Impact of Changing Technology Upon Marketing Communication - Coursework Example

Impact of changing technology upon marketing communication Table of Contents Importance of marketing 3 Importance of technology in marketing communication 3 Technology and Marketing functions 4 Technology changes and the marketing mix 5 Technology as a tool to influence consumers 7 Reference list 8 Importance of marketing Marketing plays a crucial role in delivering success to business activities. Marketing facilitates an organization to provide valuable information to the customers in respect of the goods and services which it manufactures. It is therefore a useful tool in introducing products into the market. Marketing also involves developing long lasting relations with consumers. Without suitable marketing strategies, even if a firm manufactures high quality products, consumers may remain uninformed. Marketing therefore facilitates in attracting consumers and reap high revenues. Apart from interacting with consumers, marketing also provides the scope for determining the most suitable pricing strategy and the area or the market in which the products must be launched (Tapp and Hughes, 2004). Such strategies facilitate the organization to determine the most suitable manner in which consumers can be attracted. Marketing also involves studying the strategies which are adopted by competing firms and according making changes in the products so as to achieve competitive advantages. Marketing also facilitates an organization to build its brand reputation and to provide recognition in the industry. Marketing efforts also leads towards the development of healthy competition amongst firms belonging to the same industry (Zineldin, 2000). Importance of technology in marketing communication The changing role of technology is seen to impact marketing communication extensively. Modern technology has significant role to play in the overall manner in which organization communicate with consumers. Technology has provided the scope for interacting with consumers on a diverse number of platforms (Song, et al., 2005). Modern technology has also developed different alternatives in comparison to the traditional manner in which consumers are reached. The rapid development of the internet and its easy access has facilitated firms to interact with consumers more conveniently. Consumers can gain information regarding any product or service and make purchases through the net. Modern gadgets such as smart phones and tablets have further facilitated the easy access of the internet. Apart from reaching out to consumers, technology has also made a number of marketing functions simpler and more efficient. Improved technology facilitates the organization to attain information faster and develop better marketing plans and strategies. Modern day marketing relies hugely upon technology for fulfilling its marketing related activities. Technology makes it simpler to develop budgets, make estimation and formulate plans in respect of marketing activities. Technological growth has also facilitated intra organizational communication making it possible to deliver more accurate, swift and reliable information (Wu, Yeniyurt, Kim and Cavusgil, 2006). Technology and Marketing functions The integrated marketing communication system facilitates an organization to provide consumers with consistent information across diverse channels of communication. The integrated marketing system with the help of advanced technology facilitates providing information in respect of products and services repeatedly. Such repeated interaction with consumers helps in creating lasting impacts. Integrated marketing services have also revolutionized the manner in which consumers purchase products. It is possible for consumers to purchase products from any given location through the internet. Technological advancement has specifically impacted the manner in which organizations develop their brand image. Consumers can make use of the integrated marketing services to attain information regarding products at given time and from any place. Firms are able to reach consumers located at any part of the globe through the integrated marketing approach (Avlonitis and Karayanni, 2000). The changes in communication due to technological development and the easy access to information through the internet explain why integrated marketing communication has become so important. As technology advances, companies explore new horizons for communicating with consumers (Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000). Business organizations seek information and communicate with consumers through computers and mobile phones. The advancement of technology has facilitated the creation of virtual environments where a business organization can communicate with other business entities and also with consumers for transacting business or to exchange information. The virtual environment is seen to be getting more and important as increasing number of people use mobile phones and the internet system for communicating information. The manner in which the communication world is changing influences the manner in which business entities communicates with external entities. According to the chaining technological environment business organizations are required to change the manner in which they reach out to consumers. The promotional and advertising strategies of business entities have changed rapidly (Schilling, 2002). Technological advancement has facilitated organizations to develop specialized communication platforms which facilitate in specific communication strategies with different types of consumers. Advertisements on Facebook and similar online social platforms create wider opportunities for business organizations to communicating with consumers and other business firms. Development of mobile applications has facilitated consumers to visit virtual stores and through mobile phones making business dealings simpler. When Honda announced on Facebook that individuals who would use the Honda logo would be given virtual gifts on Valentine’s Day, more than half a million people participated in the online event giving much popularity and widespread communication of the brand. In similar manner various organizations are able to create deeper brand awareness amongst consumers (Karimi, Somers and Gupta, 2001). The rapid growth of internet and mobile technologies has led to the competition with traditional forms of communication such as television and newspaper advertisement. Some of the traditional forms of communication such as pamphlets have become almost obsolete. As the landscape of media technology changes, the spending of companies on different types of promotional activities have also change dynamically. Companies are also seen to invest in development of new types of media so that the dynamic ways in which consumers can be approached gets developed. The present generation believes in multitasking and is seen to perform a number of tasks together (Aaker and Jacobson, 2001). As individual travelling on a bus might be listening to music on his mobile phone as well as interacting with friends on the web. Companies can make use of this opportunity and put advertisements on different sites while they surf the internet. However while using technology to reach out to consumers, companies must keep in mind the characteristics of the target consumers and accordingly make use different media forms (Zhou, Yim and Tse, 2005). Technology changes and the marketing mix Technological changes are seen to affect marketing functions dynamically. Decisions which are taken by organizations in respect of their marketing mix get influenced by technology as well. Technological development has facilitated firms to produce goods and services in more efficient manner. As a result the overall cost of production gets reduced which impacts the prices charged by companies in the markets (Thatcher and Oliver, 2001). Advanced and sophisticated technologies help producing goods economically which leads top cost advantages, providing an organization with competitive advantages. In respect of promotional decisions, technology has provided the corporate world with different arrays of communication and brand development. Social media, online platforms and other forms of interactive communication allows firms to directly communicate with consumers (Black and Lynch, 2001). The consistently changing forms of communication require organization to develop new strategies and ways of presenting their products to consumers. Advanced technological solutions helps firms to reach out to a wide number of consumers across different markets at lower costs. Growths of technology have made it easier for organizations to understand the psyche of consumers and attract them towards different products and services in a more dynamic fashion. Such widespread and interactive form of communication is not only considered to be economical but it also facilitates in creating lasting impressions upon the minds of the consumers (Avlonitis and Karayanni, 2000). Promotional tactics have widely changed due to changes in the technological environment. Technological advancement has also led to the creation of virtual environments where businesses can interact with suppliers and other stakeholders directly and in a much more convenient fashion. The direct interaction between firms and suppliers has reduced the roles of intermediaries thereby facilitating cost reduction. Technology provides firms with an interactive virtual space where it can directly communicate with the stakeholder of the business and share information (Kline and Dyer-Witheford, 2003). Technological growth has led to the increase in efficiency in manufacturing systems. Waste reduction and meeting environmental norms have become easier objectives. Advanced technological solutions provide firms with the opportunity to manufacture products and services in a safer environment. Waste and effluent management have become easier which facilitate firms to earn better reputation in the market and in the eyes of consumers. In terms of product features, an organization can capture greater market value through acquiring correct market information and developing more consumer suited products. Customization procedures have become simpler. Technological advancement has made it easier for companies to pay and receive payments. Although, technological advancements provide business organization with a number of diverse benefits in terms of communicating with consumers and marketing of products, there exist potential threats as well (Henard and Szymanski, 2001). If internal organizational information is not well protected, it can get easily breached making a firm vulnerable to competitors. Making use of advanced technology and integrating the same into an organization necessitates acquiring highly skilled personnel. Moreover as an organization updates its internal activities alongside of newer technology, employees are required to be trained so that they can get accustomed with changed mode of operations (Stone, Good and Baker-Eveleth, 2007). Technology as a tool to influence consumers Technological changes have induced changes in consumer buying behaviour as well. The present generation is seen to make use of technology through using their mobile phones, laptops and tablets as a shopping tool. The rapid growth of the internet technology has facilitated organizations to directly communicate with dealers. The development of online shopping facilities has increased sales revenue and turnover rates in many industries. It is also seen that modern technology has revolutionized the manner in which word of mouth gets propagated from one consumer to the other (Noble, Sinha and Kumar, 2002). Consumer can check product reviews on websites and on blogs and gain information in respect of the experiences of other consumers. Based on their research they can then decide whether to buy a product or not. If consumer’s reviews which are published online are positive, it creates a deeper buying instinct in the minds of consumers. Technology has also changed the manner in which consumers purchase products. Modern day consumers thoroughly go through the specifications of the products before actually buying them. While purchasing products online, it is possible for consumers to compare prices offered by various retailers for a similar product and accordingly determine whether or not to make a purchase. Technology has also facilitated consumers to obtain deeper and more accurate information regarding different products and their offerings. Hence greater customer satisfaction gets effected when consumer needs aptly match with the product characteristics. Changing technology increases the requirement of different types of consumer goods. Hence companies are propelled towards developing newer products which in order to meet the needs of a changing society (Trainor, et al., 2011). Reference list Aaker, D. A. and Jacobson, R., 2001. The value relevance of brand attitude in high-technology markets. Journal of marketing research, 38(4), pp. 485-493. Avlonitis, G. J. and Karayanni, D. A., 2000. 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Z., Yim, C. K. and Tse, D. K., 2005. The effects of strategic orientations on technology-and market-based breakthrough innovations. Journal of marketing, 69(2), pp. 42-60. Zineldin, M., 2000. Beyond relationship marketing: technologicalship marketing. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 18(1), pp. 9-23. Read More