4 A’s of Marketing is customer-centric marketing that pays heed to the 4 values that matter most to the customers- Acceptability, Affordability, Accessibility, and Awareness.
A’s of marketing are responsible for creating value for the customer(s).
It helps managers and business leaders see a business as per the perspectives of their target customers. Customers are actually market seekers, selectors, payers, and users. Acceptability, affordability, accessibility, and Awareness come into play around all these key roles of a customer life-cycle.
In simple words, for any successful marketing and advertising campaign, 4 a’s of marketing creating value for the customer(s) is mandatory.
This post will help you understand how 4 a’s of marketing creating value for customers, companies, and society can be channelized. So, let us get started-
Table of Contents
The Inception of 4 A’s of Marketing Concept
Backing on a successful marketing framework used by Coca-Cola for years, Professor Jagdish Sheth and Dr. Rajendra Sisodia developed the 4A marketing model. It is an addition to the 4P model to give a consumer point of view to the products in the question.
According to this plan, there are four factors critical to the structure of a successful product that offers value for customers, companies, and society. The satisfaction of these conditions is necessary for success in the product or service offered.
In addition to ensuring customer awareness, the focus is also kept that products and services are acceptable, accessible, and affordable to them. The four dimensions given below are further divided into two other subdimensions to make up the overall structure-
1) Acceptability
It is the extent to which an offered product or service either meets or exceeds the customer’s expectations in the target market. Its two dimensions- functional acceptability and psychological acceptability here talk about the overall performance surrounding the attributes of the given product or service in marketing creating value for target audiences.
Types of Acceptability in 4 A of Marketing
a) Functional Acceptability
Functional Acceptability is “objective” in nature. Free from the subjective nature, it talks about things like facts, features, and performance. For instance, the latest flagship product of One Plus 8 includes the latest features aimed at catching the user’s attention. These aspects can be improved through increased core benefits and reliability.
b) Psychological Acceptability
Psychological Acceptability focus on the innate nature of a person. Subjective in nature, this feature is mostly incorporated in luxury brands that appeal to society’s higher sections. Even if two products are fundamentally similar in their function, one might belong to a brand psychologically satisfying to the targeted set of customers. For instance, cars like BMW and Mercedes appeal to their customers through their brand reputation. A Psychological position can be developed through the incorporation of changes in imaging, packaging, and design.
Why Acceptability must achieve high marks in marketing?
The acceptability component of the 4A framework helps companies in channelizing customers’ acceptability, affordability, accessibility, and awareness by ensuring a product or service must meet or exceed the expectations of the target. It helps companies create value and becomes a key member of four distinct roles around which marketing channelizes.
2) Affordability
It adheres to the customers’ ability and willingness to pay the price for a particular product or service. Sheth and Sisodia suggest two types of affordability and they are Economic and Psychological Affordability.
Types of Affordability in 4 A’s of Marketing
a) Economic Affordability
Economic Affordability focuses on the physical ability of customers to buy through sufficient economic resources at their disposal. For instance, Walmart used private labels for various products (Products with Walmart’s stamp) at lower prices to attract customers in place of those from big brands. This resulted in billions of sales of private products against big brands out in their stores.
b) Psychological Affordability
With a major focus on the customer’s understanding of products and their value against the cost, Psychological Affordability talks about a person’s willingness to pay. An online rental start-up named Airbnb looked forward to creating memorable and lasting experiences for their simple, crisp, and economically viable users. An increased supply of travel accommodations has been concealed additions to this company’s long list of benefits.
Why Affordability is important?
Affordability in marketing helps companies create value for the customers who are in quest of cost-effective products or services. It is organized around the values that serve those market seekers, selectors, payers, and users who always look for budget-friendly options. In a customer-centric approach, Dr. Rajendra Sisodia and Jagdish Sheth always rate affordability quite high when the campaign approach is organized around cost-effectiveness and reliability.
3) Accessibility
This dimension talks about the extent and ease to which products and services are accessible to their customers. Sheth and Sisodia talk about customer availability and customer convenience sorts of availabilities in 4 a framework.
Types of Accessibility in 4 A’s of Marketing
a) Customer Availability
Availability checks whether the given company has enough stock to keep up with the demands of the market. For instance, Walmart runs one of the most widely spread retail businesses around the world. With more than 10,000 stores across 27 countries and an E-commerce platform in 10 others, it has proved to be one of the most significant retail businesses. Some techniques that play a crucial role in product replenishment include robotic technology, cross-docking, and amazing inventory technology.
b) Customer Convenience
Convenience talks about the ease of access for a potential customer in obtaining a product or service. Human beings tend to go after the easiest option available to them, and the former chairman of Coca-Cola emphasized the same. He stated that the company’s products must always be within “an arm’s length of desire” for every potential customer. 7-Eleven Inc. has dug deep roots through thousands of its stores to establish itself as one of the most extensive, available, and recognized retail store chain.
Why Accessibility is important in marketing?
Accessible in 4A’s framework helps companies create an inclusive design, branding, and marketing that let users of all abilities fully experience the brand, or its products or services. Amongst the four distinct roles that 4 A’s play, the accessibility approach is organized around how easily a customer can get and use your product or service.
4) Awareness
It focuses on both potential and existing customers of a particular product or service. It keeps in mind that all customers are informed enough about the benefits and features a product has to offer, persuade potential customers, and keep the trust of existing buyers. It is a crucial factor for brands since creating a positive perception in the customers’ minds is necessary for them to buy their product.
Types of Awareness in 4 A’s of Marketing
a) Product Knowledge
Product Knowledge will ensure that potential consumers have adequate knowledge about products for purchase. People have to be aware of anything, and everything that is/is on offer to go after a particular product/service. For instance, GoPro buys rights to user-created videos to share through their means, inspiring others to buy these products themselves.
b) Brand Awareness
Brand Awareness is the ability of consumers to recognize, recall, and remember a particular brand. Coca-Cola is one of the best examples here, and the brand has always focused on staying relevant in the minds of people through notable ad campaigns.
Why Awareness must achieve high marks in marketing?
Awareness in the 4a framework helps companies create a favorable recognition of a product by its name. Customer-value-perspective based on brand awareness is a key step in promoting a new product or reviving any older brand. In the cycle of customers acceptability, affordability, accessibility, and awareness, powerful branding distinguishes the product or brand from its competition is awareness. Customer-value-perspective based on awareness concept is organized around the values that ensure optimized brand presence.
Here is a video by Marketing91 on the 4 A’s of Marketing.
4 A’s of Marketing Summing Up!
When worked upon, these will help companies identify their customers’ current and future needs, thereby creating good value for customers, companies, and society. These give a wide perspective about the four distinct roles they play in the market (payers, users, selectors, seekers).
A dire requirement for the changing marketing environment today, these help companies look for things from the customer’s perspective and managerial and marketing myopia.
While these concepts suggested by Jagdish Sheth and Rajendra Sisodia may not sound comprehensive for marketing functions, a combination with the 4A’s (acceptability, affordability, accessibility, and awareness) can lay out a strong foundation for shaping a powerful marketing strategy.
Established and successful brands play in the market by incorporating 4A’s of marketing for offering value for customers, companies, and society in a well-planned and result-driven manner.
How important do you find Acceptability, Accessibility, Affordability, and Awareness in offering values that matter to target audiences?
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