In order to have a viable product, writes Weinrich, people must first perceive that they have a genuine problem, and that the product offering is a good solution for that problem. Research at this point would be to determine clientele perceptions of the problem and how important they feel it would be to do something about it. In recent Balancing Work and Family focus groups, we asked participants about what concerns they had about balancing work and family and what they believed could be done to achieve a better balance. Price includes the fee for services rendered but also includes various tangible and intangible costs a client must face in order to receive the intended benefit from the product. In studies I have done we have asked persons about how much time they felt was reasonable to devote to a program as well as what they considered to be a fair price.
Place describes the physical location where services are offered to users.
Convenience for clients may be a key issue in participation in programs. In my studies we have asked clientele questions about preferred locations and, if a program were offered away from home or business, how far they would be willing to travel to get there. Promotion is the method of bringing awareness of the service to the service user. It includes the integrated use of advertising, public relations, promotions, media advocacy, personal selling and entertainment vehicles. The partnership element encourages us to join with like-minded others in a team effort to work on an issue.