Customer Service

The new 4 Ps of customer engagement

To succeed in this new era of customer engagement, marketers must evolve from campaign-centric strategies to journey-centric execution.

Photo: Adobe Stock

September 5, 2025 by Scott Opiela — Chief Marketing Officer, Acoustic

In today's digital-first world, consumers expect connection and personalization, not a transaction. With the ability to control when, where, and how they engage with brands, consumers are more empowered than ever, putting increased pressure on brands to rethink their engagement strategies.

The traditional "4 Ps" of marketing (product, price, place and promotion) once served as the gold standard for marketers to engage with customers.

But as consumer expectations have changed, so have the rules. To better reflect the modern realities of data-driven, omnichannel engagement, the old framework must be transformed to a new set of 4 Ps: persistent, personalized, prescriptive and predictive.

Persistent: Building ongoing relationships, not one-off campaigns

Previously, marketing was episodic, with brands typically disappearing from consumers' feeds or inboxes once the campaign ended. But consumers don't think in "campaigns" — they move through moments and expect brands to meet them there.

To respond to changing consumer interests and needs, brands must approach marketing with persistence. That means building always-on engagement strategies that nurture prospects and customers across the entire lifecycle.

Rather than creating content based on the brand's marketing calendar or quarterly revenue goals, marketers must consistently show up where their audience is, adding value based on the customer's needs and ensuring continuity between devices, channels, and touch points. Whether it's a retargeting ad that follows a cart abandoner or post-purchase support that anticipates next needs, marketers must engage in an ongoing conversation, not a monologue.

Personalized: From mass messaging to micro-moments

Personalization is a word that has been relevant for years, but its definition has changed drastically over time. While it was once considered advanced to see your first name in an email subject line, today's consumers expect deeply personalized experiences based on their behaviors, preferences, and past interactions.

In 2025, true personalization means going beyond static segments. Brands must understand context for each individual: what they care about, where they are in their journey, what channel they prefer, and what message will resonate. And it means dynamically adapting that experience in real time.

The brands that go the extra mile to personalize effectively see higher conversion rates, stronger loyalty, and more efficient marketing spend. But to get there, they need the foundation: platforms that unify customer data, behavioral signals, context around interactions with the brand, and the ability to activate these insights instantly across every touch point.

Prescriptive: Guiding, not just informing

The explosion of content and choice has created a paradox: more information leads to more indecision. The solution? Prescriptive engagement.

Prescriptive strategies help customers navigate complexity. Not only do they provide content, but they also offer recommendations, comparisons, and next-best actions. Essentially, they move from "what" to "what now?"

In B2C, this may look like a high-end workout apparel brand recommending specific gear based on a customer's previous purchases, profile, or even the season. If someone purchased yoga clothes, it may be time to recommend a new yoga mat, a video with ideas for more advanced poses, or suggestions for adding blocks or other gear to their expanded workout routine.

Prescriptive marketing transforms content into consultation. It positions the brand as a trusted advisor rather than simply a vendor.

Predictive: Anticipating needs before they're expressed

The next evolution of engagement is proactive rather than reactive. If prescriptive marketing addresses what customers should do next, predictive marketing focuses on what they're likely to do next.

By utilizing AI, machine learning, and behavioral modeling, marketers can anticipate consumer intent before it's expressed. What is this customer likely to buy next? What offer will drive them to act?

Predictive capabilities allow marketers to move from hindsight to foresight. And they allow brands to orchestrate moments that feel magical to the customer, despite being powered by data. For example, surfacing a reorder prompt as a customer runs out of a product doesn't just improve performance. It reshapes the entire customer experience by building emotional loyalty and showing that the brand "gets" them.

The path forward

To succeed in this new era of customer engagement, marketers must evolve from campaign-centric strategies to journey-centric execution.

Rather than focusing on isolated touchpoints, the new goal is to orchestrate continuous, context-aware experiences that build loyalty. Brands that win will be those that engage persistently, tailor experiences personally, guide customers prescriptively, and act predictively.

The 4 Ps of the past helped build brands. The new 4 Ps will help grow them.

About Scott Opiela

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