Way Of Integrated Marketing Communication.

Integrated Marketing Communication is an effective way to achieve the best results for the company, in terms of investment in marketing activities. It goes a long way in promoting products and services among target consumers. The idea is to coordinate the firm’s promotional efforts to achieve the best combined effects for the firm. The process involves identifying target consumers, or individuals who are best suited to the purchase of products or services; promoting the brand among them through any one of the following means:

• Public Relation
• Direct Marketing
• Advertising
• Sales Promotion
• Personal Selling
• Social media

To understand integrated marketing communication, let us first understand what brand communication means.

Brand communication is an initiative taken by organizations to make their products and services popular among the end-users, and hence, is an essential part of a company’s advertising campaign. It increases awareness of products and services and eventually increases their sales, yielding high profits and revenue for the business. All small businesses need to promote themselves well among the end-users not only to outshine competitors but also survive in the long run. In the present scenario, small counties are emerging as hubs of entrepreneurial activity, beating larger cities and even metropolises in their growth rate. Promotion involves a number of tools we can use to increase demand for our products. The most well-known component of promotion is advertising, but advertising is not a stand-alone process. It is a part of integrated marketing communication process.

As discussed in my post Awesome Under $5000 Business Ideas, small towns in the US have an emerging economy and are the biggest potential market for consumer goods and as well as eCommerce. The proof of their growth story is corroborated by most FMCG companies that are now earning a nearly similar proportion of revenues from both big and small markets.

Integrated marketing communication refers to integrating all the methods of brand promotion to promote a particular product or service among target customers. In integrated marketing communication, all aspects of marketing communication work together for increased sales and maximum cost effectiveness.

Media

Getting favorable media coverage can be quite valuable for the company’s image, as consumers will often perceive what they perceive to be “independent” media news stories as more credible than paid advertising. However, a downside to being covered by media is that the marketer does not get to control what media will say.  This type of coverage is not necessarily less expensive than traditional advertising, since a lot of labor is often needed to generate media interest, but it most definitely is one of the easiest ways to reach to the maximum number of consumers.

The media will generally react negatively to advertising, in general, and to sensational language such as “revolutionary” or “breakthrough.”  There is generally a preference for precise, factual information although a human interest story may also be of interest. If you decide to generate news releases, they should generally be brief.  Ordinarily, these should not exceed two double spaced pages in length although additional information can be made available. Also, it is important to quote actual people—whether customers, neutral experts, or employees of the firm.  This may mean drafting a quote and asking the appropriate person for permission to quote him or her saying it.

Feedback

Integrated marketing communication enables all aspects of marketing mix to work together in harmony to promote a particular product or service effectively among end-users. In a feedback survey, you may reach out to your consumers and request them to participate in a feedback aimed at improving your products and services. Although this may be misleading way to measure advertising impact, at times, because we live in a messy world where other factors influence sales as well, it gives you a broad idea of how your company is doing in terms of customer satisfaction.

It is noteworthy that at HyperEffects, marketing is an art and a science in itself. We use state of the art graphics and videos as an “Art” and tested techniques and strategies as “The Science” of marketing, to target potential clients. You may contact us for a free consultation with one of our business experts on effective and economical ways to advertise your product.

In my next post, I am going to discuss more about the components of Integrated Marketing Communication. Keep checking back!