Introduction To Integrated Marketing Communications

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Introduction To Integrated Marketing Communications




Marketing: “The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives.” 


Function of Marketing: To create an Exchange that is Mutually Beneficial. 


Role of Marketing (Traditional): To Inform, Persuade and Remind. 


Role of Marketing (New): To Inform, Persuade and Remind… And to Transform Attitudes and Behaviours, to Foster Long-Term Customer Relationships.


Why the Change? – Influx of Competitors 


Marketing Communications: Is the communications aspect of Marketing.





Marketing Mix 4 P’s - Types of Promotions (3rd P) Tools: 
Advertising:
  • Hard Sell Approach
  • Mass Reach, Non-Personal
  • Paid – High Costs involved
  • Has an Identified Sponsor
  • Able to control message
  • Able to create a distinct image / brand
  • May suffer from credibility issues
  • Difficult to measure amount of sales

Sales Promotion:
  • Hard Sell Approach
  • Has Incentives & Deadlines for customer to purchase / sales team
  • Either Consumer-Oriented or Trade-Oriented
  • Short-Term
  • Easy to measure amount of sales
  • May be abused
  • Could lead to promotional wars
  • Doesn’t build brand image

Public Relations:
  • Soft Sell Approach
  • Creates Situations / Scenarios to Impress customer
  • Requires more effort to sustain, slightly more roundabout method
  • Has public interest in mind
  • A management function
  • Difficult to measure amount of sales

Publicity:
  • Free
  • Greater credibility, message from third-party endorsement
  • Mass Reach, Non-Personal
  • Double edged sword, depending on how the third-party perceives you
  • No control over message

Direct Marketing / Personal Selling:
  • One-to-One Approach
  • Specific Targeting
  • Requires a database, then market segmentation, then targeting
  • Includes Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM)
  • Can be Personalised and Customized for individual customers / segments
  • Can gather direct feedback
  • Expensive and Complex way to reach Masses
  • Difficult to project a uniform message





Marketing Goals: To create / improve / maintain Brand’s share of Market.
Unit of Measurement: Percentage, Volume, Value
 


Promotional Goals: To create / improve / maintain Brand’s share of Mind.
Unit of Measurement: Hierarchy Of Communication Effects
 




Process to Build Brand Identity – Hierarchy Of Communication Effects
Brand Identity: How a customer perceives your brand.  
  1. Brand Awareness: Customer knows about your brand.
  2. Brand Acceptance: Customer believes your message, and that your brand is good.
  3. Brand Preference: Customer identifies your brand as among the top choices in their mental shopping list, and will purchase your brand over other brands, if other ‘better’ brands aren’t available.
  4. Brand Loyalty: Customer chooses your brand consistently over other brands, and makes repeat purchases from your brand over a period of time. 


Purpose of Integrated Marketing Communications: To move customers along the Brand Identity building process as fast as possible.  






Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM)


(See Role Of Marketing) – To develop long-term relationships with customers, Marketers need to create Value and Satisfaction for customers. 


CRM is used to retain customer loyalty – More cost-effective / cheaper to retain customers than entice new ones. Personalized and customized products sell better.


Share of Market – Like sharing a pie, your gain is my loss. (Not so relevant anymore) 


Share of Customer – Customers buy from different sources, but the goal is to get customers to spend more with you, than with your competitors.





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