Mass marketing and Targeted marketing - Essay Example

It includes Radio, Television, Newspapers and even the internet. According to Jakacki (2001), some of the products that are suited for this marketing strategy include drinking juice, furniture, automobiles as well as mobile phones. An example of a company that has used this strategy with a good measure of success is Coca Cola. Other food manufactures such as Nestle and electronics giants like Sony have also used this strategy to reach a world wide market. The major advantage of this strategy is economies of scale since production is in large quantities.

At the other opposite end of mass marketing is targeted marketing or better still Niche marketing. Targeted marketing is aimed at a given market segment. A segment in this case may be a given geographic area, demographic profile such as the youth or behavioral segment based on variables such as income status or level of brand loyalty. There has been a shift from mass marketing to targeted marketing occasioned by a number of factors. Changing consumer patterns, the need to position products differently from competitors and the importance of being an expert in a given area.

Jakacki (2001) says that today's consumers have diverse needs. For instance there is a segment that is keen on losing weight, and another one which wants to avoid sugar. This has led to the emergence of products such as Coke diet to cater for this unique segment. At the same time intense competition has led companies to produce products that are unique to a given segment hence setting the product significantly apart from those of the competitor. A phone company will therefore manufacture mobile phones with a music player in order to tap the youth market.

This makes their products unique and leads to more sales in the specific market segment.The shift to targeted marketing can also be attributed to the fact that emphasis on one area makes you an expert in that particular field. A company is more likely to stand out from the crowd if only it is viewed as an expert in a given area by the consumer. For instance a food manufacturing company may get more mileage if it concentrates its effort in the manufacture of baby products only. Since it is the expert in this field then a good number of mothers are likely to buy its products.

Using practical examples, explain how an integrated marketing communications strategy might enable marketers to more effectively reach target customersIntegrated marketing communication is a new approach in marketing that is aimed at blending all marketing communication efforts of a company. (Moschis 1994) The ultimate goal is to make the various communication tools used by a company to compliment each other rather than work in isolation. It is based on the idea that the combined effect of the various communication tools is way much better than the sum of their individual effects.

This helps in creating synergy in the company's communication effort.Moschis (1994) points out that a company can reach its customers using a number of communication tools. It can be through advertising, sales promotion or direct marketing. Now, integrated marketing communication aims at integrating all these tools so as to reach the