Integrated Marketing Communication - Essay Example

 Integrated Marketing Communication Introduction The process communication refers to the transmission, receiving as well as the processing of information related to the product that has been already existing in the market or that has been newly launched (Madhavaram, Badrinarayanan & McDonald, 2005). The communication takes place between the buyers and the sellers, as the seller tries to sell the product using various communication strategies. The buyers sell the product to the sellers and collect feedback from them regarding its quality and durability. Further, the integrated marketing process also involves advertising and promotion of the products that are newly launched in order to attract the customers to purchase the products which in turn will help the company to set up its reputation (Reid, Luxton & Mavondo, 2005). The promotional strategies used by the companies are essential to communicate with the target customers regarding the products that are launched by the company. The study aims at evaluating the importance of salesperson in an organization and also to understand the effectiveness of advertising a product. The research offers a scope to develop a policy in order to remain ethical in the advertising practices of a company. Significance of the role of a Sales Person A good salesmanship is necessary for a company to promote its goods and services that has been newly launched and to create awareness among the buyers regarding the invention (Holm, 2006). A good salesmanship involves maintaining a good relationship with the customers so that the customers develop a brand loyalty for the product. The personality of the salesman should be such that they are successful in convincing the customers to purchase the products and also to visit the outlets regularly. The process of advertising facilitates the personal selling and the responsibility of the sales person becomes easier in case the customers have the knowledge regarding the product (Reid, 2005). The personality of the salesman helps in attracting new customers and enhancing the goodwill of the company. A more knowledgeable sale person is an ultimate requirement of the company and it also increases the possibility of bringing success to the company. The type of sales promotion varies based on the products that are launched in the international market. For example, Maruti Suzuki has launched a new model of car that is highly fuel efficient and it would be beneficial for the customers. However, for carrying out the promotional activities, the company has to train the salesperson regarding the features of the new model and how it would be beneficial for the target customers. It is only the sales promotion that would attract the customers to purchase the new vehicle. The sales strategy must also involve the process of allowing test drive to the customers so that they can check out with the features of the model (Holm, 2006). On the contrary, the smart phone company, Apple Inc. has launched new range of smart phones that are highly demanded by the customers. The sales executives within the company are efficient enough to attract the target customers to purchase the smart phones and also to collect feedback regarding the products that are sold (Finne & Gronroos, 2009). This has helped Apple Inc. to set up its reputation in the international market. Therefore, sales promotion is an important aspect that the companies need to consider. Expectations of a Sales Professional One of the most important expectations that the sales professional have is to keep pace with the customer satisfaction level in the international market. There are five important behaviors that can lead to a change in the sales behavior of a sales executive (Holm, 2006). It involves motivation provided to the sales personnel which would encourage them to bring in a change within the organization (Beverland & Luxton, 2005). The organization often conducts training skills for the sales professional in order to enhance their performance so that they develop their capacity to convince the customers to purchase the product. The next behavior that the sales person needs to incorporate is that of customization. The third behavior is that of the spaced learning that the sales professionals derive within the short training period offered to them (Beverland & Luxton, 2005). However, there are well-designed training programs arranged by the organization for the sales professionals to develop their communication skills. There are other two kinds of behavior that is to be included under the expectation of the sales professionals that are reinforcement and measurement (Dewhirst & Davis, 2005). Reinforcement implies that the participants are allowed to review the knowledge and skills they have developed during the training program. However, measurement involves the process of evaluating the impact of the training on the performance of the sales professionals of organizations (Dewhirst & Davis, 2005). Nonetheless, the researcher expresses the interest to be a sales professional of a company as the sales executive play a key role in setting up the business as well as contribute to the status of the company. This profession offers a scope to communicate with customers of various backgrounds that enhances their communication skills as well as understanding related to the customers’ needs and desires (Beverland & Luxton, 2005). They would have the responsibility to convince the customer regarding a product and offer schemes and discounts to further attract the customers towards the products. The job would help to develop self-confidence in handling different types of customers and their queries and complaints. Being a sales person of an organization is challenging, yet an interesting opportunity according to the researcher as the responsibility would enhance the company’s sales. Approaches to maintain ethics in Marketing Operations Ethics is an essential factor for carrying out any sort of business within the organization. It is only the ethics maintained in the company that contributes to the reputation in the international market. The customers would develop a brand loyalty if the company is loyal to its customers and provides them with quality products. Ethics involves avoiding the spread of asymmetric information by the salesperson that would create a sort of biasness among the customer and they may take incorrect decisions (Gurau, 2008). There are different ethical values that the company needs to consider while marketing its products which comprise of honesty, responsibility, respect, transparency and citizenship. The honesty of the salesperson can help the customers in developing a brand loyalty (Finne & Gronroos, 2009). The company should maintain a transparency in spreading the information regarding a product among the customers as this would help the company to gain respect from the buyers. As far as the responsibility is concerned, the company is expected to undertake corporate social responsibility that would be beneficial for the society and the company can create its brand awareness through such programs (Finne & Gronroos, 2009). For example, the company can use its promotional strategies in the social campaigns organized for the public. This would help the company to attract customers to purchase the product from the company. For example, Beverage Company launching a new health drink can arrange for a free health drinks campaign for the underprivileged children that would serve various purposes. The children would be provided with the health drinks and the company will be able to successfully promote the new product launched in the market (Grove, Carlson & Dorsch, 2007). Further, maintaining a good relationship with the customers is considered as an ethical aspect and it is one of the major responsibilities of the salesperson within the organization. Customer relationship management is another important approach that most of the companies undertake to create brand awareness among the loyal customers. Good relationship among the buyer and the seller attracts more customers towards the company’s brand outlets. Public Relations, Publicity and Corporate Advertising The public relations refer to a management principle that evaluates the behavior of an individual within an organization. The initial process involves determining the attitude of an individual and set up program accordingly in order to avoid conflicts, and the final stage involves the development and execution of the programs that are set by the PR agencies (Mulhern, 2009). These agencies mainly help in marketing of a particular product through the advertisement in social media and also through electronic as well as print media. The promotion of an event through media has been effective in drawing huge customer base towards the project. For example, the fund raising programs arranged by several NGOs are promoted through social media and this can be considered under the task of PR agencies (Mulhern, 2009). The publicity is another form of creating public awareness based on the campaigns and other social gatherings arranged by the companies. For example, publicity implies spreading of information related to a party during the election campaigns that motivates the citizens to vote for that party (Mulhern, 2009). On the contrary, publicity can be of a film that has been newly launched or is about to launch in next few days. The process creates awareness among the people about the thing that is publicized. Corporate Advertising is considered to be a basic tool of Public Relations and it does not deal with the promotion of any particular product, but it deals with communicating the company’s vision. It refers to communicating a positive image among its customers and also about the decisions regarding merger and acquisitions (Finne & Gronroos, 2009). Further, it also involves advertisement for the recruitment for any vacant position. For example, Google through its promotion communicates the company’s vision to enhance the knowledge of the individuals about the society (Mulhern, 2009). Role of Publicity Publicity is another form of advertising through organizing social campaigns. It is expected to create a huge impact on the society as it is generally conducted by gathering large number of people in order to make them aware of a particular event that would be organized the near future or has already been organized (Finne & Gronroos, 2009). In case of elections, the parties use their strength to publicize themselves so as to make voters biased towards them. It can have a strong impact on the minds of the individuals as they are diverted towards the topic. It also depends on the speaker who takes the initiative to publicize events. On the other hand, the films that are yet to launch also adopt this strategy in order to increase the number of viewers for the film (Finne & Gronroos, 2009). Often the films are rated based on their success in gathering large number of viewers. Hence, the success factors lies in the number of viewers as well as the number of people attending the campaigns organized by various parties. As the number of people attending the campaign increases, the impact of its publicity grows stronger. Conclusion The research is all about integrated marketing communication which involves evaluating the role of a salesperson in an organization. The study says that sales person plays a key role in attracting the customers towards the products that are newly launched by the companies. It is the personality and the behavioral characteristics of the salesman that can help the company to maintain a good relationship with its loyal customers. The study also considers the ethical issues that every organization must follow and train the sales executive accordingly. The company must ensure that full and complete information is delivered to the customers in order to avoid customer complaints regarding poor services. However, there are several techniques that the company may use to promote its goods, services as well as to communicate its vision to the individuals in an organization. For example, often the companies use the publicity strategy to create awareness regarding the event that is to take place in the near future. It has a huge impact on the individuals as well as the society because it contributes to the decision making process of the people living in the society. References Beverland, M. & Luxton, S. (2005). Managing integrated marketing communication (IMC) through strategic decoupling: How luxury wine firms retain brand leadership while appearing to be wedded to the past. Journal of Advertising, 34(4), 103-116. Dewhirst, T. & Davis, B. (2005). Brand strategy and integrated marketing communication (IMC): A case study of Player’s cigarette brand marketing.Journal of Advertising, 34(4), 81-92. Finne, A. & Gronroos, C. (2009). Rethinking marketing communication: From integrated marketing communication to relationship communication. Journal of Marketing Communications, 15(2-3), 179-195. Grove, S. J., Carlson, L. & Dorsch, M. J. (2007). Comparing the application of integrated marketing communication (IMC) in magazine ads across product type and time. Journal of Advertising, 36(1), 37-54. Gurau, C. (2008). Integrated online marketing communication: implementation and management. Journal of communication management, 12(2), 169-184. Holm, O. (2006). Integrated marketing communication: from tactics to strategy.Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 11(1), 23-33. Madhavaram, S., Badrinarayanan, V. & McDonald, R. E. (2005). Integrated marketing communication (IMC) and brand identity as critical components of brand equity strategy: A conceptual framework and research propositions.Journal of advertising, 34(4), 69-80. Mulhern, F. (2009). Integrated marketing communications: From media channels to digital connectivity. Journal of marketing communications, 15(2-3), 85-101. Reid, M. (2005). Performance auditing of integrated marketing communication (IMC) actions and outcomes. Journal of Advertising, 34(4), 41-54. Reid, M., Luxton, S. & Mavondo, F. (2005). The relationship between integrated marketing communication, market orientation, and brand orientation. Journal of advertising, 34(4), 11-23. Read More