The value of a service is apparent only after the service is provided, which makes service providers especially vulnerable to the “I’m going to ignore marketing” trap.
It’s costly because if any part of value communication feels out of place with the others, clients start to experience red flags—subconsciously adding “risk costs” that inflate the perceived total price, and therefore drive clients away.
For example, would you be eager to buy:
- A life-changing coaching session advertised over Craigslist?
- A really good architect with no mention of him online?
- A premium-looking hamburger for 30 cents?
Can you tell me why not?
Well, Marketing 101 sets up the mental model of the “4 P’s,” separating the message about any product or service into four elements:
- Product: the transformation you are selling, not the work or the deliverables
- Price: the amount of money, and time, you ask in return
- Place: where clients can find or engage with your offer
- Promotion: what you say to communicate the value it represents for them, and how you say it
These four function like a four-way seesaw—each needs to represent the others for the whole thing to be balanced, and therefore fully believable.
This is very hard to set up organically without paying any attention to it.
Even if you never advertise your service (or ever intend to), the 4P balance is worth your time.