Integrated Communication Strategy - Essay Example

Integrated Communication Strategy Introduction When looking at the various attributes that define the way an organisation is run, the marketing aspect may seem trivial, but in reality, it is the most important. Any business that wishes to have any influence on its clients must look at the various methods of dealing with the inability for clients to make the business their favourite. Repeat clients are a sign of good quality and satisfactory provision of services. The problem is when the organisation, company or institution does not know how to attract them. For this reason, the use of the integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies has a variety of benefits. The benefits include the establishment, enhancement and maintenance of good relationships with customers and any other partner that may wish to come on board. The main aim is to create a relationship that ensures the objectives of all those involved in the marketing of the organisation are met and the mutual fulfilment and exchange of promise is attained. The ability to realise relationship marketing benefits is to understand how to influence the most important people in the line of business. The important step is to understand the key drivers in the market and the best way of influencing the client based on what the organisation seeks to offer. This will allow the employees to come up with new trends that will meet its appropriate goals and offer room for improvement and development. The Birmingham Conservation Trust requires such assistant, and this report will examine the main ideals of IMC essential for the boosting of the organisation’s client visits. Meeting long-term objectives in any institution or organisation requires a good understanding of the growing communication needs between the organisation and its clients. An overview of the problem at Birmingham Conservation Trust (Case study) Birmingham Conservation Trust (BCT) is a charity organisation that works towards meeting the main demands of historians by saving and restoring historic buildings within the Birmingham city in England. This is a noble step by a charity organisation because it creates a good understanding of the way things happened in the society in the past and the impact this has on retelling the nation’s history. To do all this, BCT requires a huge budget to assist in airing their messages across the society for them to come and admire the work done to restore their history to almost the same as it was. This means that the Trust will require tour guides and in other areas the use of digital maps to direct the visitors. The main problem is getting the right way of encouraging as many people to go visit these historic sites without having an ideal platform to meet their needs. The small budget they operate on is making this very difficult. They result to the most affordable form of advertisement, which does not reach out to the targeted people, as it should. Lack of a marketing division at BCT is quite unfortunate. A relationship manager who will work on creating the right atmosphere for the intended marketing session will have to be present in the organisation. This manager will ensure that the plan in progress aims at customer retention and focuses on the long-term value of the clients. BCT has to come up with new methods of dealing with their issues as this will maximise on their skills as well as mitigate any failures that may arise from the interaction between the client and the organisation (Temporal 2015: 82). Understanding how to deal with this department will be a milestone everyone will appreciate because of the benefits expected. Further, the marketing department will assist in creating continuous customer contact, something that will entail creating a new means of supporting the needs of the clients always (Barnlund 2008: 50). The main aim is to ensure that the commitment towards meeting the needs of the clients will be in tandem with the quality of service issued. The lack of a marketing department is disadvantaging BCT a lot, and that will be the best way of inducing change in the Trust by creating one. This revolution will provide better results and will be a step towards the intended resolution of the present problem. To remain at the top of things, BCT decided to come up with a way of marketing the Newman Brothers project. This would take place by working on some attributes that would be ideal for the integration of the entire project towards meeting its specific goals. This also meant that the marketing process would be a wait-and-see kind of marketing strategy where leaflets were left various centres and maybe people would be interested. The problem with such a strategy is the fact that the client may read but not get the intended motivation to go and visit the place. Leaving these leaflets at cafés, hotels, and libraries, as well as writing blogs and using the website may be good ideas but their impact is quite limited. Being on social media should be an express means of supporting the marketing department. Facebook and Twitter are some of the most common platforms where companies, organisations, and global entities go to sell themselves as they market their product. To achieve the required target, BCT must be aggressive enough. The Trust should work on getting a good social media analysts who will teach them of new ways of attaining their goals. This will only happen if they can meet their main budget demands and come up with the ideal figure that will see them boost their social media presence. Carrying of paid advertisements may be one of the main ways of doing this, and it could pay off if well utilised. The lack of a communication’s strategy impedes the Trust’s ability to make good use of the resources available. The impact of a communication strategy is in spreading the message ideally to the rest of the society willing to come and visit these historic sites. The importance of a communication strategy is to ensure that the message sent connects with the audience, and is appropriate for them. The message must be simple and easy to understand it should stick and be emotionally resilient with the needs of the audience at the time (Barnlund 2008: 52). It should also beg to tell a story that ends up making the audience to want to come to BCT and grace their projects. Lacking a communication strategy means that the organisation misses the ability to establish a credible means of communicating with the outside world. Noted campaign objectives and their implications to BCT A notable need for advertisements has come to BCT’s attention, and this means having a set of goals and objectives to achieve within the required timeframe. This will only work if BCT is willing to provide the requisite materials towards meeting the intended goals. One the goal is increase of paid admissions by 100% by January 2016. This precise goal is easy to achieve using an integrated communication strategy. The other one is the development of a program encouraging repeat visits amongst visitors. This will entail having a good understanding of the emotional connection between the project and the client. The last of the objectives is the creation of a profile that will support the Newman Brother Coffin works, and by association, BCT. This is an achievable means of marketing both attributes, providing more understanding of the clients’ likes and dislikes. That will get them to understand how to carry out the entire marketing aspect. MARCOMM strategy To deal with the impending needs within BCT when it comes to the marketing of the Newman Brotehrs with the coffin works, it is always important to work on the main attributes that define the way things work to benefit BCT at all levels. This means that a set of objective must be set to ensure that everything is on track. The goal is to ensure that the objectives rhyme with what is happening within the organisation while at the same time providing the audience with what is expected (Berko 2010: 122). Using the MARCOMM strategy to maximise on the available platforms and check for new methods of attaining their goals is one of the main options presented (Fill 2009: 95). This will allow the relationship-marketing manager to understand brand position and the best way of raising its magnitude in the city. This implies having a great understanding of the purpose this plays whilst in tandem with the aim of using the brand to improve the Trust’s image (Holm 2006: 24). The MARCOMM strategy will set the pace needed to building of a relationship with the current audience. This allows Newman Brothers to come up with new measures to assure the audience of continued provision of quality services whenever they visit the projects. They should use the most visited project to create an understanding of the needed information and learn from it (Temporal 2015: 90). This will help in transference of knowledge, something that will build on the available platforms for the sake of dealing with the different attributes that Newman Brothers project could benefit from based on analysis. The best way of dealing with marketing communication is to create objectives that will increase awareness and perception of Newman Brother. The idea is to enhance Newman Brother’s image and establish a good rapport with the audience. This cannot happen without entrenching the needed ideals through which they can mitigate the losses noted by not maximising n what is presented to them often enough (Berko 2010: 133). This also calls for the realisation that the communication objectives are critical in offering the required traits and attitudes that the audience can follow and understand without having to go through the main attributes that define a brand (Holm 2006: 25). The expectations will create an awareness the marketing manger will capitalise on and ensure the reinforced attitudes provide the expected impacts and influences to the targeted individuals. Communication strategy A communications strategy is very essential in any organisation or institution. It denotes the need for a growth of a society that meets the main demands of the organisation while making good utility of the communication models in place. It defines the interaction with clients that allows for the utility of everything in the marketing department’s vicinity to reach out to the desired individuals (Holm 2006: 26). Developing an integrated marketing communication takes much more time compared to other forms of dealing with the issues within the society (Berko 2010: 135). This means that the customer base has to feel the impact from wherever they may be situated. The global world requires a marketing department that can thing outside the box. The implication is that the loyalty attained from the locals will be essential in meeting the main aspects and features of international clients (Kotler, Bowen, & Makens 2010: 129). BCT requires a communication plan that will meet its demands. For the communications manager, elaborate plans are required. The first step towards establishing this is creating a review of the activities taking place within the trust. The most important thing is to understand that the Trust has had an experience over a long period and that means that the manager has a place to start. The goal is to ensure that everything that takes is within the dedicated marketing objectives (Holm 2006: 26: Whalley 2010: 208). This may fall within the long-term or short-term goals, but the important thing is to ensure that the target audience is well understood and everything taking place is within the objectives noted at both the organisation level and the marketing communication manager’s level (Fill 2009: 106). The goal is to entrench the good morals within the certified goals and ensure everyone is aware of the strategies required to raise the Trust’s standards. The approach in use will incorporate different relevant strategies (Pickton & Broderick 2011: 55; Shimp 2010: 69). This will grow Newman Brothers’ confidence in reaching out to all other audiences across the board through better positioning and intensive relationship building aspects. Strategic objectives The expected achievements will increase as the strategy becomes more elaborate. The marketing communication strategy deals with different types of media in achieving its goals. The presence that Newman Brothers has online will be a stepping-stone (Kerin 2012: 26). With the little money available, the first step will be to revamp the social media platform by placing some cheap adverts on the social media and provide them with the main aspects that will push the company towards a better understanding of what is needed for more outreach (Fill 2009: 109). This also shows a need to look for other sites that will improve Newman Brother’s visibility to the locals. Special interests groups needed to feel part of the process, hence a need to capitalize on available platforms to woo them (Caemmerer 2009:73). Getting youngsters will help change the perception of heritage centers, hence encourage more locals to visit the site often. Given that the target is an individual that has some attachment to the things found within these projects, talking to older people who have had an experience with the Newman Brothers is a good start. This will make it easier for the main ideas. The manager has to look for all simple ways that the communication can be interactive (Fill 2009: 112). This means having an understanding of how the social media works and estimating the main ideals within Newman Brothers that can make this more influential. For instance, the use of Instagram to send photos has become a likely method of sharing information (Holm 2006: 29; Fill 2013:113). This also implies a need to meet the main ideals within which the audience will understand that the marketing attributes am attracting and retaining them within their organisation. This means that the organisation will only meet its goals if it can multiply its effect across various media. Using televisions and radios may not achieve the intended goals (Clow & Baack 2007: 196). The advertisements paid for on social media will also include hashtags on twitter to make the Newman Brothers projects trend. Even if the trends are for a short period, the timing will have to be perfect. This way, it will be easy to provide the needed platforms for dealing with the issues at hand (Robbins, Judge, Millett & Boyle 2011: 298). The best sales promotion aspect to apply is one that allows Newman Brothers to capitalise on its position in the society as well as position themselves appropriately to sell their brand. This means providing more room for people to contribute to the program by presenting them with antics that will never get out of touch with reality. This also implies holding barbeques that will assist in raising money (Kotler & Keller 2012: 122). This will be in conjunction with the municipality, something that will boost the way people view Newman Brothers. The future also need to be in mind as the people targeted have to met the major demands of the growing global community. This means that the whole process has to be both a qualitative and quantitative approach that aims at creating new platform for more visitors (Kotler & Keller 2012: 160). Another sales promotion idea is using the website to attract people. This will involve having links redirect to the Newman Brother’s website from the main BCT website, while making good use of other websites that have similar offers as BCT. A good way of making New Brothers better is by looking for an idea that will be boosted by the website to attract more people. Coupons will be a good idea as people get to win for making referrals to their friends to visit the website or the heritage site. Given that this is an exciting step, the most important thing is to get people talking about it and the best way is by linking this to the growth of the society as a whole (Holm 2006: 30). This will cause the needed buzz around the town because the target is anyone with an internet connection at home work or the office. It also looks at the probability of having different invites to people near those who have a chance of getting word about the coupons. The important thing is to estimate whether the budget provided can be supplemented and whether this will make good use of the main ideals within Newman (Robbins, Judge, Millett & Boyle 2011: 300). To deal with the issue of the budget, the DRIP model will be in use. This will shift the concentration from one angle to the next, allowing more people to contribute to the growth of BCT’s prominence. The first step in the DRIP model is the ability to differentiate the product from what others are offering within the market (Holm 2006: 30-1). This will work best using storytelling that many seem to ignore, but which is influential in several parts of the society. This will work best by maximising on the main issues within the society as a way of meeting the intended goals (Lüdicke 2007: 96). The second aspect is reinforcement, which tells the audience the reason this product is different. In some advertisements, it is easy to miss this aspect because the advertisers have not emphasised on its importance, as they should (Pickton & Broderick 2005: 99: Hughes, & Fill, 2009: 15). The third aspect of the DRIP model deals with the information aspect. People need to know that the product, as different as it is, is genuine and easily available. This allows people to build up their curiosity and maintain the main attributes that make it better to maximise on the relationships built and the best way of achieving them (Lüdicke 2007: 99). It is always important to understand that the sale promotion method chosen should work to increase the client’s confidence in the products offered. This increases chances of word-of-mouth advertisement from satisfied clients. The last element of DRIP model talks about persuasion (Hughes, & Fill, 2009: 17). The sales promotion must at always make good reference to the product and the connection it ahs to the audience. History is part of the England, and the City of Birmingham has a precious place in the hearts of the people. Therefore, playing this card will be a good way of changing perceptions about Newman Brothers amongst the public, and offer them a reason to come back and visit the Newman Brothers’ project again. A good way of encouraging repeat clients is by asking for their feedback and getting them involved in making changes to the way things are run there. They own the place and make changes to suit their desires (Temporal 2015: 103). The evaluation and monitoring of the integrated communication strategy When dealing with such an entity, it is always important to come up with a strategy that can allow them make better utility of the marketing strategy in place. This means that the society will have to make good use of the team in place. The best way of looking at its impact is by looking at how many people were influenced by this project. The more the people who will have come to visit the Newman Brothers premise will be recorded and evaluated based on the form of communication that caught their attention. This means that the method that will have the most number of people will be used for future communications (Holm 2006: 31). The other means of understanding what impact the strategies have is by examining the growing need for a stable platform for the utility of the communication methods in place. Ideally, the main aim is to create a new platform that can meet the key demands of Newman Brothers. Social media is a good way of monitoring the impact made because it is very possible to maximise on the available platforms by making attaining the needed number of fans per social media platform and having as many people as possible interact with the pages on a daily basis (Temporal 2015: 103-4). The tactics of implementing this is by getting the services of a publicist at the cheapest price possible and ensure that the strategies are in line with what is needed. The goal is making Newman brothers a premier place for heritage and cultural pride for all those living around the site as well as across the country (Temporal 2015: 106). All these are possible ventures but the option generated from the process of uplifting the site will leave a lasting mark. Heritage has so many sectors to choose from and that means capitalizing on all of them. Conclusion The other way of ensuring things work well is by transferring skills to employees. This calls for the training of employees to maximise and exploit all chances within their grasp to attain their intended goals. When visitors come, they will meet these employees first. This means they must be ready to meet their demands and provide them with the required platform for understanding what is needed across the divide. This also implies having a great understanding of history so as to engage with students from all levels. BCT will improve the number of visitors if the integrated marketing communication is in place and make visitations to Newman Brothers increase. References Barker, M.S, Barker, D. & Borman N. (2012) Social media marketing - a strategic approach. 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