Ps
framework  to areas other than services
was also mentioned.