Future Marketing Communications Strategy - Essay Example

? Marketing Communications Introduction All organisations, small and large, government, commercial, charities, broking, educational and other privatefirms require some kind of communication with specific stakeholders, if not all. The objective might be sources of services and materials in order to do business or undergo collaborations with private and third parties in order to distribute their services and goods. Apart from this, there are stakeholders called consumers who have the power and freedom to choose from thousands of services and product offerings. The objective of marketing communication is to provide a platform where businesses are able to attract and retain all interested parties and stakeholders are made aware of the value of services and goods offered to them (Rossiter and Bellman, 2005). Marketing communication can be described as a tool which is utilised for the promotion and branding of a firm as well as its offerings (Govoni, 2004). The impact of organisation on the overall marketing process and marketing communication identifies the factors affecting those processes. Marketing communication can also be described as an assimilation of various ideas, designs, and campaigns in order to percolate a particular message to the target audiences. According to the traditional marketing communication, there are five major tools used in communication (Kotler, 2004). These are advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, direct marketing and public relations. Media can be described as the medium through which these communication tools reach the target audience. For a long time, a predictable and formulated mix has been used, for example, different communication and media mix is used for business-to-consumers and business-to-business audience (Williams and Cutis 2012). Technology and social media have complicated the traditional marketing mix and organisations have now started to explore. Recent slowdown in the economy has increased the pressure on the already overloaded marketing department. Managers are now required to create innovative strategies with even lower budget. Every department is now accountable for the budget they get. This has also led to internal competition. Apart from that, organisations are increasingly realising the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethics. Businesses have started incorporating these activities in most of their marketing and communications plans. The accountability and authenticity of these programs and campaigns are still questionable, it is clear that the marketing communication is rising from its traditional form to a more innovative, creative and comprehensive approach (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). In the current essay, a review will be done on the marketing communication tools and theories. The current disadvantages of these tools and future strategies will be discussed, with the help of relevant corporate cases. Theory and principles Based on numerous studies and research work, marketing communication theories are established. They are the result of years of consumer surveys, and analyses of the perception, changing preferences etc. The importance of these theories lies in the fact that, understanding of these theories is of immense help in formulating a strong communication strategy. Below are few of the established and widely used theories of marketing communication; AIDA Model This is one of the first models of communication strategy. AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire and action. Though in the year 1911, another factor, satisfaction was also added, the model is better known by its four factors; Attention- this is the first step of a communication process. Here the strategy is to get the attention of the customers. Presentations of revealing facts and figures or identification of a preliminary problem are few of the strategies which can be used in this step. Interest- once the marketer has gained attention, the next step is to generate interest and maintain it. The objective is to keep the interest of the consumer towards products or services. In this step, using personal communication tools can be helpful. Desire- in this stage, the objective of the marketer is to show the prospective customer how the service or product can be a solution to their problem. This is done by demonstrating the relevant features of the services and products and their benefits. Effective marketing in this stage results in confirm purchase. Action- once sufficient desire has been in the minds of the consumers, actions are taken to persuade them in order to buy the service or product. Heightened Appreciation Model According to this approach of marketing communication, the marketer should focus on one marketing strategy. According to this model, the strongest attribute of a service or product category should be identified and marketing communication should establish a link between this product attribute and the brand. The attribute should be able to generate enough interest in the mind of the consumer. This model will be termed as successful if there is an increase in usage and overall brand image of the service or product. Model of Joyee This model of marketing communication was suggested in the year 1991 by T. Joyee. This model thrusts on these basic areas, consumer attitudes, purchasing behaviour and advertising. There is a continuous chain of events occurring in these areas and any change in one factor alters the other areas. Consumer attitudes are the overall feeling towards a service or product and it tends to change with experience and usage. It has been suggested that a favourable attitude results in purchase. Thus, the objective of this model is to change the overall attitude of the consumer and make it favourable to the consumer. Marketing Communication Strategies Three major marketing communication strategies have been identified; Pull Strategies A pull strategy is established by influencing the end customers. The ultimate objective of this strategy is end purchase of the product. Pull strategy requires high consumer promotions and advertising (Vaughan, 2000). This is done in order to build up demand for the product or service. Thus, in a pull marketing strategy, communication tools are the crucial medium. Some of the tactics for pull strategy will be customer relationship management, discounts and sales promotions, mass media and advertising. A good example of pull strategy is Ford Australia, which manufactures cars only on customer request. Push Strategy In a push strategy, products and services are pushed through distribution channel. Advertisements to the retailers, wholesalers help in seeding the message, which then generate demand from the end customers (Burt and Sparks, 2003). Many times, promotional materials such as flyers and notes are pushed directly to the end customers. Building and maintaining relationships with the customer is critical in this strategy. Profile strategy A profile strategy is different for the above two strategy because it focuses on satisfying the stakeholders. The objective of this strategy is to sustain a two way communication with all stakeholders of the business and keep them updated about any changes (Day, 2000). Marketing Communication Tools In the introduction, a small review of the communication tools was being done. In this section, these tools will be explained in detail; Advertising The major objective of advertising is to increase awareness. Advertisements help in the promotions of services or products (Wells, Burnet and Moriarty, 2003). For an advertising to be effective, the message should be clear. It is also important that after sufficient generation of brand awareness, full attention should be given on the overall advertising campaign (Sands, 2003). Direct Marketing Direct contact is established with the end consumer in order to generate a communication and subsequent transaction (Nash, 2000). As a result of the current changes, the society has become more receptive to direct marketing. Messages can be customised according to the exact preferences of the consumers. Few of the direct marketing methods are direct mail, catalogs etc. Interactive Marketing It is a form of marketing communication in which two-way flow of information can be generated. The major advantage of this tool is that it can be integrated with any other communication tool. The target audience can be divided into even smaller clusters and easier target (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Exhibitions Exhibitions and trade shows are platforms where the customers can try the available product or service (Kirchgeorg, Jung and Klante, 2010). It also gives the marketer a chance to receive feedback directly from the consumer. Public Relations Activities related to public relations have the objective of targeting a certain set of audience. Public relations generally include making the public aware of latest development in the company. Publicity is another form of public relations tactic. Importance of Marketing Communication Marketing communication plays a crucial role is communicating the right message to the right audience. An effective communication of marketing plans helps in raising brand awareness and brand strength. Marketing communication can be considered as important because of the fact they have a direct impact on the minds of the consumers and have the capability to elevate or detoriate the overall image and perception of a service or product offering. Marketing communication is important because of the following factors; Generating Brand Awareness Before buying or opting for purchase of any service or product, customers need to be aware of the existence of the company. Marketing communication strategies help in creating the required brand awareness among the target audience and inform them about the company’s offerings. For the success of marketing communication plans, marketers need to understand the demographic and psychographic profile of the target audience and devote exact budget on the media and communication strategies. Build Strategic Vision One of the functions of marketing is to constantly create new ideas and strategies for generating revenue for the company. Strategic vision aims at creating innovative ideas and plans with the objective of fulfilling the future growth plan of the business. Marketing communication tools helps in evaluating the right media through which these messages will be delegated to the target audiences. Evaluation of marketing communication tools will help in developing strategic plans for present as well as future. Competitive advantage Effective strategies in marketing communications place a company in a superior position than its competitors. A marketing communication plan can help the message reach the target audience in such a way that it is perceived to be more valuable than the other offerings. Marketing communication can also be used to highlight the weaknesses of the competitors. Fostering Goodwill Now a day’s companies are involving in various environmental activities. Companies have become concerned about the surroundings and have started getting involved in goodwill of the environment. These activities have helped them garner positive perception from the customers. Sponsorships, national campaigns are few of the activities which are helpful in generating goodwill among the customers. Key Challenges of Marketing Communication Market deregulation, emerging segmentation and changing preferences and taste of consumers have resulted in a complex situation. In spite of having almost similar goals, most marketers are faced with varied problems in marketing communication. As traditional marketing is becoming obsolete and more and more consumers are switching to social media, it has become important for the marketers to pace up their marketing strategies and plan accordingly. There has been a gradual shift in the market place. The power has been shifted from the manufacturer and wholesaler to the retailer. A continuous fall in the economy has also compelled the consumers to look beyond the traditional approach of advertising. Few of the major challenges which the marketers are facing in today’s competitive and ever changing environment can be described as follows; Driving Traffic and Attention This is the first phase of marketing communication and usually the most difficult. In the presence of a cluster of similar products, attracting the attention of prospective consumers is the most tedious task. Most of the times, marketers fail to search for the most suitable channel for communication (Dholakia and Uusitalo, 2002). It becomes more difficult in case of generic products. Targeting Effectively Targeting is a major component in marketing. In order to successfully target the audience, marketers need a persuasive and effective message. In case of a diverse demographic profile, finding a common message is very difficult. Apart from that, international companies selling in different regions also face similar situation. These multinational corporations (MNCs) have to dissipate the message according to the local and regional preferences. Thus, relevancy and exact targeting are other challenges to a successful marketing communication (Mei, Lee and Al-Hawamdeh, 2004). Keeping Up with the Changing Trends and Strategies Marketing has seen many transformations in the past two decades. There have been changes in the media channels. Print and outdoor media is increasingly being replaced with social media. Marketers are now using many tools at once, with better penetration and reach. New and creative ways of reaching customers are being evaluated. In such a transforming phase, it is critical for the company to update itself with the changing demands of the consumers as well as the society. Few other challenges which have grappled the marketing communication strategies are change in compensation and work patterns of advertising strategies, gradual shift from information acquisition to value acquisition. Consumer empowerment and media fragmentation are other features which are concerning the current communication strategies followed by organisations. Future Marketing Communications Strategy For successful implementation of the marketing communication strategy, a centralised planning approach should be used. The first step in evaluation a brand or product is to find out the current image status of the brand. This will define the present brand health. Another effective strategy can be comparison of the image with those of the competitors. Once the image of the brand is identified; the next step will be evaluating the current brand perception of the target audience. This phase is extremely important because understanding the mind of the consumer and their perception towards the product or service offering will help in preparing the exact message. Customer perceptions can be generated through feedbacks, online and offline surveys and product complaints sites (Jones, n.d). Once the target audience is evaluated, a persuasive and information driven message will help to connect with the customers. Marketers need to understand the exact need of the buyers. The example given below will help in explaining how Hindustan Unilever (HUL) captured the toothpaste market by understanding and generating needs. Toothpaste has been advertised in a traditional form, for a long time in India. Colgate has remained the market leader for a long time. The advertising strategy followed by the company was based on two communication messages; preventing decay of gums and stronger teeth. To counter this, Hindustan Unilever launched two different toothpaste brands; Pepsodent and Close-up. The close-up brand targeted the younger population based on its attributes such as mouthwash and freshness. Pepsodent was targeted at children while focussing on the strength as a germ fighter and preventer of tooth decay. Even though these attributes were important, they have never been highlighted. Thus, a large chunk of market share of Colgate was taken over by these new brands. Conclusion Marketing communication strategies should be understood as a continuous approach. In a volatile economic environment and continuously changing preferences of customers, it is very critical for the marketers to follow a comprehensive approach to communication. Open communication, absolute knowledge of the theories and their effective implementation are few of the factors necessary for the smooth running of any marketing communication programme. Reference list Burt, S. and Sparks, L., 2003. E-commerce and the retail process: A review. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 10, pp. 275-86. Day, G. S., 2000. Managing market relationships. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 28 (1), pp. 24-30. Dholakia, R. R. and Uusitalo, O., 2002. 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