The first P – product – now translates into customer value. This means you should recast your company, from an organization that produces goods to one that produces customer relationships. Products come and go, but loyal customers stick around. That’s how companies like Apple can have people queuing outside for products that haven’t released yet. Customers are loyal to Apple because the company offers tremendous customer value in the form of proven quality, great service, and a range of other perks.

The second P – price – is now cost. Why? Because from the point of view of the customer, price is not the only cost. There’s also the cost of effort and time that’s involved in acquiring, setting up, using, storing, and disposing of a product. It’s possible for a higher-priced product to remain competitive if you can find other ways to reduce customer cost by, say, providing free installation, training, or disposal.

Next, we have the third P – place – which should now be thought of as convenience. When you’re deciding on distribution methods, you should aim at making your product as easy as possible for the customer to purchase and acquire.

The final P – promotion – has become communication, which is about ensuring that the relevant information reaches the right consumers. On one hand, this means selecting channels of communication that are populated by your target market. On the other hand, it means the content of your promotional efforts should focus on how your product will fulfill your customers’ needs.