Required Assignment 1.

3:
Transforming the Four Ps to Incorporate Digital
Technologies
<Khushi Agarwal>
Suggested time: 90 minutes
Assignment Instructions

In this assignment, you will showcase your understanding of the long-tail effect and the 4Ps of
marketing.

1. Find two examples where companies have leveraged the long-tail effect in their
business. Explain how these companies have utilized it.
2. How has the banking sector transformed the traditional four Ps to incorporate digital
technologies? You can also choose to write about your choice of company, sector, or
industry instead of the banking sector.

Note: This is a required assignment and counts towards programme completion.

1. The long-tail effect is a strategy by which companies gain profits by selling many niche
products in small quantities and fewer popular products in large quantities. How can
your company/product dominate the internet in a world of so much competition? It is
by long-tail search engine optimization. It is hard to know the intent of a customer
when they put in generic search words, but much easier when they put in specific,
longer search words. Long-tail searches contain generic head keywords as well as
extra words that make it more specific and relevant. For example, “bags” is a generic
head keyword. It is very popular but vague. If you have a shop that sells bags, it will
be very difficult to compete with other stores that sell bags. However, “top leather bag
brand” is a specific search and helps the relevant audience.
Below are two examples of companies that have successfully leveraged the long-tail
effect in their business.
- Amazon: One of the reasons why there wasn’t a demand for niche products was
because they were not available at traditional stores. Products you cannot find in
offline stores perform well online. So, customers search for them on the internet. Here,
Amazon made use of long-tail marketing by effectively managing inventory. A store
has limited storage capacity and must use that to keep the most popular books.
Amazon products are stocked in warehouses and are only displayed online thereby
reducing shelf maintenance costs. Since Amazon has a stock of niche products as
well, it caters to different customers with diverse interests.
Amazon also dominates because it generates 57% of its sales from long-tail searches.
You’ll notice Amazon product descriptions have product name, colour, quantity and
size. Thus, whenever you type in a product name or keyword, instantly the first few
results are Amazon options.

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 - River Pools And Spas: Marcus Sheridan’s swimming pool company was on the verge
of bankruptcy. He tried many marketing strategies but they failed. He then resorted to
content marketing which transformed his business.
He did some research and found that most of the audience wanted to know how much
a fiberglass pool costed. Marcus then researched long-tail keywords and created a
blogpost titled “How Much Does a Fiberglass Pool Cost?” which was something his
competitors weren’t targeting. This blog resulted in 2 million worth of sales. Thus,
Marcus leveraged the long-tail approach in his business.

2. The 4p’s of marketing are the essential elements required to market a product or
service to the public. This is known as the marketing mix. The 4p’s include product,
price, place and promotion. In today’s world, everything is becoming digitalized. Let’s
see how the aviation industry has transformed the traditional 4p’s to incorporate digital
technologies.
- Product: Airlines have transformed traditional services to be supported by digital
channels. Today, every service that airlines offer at the airport is available online.
Using AI and analytics, airlines can derive data on their customers and offer
specialized products targeting specific customer groups which improves customer
experience. Services such as online check-in, customized meal options etc. all can be
done via the mobile app or the airline’s webpage. Ticketless travel enables customers
to get their tickets via email along with other travel details. Airlines have even enabled
customers to post reviews online which makes it easier for others in selecting an
airline.
- Price: It was difficult to compare the price of different airlines to see which was the
cheapest since limited information was available. Due to digitalization, ticket prices are
available freely online. Travel sites such as MakeMyTrip, Yaatra have the prices of
many airlines available so that customers can compare and see which is the best.
This eliminates the need of a middleman like a travel agent whom traditionally
customers would rely on to get information on the best prices.
- Place: Traditional stores were the only places to purchase products. With
digitalization, everything is available online. Customers essentially carry the whole
market on their mobile phones. Airlines also have made use of this by making
available all their information online. Customers can buy and refund tickets, upgrade
to business class, buy a particular seat, etc. on their phones through m-commerce.
Airlines have also made use of social commerce by selling their products on
Facebook, Instagram etc. which is very popular. Thus, by digitalizing placement,
airlines have seen a boost in sales.
- Promotion: Traditional promotions have now shifted to digitalized promotions. Airlines
have shifted from putting physical banners and promoting on billboards to promoting
on social channels such as Instagram and Facebook. Airlines display ads on channels
such as YouTube which is even followed by a survey which enables them to receive
first-hand data from customers.
Thus, the airline industry has transformed the traditional 4p’s to incorporate digital
technologies.

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