Open up any textbook on marketing and you will find a discussion on the four P's This little reminder allows a marketing man - or anyone else who is interested in thinking about increasing their penetration into their target market - to cover their bases.

The four P's are: Product, Price, Promotion and Placement

Product

This is what you are selling. Don't fall into the trap of saying "Royal Rangers is a ministry - we don't sell anything." Of course you do. We all do. Everyday of our lives we are selling. If you're not - you're probably about to be sacked or your cause is about to fall apart.

What is our product in Rangers?

My marketing text tells me that "People satisfy their needs and wants with products" So then let's define a product as "anything that can be offered to someone to satisfy a need or want".

The Ranger leaders manual says that "a natural characteristic of boys is the love of adventure in the outdoors" and that an outpost meeting "should provide both fun and accomplishment" Also the bible tells us that we were created to have an eternal relationship with God - here are some products.

As leaders in Royal Rangers we are "selling" salvation, fun, adventure, achievement, skills, discipline, self-esteem, pride, teamwork, leadership, security, belonging, etc.

This is our product. And it's a good product - that everyone needs.

Price

"But we don't sell this stuff." That's right - or is it. Sure we don't sell our product in the traditional sense. But there is a price to pay for our product. Think about it.

To be a Royal Ranger a child must/should -

• purchase a uniform
• charter to the national office
• receive a magazine subscription
• pay a weekly "sub"
• pay for camps and other outings
• purchase a handbook and other texts
• commit 90 minutes per week to a meeting
• attend church or Sunday school
• study/work to pass their advancements
• etc...

Now each of these is a cost or price. Some require money. Some require effort. Either way they all represent the exchange of value (see previous chapter) between the child and your program.

What is the price of participation in your Ranger outpost?
What is the cost in dollars and cents?
What is the cost in commitment?
What is the cost of extra cirricular activities?
What is the cost in terms of peer pressure?

Now that you have established the price of your program you need to ask yourself "Does my program represent value?" and "What is the product/price offering of my competitors?"

As a marketer - the choice of product features/benefits and price is yours.

Promotion

The big one. How do you let prospective customers (remember I said that you have four customers: the child, their parents, your leaders and your church board) know about your product offering? Promotion. Think of promotion as a mix of activities that you can undertake to let your prospects know of your product.

The promotional mix includes:

• Advertising- in the local press, in your church bulletin, with a billboard, with a sign on the notice board, in the school newsletter etc.
• Personal selling - the effort that you put into selling the ranger program to individuals. You might visit families, talk to kids at church, speak with a Sunday school class etc.
• Sales promotion- you know the banter: "Join Rangers in May and get a free magazine subscription!" - (joke) - but perhaps there are forms of promotion you can use. Join now and we'll let you come on the camp next month without waiting the usual 3 month waiting period etc...
• Public relations- this is free and powerful. Write good stories with large, clear photos for your local paper, city paper, church news, school news etc. At a sectional or national level get state or national press coverage. Papers and magazines have enormous amounts of pages to fill. If you make it easy for them - they'll do it.
• Direct marketing- by phone or letter. I use this at the beginning of each year to recruit new kids into my ranger program with great success. Write personalised letters to prospects. Phone them as a followup. Pester them till they join.

If you're not promoting your program it won't die overnight - but it will die. The other side benefit of good promotional activity is that your kids and your leaders are proud to be associated with such a "successful" operation. this builds brand loyalty and word of mouth custom!

Placement

Placement - or the physical channels of distribution. When is your program on. Is that a convenient time for you or for your customers? Do you start at 8:00pm because it allows you to have dinner first, or do you start at 7:00pm so the kids can get home at a reasonable hour?

You need to have your product available where your customers are willing and able to purchase it. Sounds simple - but it's amazing how often this is overlooked.

As an example: we recently started a Straight Arrow program at my church. But not on the usual ranger night (Thursday 7:00 - 8:30pm) cause this was mid week and perceived to be too late for the little ones. We run it on Sunday night in place of the usual children's program. Good placement.

Summary

By remembering and using the four P's as a mental check list for your program you will be sure to improve what you are doing. I suggest you begin with your product and price evaluation. What are you offering? What is the cost? Then check out your placement and begin the promotion.