Integrated Marketing Communications - 5 Primary Communication Tools

Communication is always one of the most important and vital strategic areas of an organization's success. You can have the best or most innovative products or services, but if your internal and external communications are weak, then the demand for your products or services raises a personal flag of concern. When communicating the value of your products or services, you want to focus on how they will benefit your clients.

When planning your strategy for Integrated Marketing Communication or IMC, you want to have dialogue with your customers by inviting interaction through the coordinated efforts of content, timing and delivery of your products or services. By ensuring direction, clarity, consistency, timing and appearance of your messages, conveyed to your targeted audience, these factors will help avoid any confusion about the benefits of your brand, through the connection of instant product recognition.

When looking at your marketing mix, you're examining price, distribution, advertising and promotion, along with customer service. Integrated marketing communication is part of that marketing mix included in your marketing plan. IMC strategies define your target audience, establishes objectives and budgets, analyzes any social, competitive, cultural or technological issues, and conducts research to evaluate the effectiveness of your promotional strategies.

Integrated Marketing Communications - 5 Primary Communication Tools

If companies are ethically planning, communicating, and following industry guidelines, they will most likely earn the trust of their customers and target audience. There are five basic tools of integrated marketing communication:

1. Advertising:
This tool can get your messages to large audiences efficiently through such avenues as radio, TV, Magazines, Newspapers (ROP), Internet, Billboards and other mobile technological communication devices. This method can efficiently reach a large number of consumers, although the costs may be somewhat expensive.

2. Sales Promotion:
This tool is used through coupons, contests, samples, premiums, demonstrations, displays or incentives. It is used to accelerate short-term sales, by building brand awareness and encouraging repeat buying.

3. Public Relations:
This integrated marketing communications tool is initiated through public appearances, news/press releases or event sponsorships, to build trust and goodwill by presenting the product, company or person in a positive light.

4. Direct Marketing:
This tool will utilized email, mail, catalogs, encourage direct responses to radio and TV, in order to reach targeted audiences to increase sales and test new products and alternate marketing tactics.

5. Personal Selling:
Setting sales appointments and meetings, home parties, making presentations and any type of one-to-one communication, to reach your customers and strengthen your relationship with your clients, initiate this IMC tool.

Decisions linking the overall objectives and strategies during the marketing planning phases help to evaluate and fine-tune the specific activities of integrated marketing communication. Before selecting an IMC tool, marketing, product and brand managers must look at social, competitive, legal, regulatory, ethics, cultural and technological considerations. One thing you want to avoid when activating the tools of integrated marketing communication is reaching inappropriate audiences and causing controversy. That could be damaging when trying to build brand awareness and encourage consumer spending with your company. When marketing managers examine the beliefs, emotions and behavior of their targeted audience towards their brand, they can influence their beliefs to achieve product awareness, by attracting attention to their promotional campaigns.

Integrated Marketing Communications - 5 Primary Communication Tools
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Kym Gordon Moore is a Creative Marketing Strategist and Public Relations Administrator for Moore 2 It Productions, a firm dedicated to coordinating cost-effective, creative strategic marketing packages for new small businesses and newly published authors. http://www.moore2itproductions.com She is the author of "Diversities of Gifts: Same Spirit," Co-Founder of Favorite Things for a CAUSE, a member of the American Marketing Association, American Authors Association and the North Carolina Writer's Network. http://www.kymgmoore.com

How to Write Marketing Communications Plans

Marketing Communications are "all strategies, tactics, and activities involved in getting the desired marketing messages to intended target markets, regardless of the media used" (MarcommWise, 2006). Tony Yeshin (1999) defines marketing communications as "the process by which a marketer develops and presents stimuli to a defined target audience with a purpose of eliciting a desired set of responses" (Yeshin, 1999). Marketing communications are: adverting, sales promotions, personal selling, PR and direct and interactive marketing (Fill, 1999).
Consequently Marketing Communications Plan is the marketing plan which promotional plan incorporates two or more integrated marketing communications mediums aiming to reiterate the same goals and objectives. Marketing Communications Plans are considered by many professionals as an excellent way to effectively communicate with target audience.
Marketing Communications Plans are generally based on two different frameworks: Marketing Communications Planning Framework and SOSTAC (Fill, 1999).

Marketing Communications Plans consist of the following vital elements:

Context analysis

How to Write Marketing Communications Plans

Promotional objectives

Marketing communications strategy

Promotional mix (methods and tools)

Budget schedule

Evaluation and control (Fill, 1999).

When writing marketing communications plan it is important to:

1. Set corporate, marketing and marketing communications objectives, which would support and integrate with each other.

2. Develop segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies

3. Develop creative message with which Marketing Communications Plan with communicate with target audience

4. Select and justify one or combination of marketing strategies (push, pull or profile)

5. Develop well-rounded and creative set of promotional mediums and allocate appropriate budget for each medium.

6. Create contingency planning strategy (in case something goes wrong)

7. Set strict set of evaluation and control mediums which would include milestones and continuous evaluation

References

Fill C (1999) Marketing Communications, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall Europe
Yeshin T, (1999) Integrated Marketing Communications, The chartered institute of marketing, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford
http://www.marcommwise.com/glossary.phtml?a=m&s=0

Please find below links to excellent Marketing Communications Plans:

C/M/315. INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN FOR ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD

S/M/162. Marketing communication plan: Philips SatinIce UK, and current marketing communications strategy analysis

S/M/158. Marketing Communication Plan for British Airways

S/M/158. Marketing Communication Plan for British Airways

E/M/14. Marketing Communications Plan for Pizza Hut

C/M/180. Internet music search engine Promotion Campaign

C/M/171. Analysis of the 50+ customer group for M&S and brief outline of a promotional campaign

P/M/311. Marketing communication Plan for Direct Lines the breakdown service

S/M/77. Project Management for Marketing Communications Campaign

P/M/289. Marketing Communications Plan for ROYAL DUTCH/ SHELL

S/M/69. Marketing Communications Plan for British Airways (BA)

P/M/269. Marketing Communications Plan for Shell

P/M/262. Marketing Communications Plan for North West Valley Sailing Club

C/M/117. Marketing Communications Plan for Hugo Boss

P/M/252. Marketing Communications Plan for the Introduction of New Product: Smoothie

P/M/139. Marketing Communications Plan for Haagen-Dazs

P/M/130. Marketing Communications Plan for the new degree programme

P/M/133. Marketing Communications Plan for Marks and Spencer

P/M/134. Analysis and development of Marketing Communications Plan for Adidas (US)

http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtmrk28.htm

How to Write Marketing Communications Plans
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All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2006 Verena Veneeva http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtmrk28.htm

Marketing Communications Audit - What is It, and Why is it Necessary?

As a product manager or marketing director a key responsibility is to develop and implement an effective marketing communications strategy. One place to start is with a communications audit.

An audit is a review of all current marketing and other communications vehicles to answer some basic questions:

Communications

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o What are we saying about our company/brand/products?
o Is the message consistent across formats and audiences?
o How are we presenting the information?
o Who are we talking to?

Marketing Communications Audit - What is It, and Why is it Necessary?

The results of the audit should help clarify the communications strategy and provide a framework for future projects.

The simplest way to begin is to gather all existing materials and lay them out on a big conference table. Materials would include product and corporate brochures, product packaging, business cards and letterhead, annual reports, advertisements, direct mail pieces, investor kits, and website screen shots. Even things like internal memos, press releases, promotional items, company t-shirts or hats, and PowerPoint templates should be included.

Once everything is laid out, some basic questions can be answered. First, do all the items look like they are from the same company? Is there some consistency in layout, use of color, and fonts?

Second, is the company positioning clear? In other words, if you asked several people to review a number of your communications and tell you what they perceived to be the company mission or value offering, would the answers be consistent? Or would it depend on what pieces were reviewed?

Third, what are the key messages that are being communicated? Are those messages coherent, or fragmented? Are the messages consistent with your intent?

For many businesses, the answers to these questions are not encouraging. Fragmentation and inconsistency are common, especially as an organization grows and as communications responsibility becomes dispersed.

Unless there is someone within the company charged with maintaining an overall vision, and empowered to enforce guidelines and standards, it is often unavoidable that the communications water gets muddied.

Some may say, "So what?" There is a feeling that as long as each entity within the firm is communicating effectively with its own constituency, there shouldn't be a problem except for marketing purists. The fallacy with this argument becomes obvious once you begin talking to various stakeholders within the organization, as well as customers and investors who are either getting the wrong message, or aren't sure about what the message is in the first place.

The communications audit is really only the first step. Understanding the impact your messages are having requires research, and developing a process for ongoing review and implementation integrity requires dedication.

It's one thing to give lip service to communications consistency, but quite another to put in place the means to make it happen. By regularly reviewing your communication strategy, and evaluating your materials to ensure they are meeting your goals, you will improve message clarity and better meet the needs of your customers, investors, and employees.

Marketing Communications Audit - What is It, and Why is it Necessary?

Donna Lucchesi heads Lucchesi Business Consulting, LLC in Scottsdale, Arizona. She has over 20 years experience leading the marketing efforts of multiple companies, in addition to working in market research and advertising. An overview of company capabilities and client feedback can be found at http://LBCsuccess.com

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Marketing Communications - Changes in Technology, Customer Behavior and the Economy

It is no secret that the Internet and related new technology has changed the face of marketing communications. Much like the inception of radio and television affected business communications years ago, the Internet is turning marketing methods of the past on their heads and recreating the environmental landscape of buying and selling. History has shown there will be winners and losers in the midst of these changes, but you can stay on top by making sure your Online Marketing and Advertising efforts are current and applicable to today's customer.

What is happening NOW in marketing communications?

Communications

Search engine optimization, video, social media, audio and RSS are just a few of the terms that are becoming an integral part of relevant marketing strategies. A shift in customer thinking and behavior has required business owners to leave behind old advertising methods and learn how to use these aforementioned tools to reach customers.

Marketing Communications - Changes in Technology, Customer Behavior and the Economy

While ten years ago a banner ad may have pulled in the customers, today many customers will immediately view the ad skeptically. Replacing traditional advertising are customer recommendations and word-of-mouth through blogs, message boards and other forums.

In a way, this takes some of the financial pressure off of your shoulders, which is a relief in today's fragile economic times. You don't have to have deep pockets or break your revised budgets to purchase the big ads and flashy marketing in order to compete. Instead, you must know your niche well enough to provide the quality information customers are seeking. You also must learn where your customers are hanging out online, so you can join in their communities and discussions. We are transitioning to a new profession that takes dedication, insight, authenticity and smarts to succeed.

How can you become a marketing communications winner?

No business owner or brand manager wants to lose out on customers just because the world of advertising and marketing is changing. Good news--you don't have to! In fact, you can thrive and see your business go to new levels if you implement an effective strategy that works in today's market.
Below are three simple tips to help you find your way to success:

o Research in order to know your niche, your customers, your competitors and your keywords. Your research goal is to become an expert on not only your business niche but also your customers. You want to know who they are, where they go online and what words they plug into the search engines. Free search engines and keyword tools (such as the Google Keyword Tool) make this step simple.

o Get comfortable with the idea of using social media. If you want to connect with customers, you are going to have to tap into social media. By participating in blogs, networking sites and other online communities, you can work with your prospective customers on their level. These relationships can turn into dollar signs.

o Offer something of value to potential customers. Once you have made a connection with people online, you want to make sure you keep them engaged by offering them quality information and solutions to their problems. Doing this helps you to build rapport and trust as well as keep you in the fore-front of their minds when they are ready to buy.

Marketing Communications - Changes in Technology, Customer Behavior and the Economy

BIO: Chris Marentis, Founder & CEO of GenNext Media, LLC and author of Surefire Social Marketing DIY Guide to Social Media Marketing Success for Small Businesses.

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