Marketing 2.0 sounds a lot like Marketing 101 to me...

I have an undergrad degree in marketing and an MBA with a marketing focus, so needless to say, I've taken a lot of marketing related classes. One concept that came up without fail in every class was the infamous 4P's. If I hit my head right now and lost every other piece of info in my brain, this would probably still be there.

The traditional 4P's, also known as the Marketing Mix, are Product, Price, Promotion and Place (aka Distribution - but then you'd have to call it the 3P's and a D, and who wants to do that?). The 4P's (I like to think of them as a family) have long been a tried and true part of my marketing toolkit (the very expensive toolkit that I am now paying for in 9 zillion monthly installments of only $250!!) along with its other useful friends like Mr. SWOT and the VP (value proposition).

So imagine my surprise when, while taking a skills test for Elance.com, I was asked about something called SIVA. Well, of course I Googled it - nowhere did it say this test was not open book - and I found out that SIVA is the Marketing 2.0 version the 4P's. At first I was really agitated and anxious. Was everything I learned in school wrong? I want my money back! But wait, maybe everything has changed in the 10 months since I got my MBA. Do I need to go back and do it again!?!

Once I calmed down and actually read about this new-fangled SIVA, I realized it was pretty much the same as the P's, but with different letters:

Product = Solution
Promotion = Information
Price = Value
Place = Access

The idea is that it takes the 4P's, which tends to be more product-focused and puts a customer-focused spin on it. Ok, phew. Focus on the customer. I can handle that.

I mean, really - P's, SIVA - does it really matter what you call it? Listen to your customers, give them what they need, and take good care of them along the way. Sounds like Marketing 101 to me. So go ahead, stick that in your toolbox...and use it often!