One Must-Read Article

The 4Ps Are Out. AI Made the 4Es Essential.

If there has ever been a time for change in marketing, this is it.

Your potential customers are researching with ChatGPT before they ever visit your website. They’re asking AI assistants to compare your solution against competitors you’ve never heard of. They expect personalized experiences instantly—or they’re gone.

The significant transformation of customer behavior I wrote about 8 years ago has accelerated beyond what most growth-stage companies can handle with traditional marketing approaches.

Here’s the reality in 2026: “Today’s consumer has seized control. Audiences have shattered into fragments and slices. Product differences can last minutes, not years. The new ecosystem is millions and billions of unstructured one-to-one and peer-to-peer conversations.”

I wrote those words nearly a decade ago, quoting Brian Fetherstonhaugh from Ogilvy & Mather. Back then, it was a warning. Today, it’s just Tuesday.

Why the Old Playbook Fails

The four “P’s” of marketing—Product, Price, Place, Promotion—were developed when marketers controlled the message. When product differences lasted years. When compliant audiences sat still for your advertising.

That world is gone.

For growth-stage companies scaling from $2M to $15M in revenue, the old playbook isn’t just outdated—it’s dangerous. You can’t out-promote competitors with bigger budgets. You can’t rely on product differentiation that disappears in weeks. You can’t control where customers find you when AI decides your placement.

The Four Es: Your 2026 Framework

Fetherstonhaugh introduced a framework ahead of its time in 2011. Fifteen years later, it’s been validated by every market shift we’ve experienced. The four “E’s”—Experience, Exchange, Everyplace, Evangelism—aren’t just better than the 4Ps. In 2026, they’re survival tools.

From Product to EXPERIENCE

Then: Map the customer journey.
Now: Design experiences that out think AI and outperform automation.

Your customers compare you against every digital experience they have—from Amazon’s one-click ordering to Netflix’s personalization. The bar isn’t your competitors’ websites. It’s every app on their phone.

Stop thinking about “product features” and start mapping every touch point where customers interact with you. Your website. Your sales process. Your on-boarding. Your support. Each one either builds trust or sends them elsewhere.

A $5M SaaS company increased trial-to-paid conversions by 40% not by adding features, but by redesigning on-boarding to answer questions before customers asked them.

From Place to EVERYPLACE

Then: Multi-channel presence.
Now: Meet customers where AI sends them—and be worth finding.

In 2026, your customers find you through voice search, AI summaries, Reddit threads, podcast mentions, and channels that didn’t exist last quarter. You can’t be everywhere. But you can be findable, credible, and valuable everywhere that matters to your specific customer.

Stop chasing every new platform. Build authority in channels where your customers actually make decisions. For B2B growth companies, that’s often LinkedIn for discovery, Google for validation, and peer networks for trust.

A manufacturing company scaling to $12M stopped maintaining six social media accounts and focused entirely on LinkedIn thought leadership. Their qualified lead volume doubled.

From Price to EXCHANGE

Then: Calculate value versus cost.
Now: Understand what customers truly exchange—and it’s not just money.

Price is what customers pay. Exchange is what they’re really giving up—time, risk, switching costs, trust, attention, and yes, money. In 2026, with infinite options one search away, the full exchange matters more than your price point.

Your competitors might be cheaper. So what? If you reduce friction, eliminate risk, save time, or deliver faster results, you win the exchange equation even at higher prices.

An $8M professional services firm started offering free quarterly insights calls to prospects who weren’t ready to buy. Thirty percent converted within a year—at premium pricing—because the exchange was valuable before money changed hands.

From Promotion to EVANGELISM

Then: Find the passion in your brand.
Now: Create authentic content that cuts through AI-generated noise.

The internet is drowning in competent, soulless content that all sounds the same. Your customers can smell AI-generated marketing from a mile away. What they can’t resist? Real stories, honest insights, and genuine expertise from someone who’s actually solved their problem.

Stop trying to promote your way to growth. Start creating content and experiences so valuable that customers share them voluntarily. Build a brand that employees are proud to represent and customers are excited to recommend.

A $10M e-commerce company turned their founder’s weekly “what I’m learning about scaling” email into their best lead source. No promotion. Just honest insights. Customers forwarded it to peers facing similar problems.

Here’s My Take

The 4Es aren’t theory. They’re practical responses to how your customers actually behave when they have infinite choices and zero patience.

They buy experiences, not products.
They evaluate exchanges, not prices.
They find you everyplace, not just where you advertise.
They trust evangelism, not promotion.

For growth-stage companies—especially those scaling from $2M to $15M—this framework levels the playing field. You can’t outspend bigger competitors on promotion. But you can out-experience them. You can create better exchanges. You can show up more authentically. You can earn evangelism.

Resources to Help You Apply the 4Es

Want to dig deeper into how these principles apply to your strategic planning? Check out The Execution Canvas, my strategic planning tool that helps growth-stage companies align their marketing strategy with execution priorities.

You can also download Fetherstonhaugh’s original framework (still relevant after 15 years) and view the accompanying slide presentation.

The 4Ps worked for a different era. The 4Es work for yours.