1.Situation

Commercial manager, marketing manager, brand manager work intensively with various marketing tools, 4P (Product-Price-Placement-Promotion) being one of the most important, applicable and known matrices probably used in all companies.

If the 4Ps are known and used intensively, the existence of other Ps is less conscious in real working practice.

I’m referring here to People-Processes-Physical Appearance, the extension to 7Ps.

Or even Productivity & Quality that aims to transfer cost and quality management from the company to customers, which extends the concept to 8Ps.

2.Task

I have asked myself whether I have activated in my professional career in a company that programmatically applies 7Ps or 8Ps.

3.Action

So I analysed each company from my professional trajectory and I came to two conclusions.

The first one is obvious. In all companies, the 4Ps concept was applied at the level of analysis, projections, initiatives, action plans.

Instead, at the 7P level, in my perspective, a single company was highlighted and I refer here to DHL. Here are the considerations underlying this evidence.

4.Results

At 5P-Physical Appearance level, I believe that DHL generates some of the strongest and most impactful presence that a company shows to its customers at all the levels. I refer here to delivery agent uniforms, special delivery box designs, delivery centre layouts, planes, cars, product and service presentation materials, customized letters to customers, invoices, agents’ speeches, etc.

At the level of 6P-Processes, the complexity of the operational and logistic matrix in which DHL operates – the company with the widest international presence – requires the integration of complex procedures, tools and platforms inside the company. Beyond some standardized products, the component of personalization of products or services in relation to special customer requirements represents a permanent presence. For example, to pick up some auto parts from a factory in Romania and to deliver them to an assembly plant in Asia, all of this in certain time-limited windows to keep factory flows on going,  it cannot be done without well implemented workflows and processes.

At the level of 7P-People, DHL has always emerged as an open, equitable, responsible company that encourages employees to evolve and applies a rigorous selection at all the levels. Customers expressed many times their appreciation regarding the professionalism and “artistic” impression provided by a DHL agent who picked up or delivered their parcels. Also in DHL there are many employees with 10-15-20 years of activity, which confirms the responsible and ethical management applied in the company.

5.Key Leanings

Level 8P – Productivity & Quality is a dimension that I must confess it is new for me, reason why I will spend extra time for an in-depth exploration of the subject.

Which companies that apply real, consistent and permanent 7Ps matrix can you nominate?

Notification: MYPRODUCT reflects my real professional experience and expertise as well as my subjectivity. I do have a profound respect for all the companies I collaborated to and for all the people I worked with. It is not my intention to approach any sensitive, confidential or offending information related to companies, projects or people. If you the reader deduct or recognise companies, projects or people in my examples, I kindly ask you to respect MYPRODUCT and my professional and ethic approach and to not share any detail, information, situation, name, company.