Integrated Management Communication - Case Study Example

Integrated Management Communication . Student’s Name: Grade course Tutor’s Name Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0 Determining the Role of IMC tools 3 Introduction 3 1.1 Table of Articles 3 1.2 Article Review 5 1.3 Observation 6 1.4 Conclusion 8 2.0 Setting objective 9 2.1 article overview 9 2.2 Observations 10 2.3 Conclusion 11 3. 0. Investment Strategy 11 3.1 Article overview 11 3.2 Observation 13 3.3 Conclusion 14 4.0 Message Strategy Decisions 14 4.1 article overview 15 4.2 observations 17 4.3 Conclusion 18 5.0 Measuring the effects of IMC 19 5.1 Article overview 19 5.2 observations 21 5.3 Conclusion 22 References 22 1.0 Determining the Role of IMC tools Introduction Integrated Management Communication is the businesses deliver messages to their customers so as to let them know about the businesses services and goods. It is the process that enables the companies to plan, execute and monitor their advertisements and informative messages that promote customers relations. Apart from advertisement IMC uses tools such as sales promotion, actual selling, trade fairs, public relations, direct selling among others. The IMC tools are aimed promoting brand names and products of the product. Each of the IMC tools has its advantages and disadvantages and each tool has its purpose and the situation which it can be appropriately used (Fraser, Merrilees, and Wright, 2007). Therefore, it is important to the companies and their marketing teams to analyze the tools and decide which one suits their purposes and goals fully. The tools serve different purposes for example; advertising is used in cases where the company wants to create awareness among its customers about their products. It is mainly used when introducing new products and new brands. Internet marketing and direct selling are most suitable to companies that deal directly with their target customers. Sales promotion suits businesses that want to increase sales of an already existing product. Personal selling suits businesses that aim at delivering specific messages to their specific customers. 1.1 Table of Articles Article Source 3 ways to make your brand memorable on social media http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225844 Integrated Management Communication- 5 primary communication tools http://ezinearticles.com/?Integrated-Marketing-Communications---5-Primary-Communication-Tools&id=2177059 Advertisement has never been less trusted than now http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-04-05/news/38306880_1_nitin-paranjpe-advertising-industry-women-consumers Pendulum swings from advertisement to promotions http://www.inma.org/blogs/ideas/post.cfm/the-pendulum-swings-from-advertising-to-promotions What are sales promotions? http://suite101.com/article/sales-promotions-a96994 Sales promotion strategies http://ezinearticles.com/?Sales-Promotion-Strategies&id=3959138 http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/PRJournal/Documents/2013WirtzNgondo.pdf Use of social media for U.S. most admired fortune companies Website strategies of U.S. public relations agencies http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/PRJournal/Documents/2013DiStasoMcCorkindale.pdf Personal selling http://www.scribd.com/doc/43465653/Personal-Selling-Article Advantages and disadvantages of personal selling http://plentysystems.com.au/resources/articles/170-personal-selling 1.2 Article Review Article 1: 3 ways to make your brand memorable on social media The article talks about the ways one can use the social media to reach most of the people and to make them spread the news to other people. The article explains three ways in which one can make people to remember their brands in social media. The article talks about businesses doing online marketing, to always do something worth remembering by people because it helps create a relationship between the brand and the customers. The article also talks about the social media method the companies can use to engage their customers and to make them part of the company. These methods include Facebook where the companies have a fan page where they communicate with their customers. This creates awareness even to the friends of the customers who end up becoming the customers of the company due to influence from their friends. Another method is Tweeter accounts where the companies get feedback from the customers on how to improve their services. There are companies which are going to an extent of offering free products and services to their Facebook and Tweeter fan; for example, Bow Wow offers free meals to Facebook fan on every Wednesday so as to maintain a close relationship with the customers. Article 2: Integrated Management Communication- 5 primary communication tools The article explains how communication is a very important tool in success of every business. It also explains how communication should be utilized within and outside the company’s organization to ensure they achieve their goals and objectives. The article is all about strengthening communication in the company and with the outside world which is made of customers. The article says that for every business to succeed it should design IMC tools that show the customers their benefits from using the company’s products. The tools should always aim at providing dialogue with the customers to ensure their expectations about the products are met this will help improve the products. The articles also explains that there should be timing before realising any message to the customers because the target market should be considered while communication with the customers. The article explains the strategies that should be followed so as to have the most effective IMC tool. These strategies include identifying of company’s objectives of the company that it aims to achieve with the tool. 1.3 Observation Observation Comment Challenges The main challenge in using IMC tools is the decision on which tool to use during a particular time towards a targeted market. This makes it hard for the companies to use the best tool at that moment because the tools are interrelated and they have similarities. This makes the companies go out of their set objectives which may affect the delivery of the message to the customers. Opportunities The key opportunity is the growing level of social media with new entrants such as Twitter and Facebook which have helped organizations reach many of their customers all over the world. This helps companies to create brand awareness without incurring a lot of costs. This has helped companies increase their sales because there a lot of people who are aware of their brands. Adherences/deviations from IMC concepts and principles Adherences: Most of the company marketing executives are recommending using of different methods at the same time so as to have the most effective way of reaching out to so many people. Deviations: the results of IMC process should be to give awareness to the customers. The companies should have customers interest in the brands they are creating. Therefore, it is important to use the most appropriate tool that will give the best result. Trends and future ramifications Likely outcomes It is evident in the articles that the traditional ways of IMC are becoming unpopular as new methods such as internet marketing and other social media game popularity. Likely outcomes: this means that IMC is becoming more complicated and effective due to new methods of communication that are more effective. The IMC is becoming more dynamic and the outcomes are becoming wide day by day. Impact on industry and brand The industry will become more competitive because the messages from interactive sites such as Twitter will reach to their targeted audience. Brand: the brands will continue growing and this will help develop other ways of improving brands. Likelihood of development There will be increased development that will see emergence of new media that will increase competitiveness. 1.4 Conclusion In conclusion, every tool of IMC is aimed at creating awareness among the customers. There is need to identify the target audience so as to decide which tool will serve the role in the most appropriate way. This calls for every marketer to understand all the IMC tools so as to be able to apply the tools in the most appropriate way. Utilizing of the IMC tools will help companies increase their sales which will in turn lead to increase output. The increased output means that the company will increase its revenue. It will also in the long run create the brand name and increase shareholders value (Belch, et al. 2009). The articles explain how internet and interactive tools are gaining popularity because they are helping create a dialogue between the customers and companies. The emergence of new media such as Twitter, online gaming and Facebook has provided marketers with new ways of merging old ways of IMC with the emerging ones such as interactive marketing. There has been integration with different tools of IMC. The articles call for more integration so as to achieve success in customer communication. 2.0 Setting objective Introduction This part is about setting objectives on the IMC tools to be selected for a given task. The objectives should be ones which can be achieved without affecting the revenue of the company. The objectives that are set should consider all stakeholders. IMC tools serve different purposes and, therefore, the objectives set should be in place with workability of tools. 2.1 article overview Article 3: advertisement has never been less trusted than now The article states how a research was carried out in India about how people take advertisement to be. The research was initiated by the CEO of Uniliver and it was centred about how much people trust advertisement. According to the research 75% of the people who were interviewed said they do not trust advertisement of any kind. The articles talks about how the CEO on giving the report said that advertisement was in the verge of dying. The CEO warned that there are other emerging modes of communication that are pushing advertisement out of the market. He said that people no longer find advertisements interesting and even are never interested to watch them. The reason behind this is that there is a growing of modes such as DVR technology that has recordings of individual customers so as to send them specific messages. Article 4: Pendulum swings from advertisement to promotions The states the types of promotion those are most popular among the business community. The types include loyalty programmes, discounts and coupons. The article says that over the past years marketers have been shifting their attention from advertisement to promotions. The article says that the results of promotion are easily measurable because it is simple to look if the set objectives were achieved. It says is easy because one can realise if the sales of a company increased while in advertisement it is very hard to tell if sales increased as a result of advertisement. The article also says that promotions can be tactical because they are designed in a way to give target to a specific customer and the results can be achieved on the same day. The promotions increases the sales because of it means there is a penny less than one is used to buying the goods. The articles states that discounts were at 80% of the tools of promotion that were used in 2012. Discounts are monetary incentives to buyers to help them purchase a certain commodity. The disadvantage of discounts is that they cannot apply to customer oriented businesses. 2.2 Observations Observation Comment Challenges The main challenge in selecting the objectives of IMC tools is hardship in catering for all the stakeholders because they have different needs. Their tastes are also different. Opportunities The greatest opportunity in this part is that the objectives which are set will work with any of the IMC tools. Adherences/deviations from IMC concepts and principles Adherences: this part requires that the set objectives should always be in line with marketing objectives. Deviations: the major deviation is that setting objectives has been taken as a different part from IMC. Trends and future ramifications Likely outcomes In the articles it is clearly shown that setting objectives in the most appropriate way leads to better results and great outcomes. Impact on industry and brand It is evident that setting the right objectives on IMC leads to an increase in the size of the industry and brands. Likelihood of development This development will lead to increase in the competition on industry due to appropriate use of IMC tools. 2.3 Conclusion Setting the right objectives that are related to IMC strategies and principles can help organizations achieve their goals and objectives. The articles shows the advantages of setting the right objectives putting into considerations the tools of IMC. 3. 0. Investment Strategy Introduction This part of the paper is about how investment strategy work with IMC tools to provide the best results in any investment. This part calls for consideration of IMC tools when an investment is being put in place. The articles in this part show how investment strategies can benefit from IMC tools. 3.1 Article overview Article 5: Advantages and disadvantages of personal selling Personal selling is rendered one of the most efficient techniques of promotion. This is because it enhances interaction between a company and a potential buyer or client. A scenario where a sales person is in immediate communication with a potential client, for example, emails, video conferencing, face to face meetings as well as through the telephone. Advantages of personal selling include; it provides an opportunity to develop a strong lasting relationship. This encourages loyalty. It also helps to create a dialogue, and this gives the sales person the opportunity to explain, listen, answer questions, gain feedback, as well as persuade a buyer. It helps create rapport between the sales person and a potential buyer. The disadvantages of personal selling include; the ineffective sales persons can lose customers and detriment a business. Personal selling is more expensive as a promotional tool as compared to other promotional tools, for example the travel costs and incentives provided. In order to make personal selling work, there is need to maximise the selling audience by for example, presenting at expos, trade shows and hosting own information sessions. Article 6: what are sales promotions? The article starts with giving definition of sales promotion. It also states that it is an important tool of Integrated Marketing Communication that is gaining popularity among business. It is also states that it is one of the tools of promotional mix and others include advertisement, public relations and personal selling. The tool has an advantage to the business because they can apply business price discrimination. This will increase companies’ profits because sellers can even sell at a lower price without incurring any losses. It is a tool that can be used by business to influence consumer behaviour the reason behind this is that a sales promotion is aimed at different purpose, for example, the one of increasing customers can be very beneficial to the company. The article also gives the strategies of sales promotion and they include price discrimination; is a method that allows businesses to apply different prices on the same commodity to different target areas. This is mainly based on the price sensitivity of customers at a particular area. The businesses which apply the method use coupon and special prices to attract price sensitive customers. The companies also use a method of reducing their prices. The method is very effective because it attracts customers from all the target customers. Another method of sales promotion is coupons customers are attracted to business by reduced price offers. The coupons are found in magazines, newspapers while other companies distribute them to their customers. Another method is the pack, where the company gives an extra product to customers for purchasing a particular commodity without charging them. The companies may also use free gifts together with a purchased product this helps increase the sales because customers prefer buying the commodity offering the free gift. The companies can also use free mail-ins, in this method a customer has to make a number of purchases and keeps the receipt with them. After they acquire a given number of purchases they redeem them for a particular amount of the product. Other methods under sales promotion are self-liquidating offers and competitions and contests. 3.2 Observation Observation Comment challenges The main challenge is that when designing an investment strategy most businesses do not put into considerations the IMC tools to be used in future. Opportunities The main opportunity is that investment strategy when working in close relationship with IMC tools can lead to great achievements and lead the companies in achieving their objectives. Adherences/deviations from IMC concepts and principles Adherences: Investment strategies work in line with the IMC tools meaning it follows it concepts and principles. Deviations: the main deviation is that the investment strategies do not consider IMC tools when they are being put in place. Trends and future ramifications Likely outcomes If the proper investment strategies are put in place there will be growth in the relationship in using the tools of IMC and business. The likely outcome is that there will be growth in the industry. Impact on industry and brands Investment strategy properly designed will lead to growth of the industry and brands if they work closely with IMC brands. Likelihood of the development IMC and investment strategies may lead positive projections of sales of the companies. 3.3 Conclusion Investment strategy when merged with IMC tools will lead to the growth of the industry. The articles show how good investment strategies and IMC helps companies increase their sales and achieve their goals and objectives. Investment strategies are very important in every organization to help lay down the plan to be followed. 4.0 Message Strategy Decisions Introduction The strategy on how the message should be communicated to the customers is very important and should be put into consideration. The decision on message strategy should consider audience target and know should put their tastes and preferences into consideration. The message strategy should be in line with IMC strategies and principles. 4.1 article overview Article 7: sales promotion strategies The article gives the strategies of sales promotion. The article also explains that sales promotion has been one of the most effective tools of IMC. The reason behind this is that it is directly linked to customers and it is capable of increasing sales. The article also states that sales promotion is important because it can reach all levels of customers. The method has strategies which can help business to utilize it to bring increased benefits to customers and businesses. There are three strategies that are widely accepted and that can help business increase their sales. The strategies include push strategy; this strategy aims at being sure that the commodity is required by customers. The customers are in a dilemma about where to get a product but they are in its need. The consumers get the products from wholesalers and retailers. Therefore, the company gives incentives to the wholesalers and retailers so as to make them increase the sales by promoting the product. This method is applicable where there is stiff competition in the market and a small change in market sales will result to an increase in profits. The method is beneficial to wholesalers and retailers because they are given margins to ensure that the product is given preferences when it comes to sales. Another strategy is pull strategy, in this method the producer assumes that the customers do not know about the product. The producer works with wholesalers and retailers to ensure that the customers find the product appealing by both looks and taste. The last strategy of sales promotion is mix strategy; is all about mixing factors of push and pull strategies. The producer plans on how to produce incentive to both wholesalers and retailers to make them make the customer aware of the product. The method helps the company since the method is comprehensive and reaches the target market. The article warns that the strategy requires a lot of planning and funding. Article 8: Website strategies of U.S. public relations agencies The internet gives organisations an opportunity of developing true communication between the public and the organisations, and terms like dialogic and dialogue are becoming more rampant in describing practical and ethical approaches to communications in industry and academia. This is done as public relations research and theory move towards a communication model of two- way, which are related. Researchers recommend that online strategies ought to be an essential part of practitioners’ store, and a comprehensive set of perfect practices should be created by a practitioner. This is possible by combining online strategies together with traditional public relations. Taylor and Kent are the ones behind the theory of dialogical theory of public relations. This theory expresses the principles of communications between publics and organisations, based on relational communication theory, which argues that open discourse and honesty are very central and vital to key relationships. Dialogic communication framework has also been suggested, a framework through which the degree to which website is used by organisations to ease the dialogue with their public, can be measured by researchers. This framework has been applied to a number of organisational types, and these include, activist organisations, non profit organisations, congressional offices, as well as universities and colleges. The interesting thing is that the degree to which agencies of public relations use their own websites to engage in the dialogic communication is yet to be explored. Exploring it is worthwhile to pursue due to the following reasons; analyzing websites of agencies ought to provide an indication of the dialogic website strategies communication popularity among agencies. At the same time, it would suggest the degree at which academic recommendations has entered the public relations field. Secondly, the study of agencies interaction with clients or more so potential clients and in a public medium is valuable. This is because, client- agency relationship might require a different website communication strategies set and not what is already suggested research of previous dialogic communication. Since agencies that have higher billings are usually larger, it is suggested that their websites also have different features. Recent research done on dialogical communication framework shows that it should be updated to include and capture the social media, since the social media captures a large population. 4.2 observations Observation Comment Challenges The greatest challenges in message strategy is that there are so many strategies that many companies do not have resources to review all of them and, therefore end up taking the one only know to them. Opportunities The opportunity under this part is the many strategies that can be utilized to help improve the way the message is delivered to the customers to ensure that the message have the information they require. The strategies will help the companies utilize their resources to win more customers. Adherences/deviations from IMC concepts and principles Adherences: The strategies in message decision help the IMC tools to work in line with the customers and companies objectives to achieve their goals. Deviation: is that the strategies do not have a clear laid down procedure to be followed. Trends and future ramifications Likely outcomes The trend and future ramifications is that the strategies can be improved to realize more success. The likely outcomes are that the IMC tools will be integrated in such a way that it will be hard to disintegrate them. Likelihood of the developments This development will mean that the IMC tools will help companies and customers achieve their objectives while doing business. Impact of industry and brands The strategies will help improve the industry’s standards and brands quality and increase sales. 4.3 Conclusion The message strategies decision help to select the best tool to use during communication with the customers. This will help the companies achieve their goals and objectives that are meant to be achieved by IMC tools. The IMC tools will work with the chosen strategies to realize success in marketing. 5.0 Measuring the effects of IMC Introduction This section evaluates all the tools of IMC and how successful they can if utilized in the best ways possible. The part measures the success of IMC tool in accordance with their strategies and methods they use to communicate with the customers. 5.1 Article overview Article 9: Personal selling The reason why marketing is done is in order to make selling superfluous. The purpose is in order to be familiar with and understand the customer very well such that a product sells itself by fitting him or her. Selling is a very essential part of the integrated marketing communication, which has to be orchestrated for utmost impact on the market place. The marketing communication mix involves non personal selling and personal selling. Personal selling involves face to face, internet chat, or telephone presentation so as to build relationships and make sales. Non- personal selling includes public relations, sales promotion, advertising and direct marketing. Marketing focuses on doing a tremendous job of pricing, promoting, developing and distributing a product to the customer, such that the product sell itself. Instead of finding new customers so as to make sales, organisations have realised that the best way is to retain current customers, which is a lot cheaper, than attract new ones. This has contributed largely to the focus on relationship marketing, and this involves working more closely with customer in order to create lasting relationships with time. Personal selling is the backbone of relationships development because it is focussed towards achieving satisfying results which are mutual between a seller and a buyer. This in turn enhances and sustains future interactions. All relationships are built on trust, and this trust is necessary for sustaining the mutual relations essential selling and buying to take place. Article 10: Use of social media for U.S. most admired fortune companies Clinching the social media is an enormous opportunity as well as a necessity, but not anymore a strategic business option. This is why underscoring the social media importance is a grave mistake. In 2012 more than in the previous years, the practitioners of the public relations agreed that other emerging media as well as the social medial are significantly changing the practice of public relations. The fortune global 100 companies are likely to allocate resources to social media also engaging their stakeholders on dialogue on Twitter as well as Facebook more than the previous years. Most companies that are successful are known to use social media strategically since just the use of it is not enough. It has been suggested that public relations should be redefined as social media, and this renders the ancient distinction between activities of communication irrelevant. Mere creation of a space the site of a social media is not enough, and neither does it create value. This is because, for an organisation to embrace social media, it may signal a change of how business is run, or even comprise buy- in from management. There are three ways through which the social media challenge the conservative reputation management strategy: it should not pursue short term interest, but rather should concentrate fully on ethics, has the outcome of presenting a collective truth and it is not just a channel of one-way communication. The social media aids the practitioners of public relations to develop relationship with the stakeholders who cause the failure or success of the organisation. 5.2 observations Observation Comment Challenges The main challenge is that there is no given way of measuring the effects and success of the IMC tools. This makes it very hard to get results required in the evaluation. Opportunities The opportunity is that there can be a way of defining the measures to the effect of IMC tools. Adherences/deviations from IMC concepts and principles Adherences: The effect of IMC has ways of measuring the success of the tools. Deviations: is that there is no central method of measuring this effects. Trends and future ramifications Likely outcomes Trends are in such ways that in future there will ways to measure the effects of IMC tools. Likely outcomes are that the procedure will become more successful. Impact on industry and brands The impact on industry and brands is that if there are measures of effects of IMC the process will lead to an increase in the size of the industry. Likelihood of developments The results of the development are that there will emerge more ways of IMC that will help increase the size of business. 5.3 Conclusion The articles show that the effects of IMC can be measured. There is need to design special ways of measuring the effects of this tools. There articles show that the results of IMC tools can be measured and improved to cater for businesses and customers needs and objectives. References Belch, G.E. (2009). Advertisement and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing and Communication Perspective. Sydney: McGraw-Hill. Buil, I., Chernatony, L., and Hem, L.(2009). Brand extension strategies: perceived fit brand type and culture influences. European Journal of Marketing, 43(11/12), pp.1300-1324. Egan, J., (2007). Marketing communications. London: Thomson Learning. Fraser, L., Merrilees, B., and Wright, O., (2007). Power and Control in the Franchise Network: An Investigation of Ex-Franchisees and Brand Piracy. Journal of Marketing Management 23(9-10), pp.1037-1054. Turban, E., King, D and Lang J. (2011). Introduction to Electronic. 3rd Ed. New York: Pearson.   Read More