Integrated Marketing Communications - Coca-Cola Company - Case Study Example

Integrated Marketing Communications Name Institution Date Integrated Marketing Communications Introduction Marketing communications refers to all messages and medium that a company deploy with communicate with customers. As a portion of marketing communication and marketing mix, promotion entails all activities that a company engages to communicate with consumers about the product and the features and benefits of the product. Promotion is the communication element of marketing mix and it entails creation of a channel for dialogue with targeted customer base. Through promotion, an organisation intends to attract the attention of customers and offer them adequate information about a product to promote sufficient interest to motivate customers to purchase. This paper looks at how Coca- Cola Company can integrate direct marketing with internet marketing to promote brand loyalty and improve marketing outcomes. Importance of marketing communications Successful marketing communications depends on a blend of alternatives referred to as promotional mix with options entailing advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling and direct marketing. In addition the internet has turned out to be an influential instrument for reaching particular significant audiences. The role that each element plays in marketing communication partly depends on whether an organization uses a pull strategy or a push strategy. A pull strategy is highly dependent on customer demand and less on personal selling for the service or good to move from the producer to the consumer (Belch& Belch, 2013). The demand produced through advertising, sales promotion and public relations pulls the service or good via distribution channels. On the contrary a push strategy lays emphasis on personal selling so as to push the service or good through distribution channels. Nevertheless, for marketing communication to become a success, sound decisions must be made by the management in the additional three elements of marketing mix the product itself, the places through or at which consumers might buy the brand, and the price or cost at which the product will be provided . The best promotion ensures products are of high quality, prices are reasonable and there is sufficient retail distribution (Belch & Belch, 2013). Direct marketing For Coca Cola to improve its marketing outcomes, it can integrate direct marketing and internet marketing to improve its marketing outcomes. Palito (2013) notes that direct marketing is the procedure of directly communicating with target clients to promote response trough telephone, electronic means, personal visit or mail. Direct marketing is used by retailers, manufactures, service providers and wholesalers and they utilize a wide range of methods, entailing telemarketing, direct mail, direct response advertising, cable shopping networks and infomercials. Direct marketing was traditionally not seen as a constituent of the promotional mix, but it currently signifies a profound transformation in promotion and marketing. Direct marketing aspects , which entail direct mailing advertising along with direct response advertising and the numerous support and research activities essential for their execution, have been take up by all most all organizations engaged in marketing services, ideas or products (Palito, 2013). Direct marketing is beneficial because it will enable Coca- Cola Company to more precisely target a segment of prospects and consumers with sales messages that are geared towards their explicit characteristics and needs. Unlike public relations and advertising whose links to real sales are vague, direct marketing provides accountability through offering tangible outcomes. Direct marketing enables companies to gather information on prospects and customers. Through recognizing customers, Coca- Cola Company can serve them more profitably and effectively and thus become highly efficient in its marketing efforts. Direct marketing enables a company to reach every customer and create a relationship with every one of them. Brands that have strong brand equity are greatly successful in efforts of direct marketing than brand with little brand equity, Therefore, direct marketing works effectively when its marketing efforts are supported by additional marketing communication like conventional media advertising (Thomas, 2012). Direct marketing enables a company to target specific consumers with specific goods or services. Direct marketing enables a company to broadcast commercials or maul advertisements directly to consumers who are highly likely to desire what the company is selling. Direct marketing pleads to the desire of the customer not to extensively search for the services or goods they want. Thomas (2012) notes that direct marketing methods encourage a company to be highly personal with prospective consumers. Direct marketing permits a business to put in personal touches to its advertisements. In direct marketing, customers respond quickly. Rather than merely hoping to create awareness with a novel consumer base, direct marketing enables a business to be in contact with individuals who already need what the business offers. Internet marketing Like direct marketing, internet making has become an outstanding player within promotional mix. Websites offer a novel scheme of relaying information, advertising, and entertainment and has produced a novel element in marketing known as e-commerce or electronic commerce. Electronic commerce refers to the act of vending services and goods via the internet. This implies that apart from being a communication channel, internet is also a channel of marketing. Strauss and Frost (2012) argue that notes that internet’s interactivity is possibly the biggest asset of internet marketing. Through communication with prospects and customers one on one, Coca cola can create databases that assist it to meet distinct needs of customers, therefore developing a loyal client base. Since entry cost is small, internet is muddled with websites. Web sites need active audiences in the process of seeking information to view the site. Thus, the freshness and quality of website content is crucial for the website to be successful. Internet marketing is beneficial since it aligns with the manner in which customer make procurement decisions. According to Strauss and Frost (2012) consumers are increasingly utilizing social media and also research on their cell phones internet so as to undertake preliminary price and product research prior to making final purchasing decisions. Internet marketing enables a company to build relationships with prospects and customers via frequent, minimal cost personalized communication, a sign of a shift from mass marketing. In addition, offering products via the internet is convenient for customers because they can search for products online at any time and make orders at their own convenient time. Internet market can enable Coca cola Company to personalize its offers to clients through creating a profile of customer’s preferences and purchasing history. Through keeping a track of the web pages along with product information that customers and prospects visit, the company can create targeted provisions that reflect the interests of the customers and prospects. Also, the information obtained following tracking of websites offers the company with data to plan cross selling promotions so as to raise the worth of sales by the customers (Miltesky, 2014). The internet offers a significant platform for a company to developing relations with customers and increase levels of customer retention. When a client buys a product from Coca cola’s online store, the company can start the relationship by sending the customer a follow up email so as to substantiate the transaction and also to show gratitude to the customer. Regular emailing of customers with unique, personalize offers assists maintaining the relationship. The company can in addition invite consumers to present reviews of the products on the Company’s website, assisting to enable customers to have a feeling of community. Internet marketing enables a company to fully exploit the benefits of social media. A company can incorporate social networking tools into its internet marketing campaigns so as to improve its marking outcomes (Miltesky, 2014). Internet marketing and self- congruity According to Keller (2014) it is vital to the growth and survival of a firm to develop and sustain long term relationships amid a brand and its target consumers. Consumers have the tendency of liking, preferring and eventually maintaining a lasting relationship with the brand that has an image similar with their self images. Self congruity is the connection amid self concept of customer and brand personality experience or felt by consumers in the process of building a brand-consumer relationship. Brand loyalty is a significant issue in marketing because customer apt to make procurement decisions through brand images already formed within their minds other than from original characteristics or attributes of the good or service itself. Since brand personality represents brand identity, it can distinguish a brand from brands of competitors through creating distinctive brand associations. Therefore, brand personality influences customer’s emotional attachment, trust, usage, preference and loyalty (Keller, 2014). A positive and strong brand personality generates favorable, strong, congruent and unique brand associations, thus promoting brand equity. Brand preference is the inclination of a customer to select a particular brand amongst alternatives based upon the value or benefit it offers. Self image congruity have a positive influence on buying intention and customer favors a brand that have an identical personality characteristics to his personal ideal or actual self image(Sung & Kim, 2012). According to Suntornpithug and Khamalah (2010) brand experience are the feelings, sensations, cognitions as well as responses elicit brand related stimuli which is a portion of the brand’s identity and design, communications, environments and packaging. Brand experience significantly influences how the consumer perceives the brand as well as buying decisions. Consumers might experience brands via getting in contact with them via numerous mediums, entailing the internet. Brand experiences involve a variety of behaviors entailing shopping, search as well as consumption and when customers evaluate and examine products. Internet marketing enhances brand experiences because it enables customers to search for products on a company’s website at any time prior to making purchasing decisions or placing an order. Internet is a novel channel of marketing where customers are able to experience products and brands. Internet marketing offers a great level of interactivity with products as well as other people who use the brand. Internet marketing permits organizations to arouse real shopping atmospheres, product demonstrations, and also offer rich interactions with sales representatives and other consumers (Suntornpithug & Khamalah, 2010). According to Venkatesan et al (2010) online virtual environment is a marketing channel where customers can engage in search of information, trial and purchasing of products. The online virtual environment offers significant advantages due to increased social and functional interactivity and provision of valuable brand experiences that result to increased sales and customer loyalty. Customer interaction s with brands and products utilizing three dimension websites greatly affects purchase intentions, product knowledge and results to more certain brand attitudes. Suh and Chan (2013) argue that shopping on the internet makes customers to have virtual experience, a feeling that they are really present in virtual environment. It also enhances social presence, or the degree to which a consumer perceives other consumers to be physically present while interrelating with them via a medium of communication. Greater levels of social presence and functional interactivity, through realistic shopping atmosphere through the internet, positively affect the purchasing behavior and brand attitude of a consumer in additional marketing channels, entail direct marketing channels Utilization of multiple channels such as direct marketing and internet marketing are essential for the sustained growth of Coca Cola brand. Suh and Chan (2013) note that companies are utilizing several marketing channels to assist them reach a huge customer base, retain existing clients, improve long term competitiveness and increase sales. Several customers utilize the internet to raise their knowhow of the attributes of products before buying the product in store. Brand experiences as well as behavior influence decision making in other direct marketing channels. Therefore, Coca -Cola Company can integrate internet marketing with direct marketing because internet marketing promotes consumer’s brand experience and brand loyalty will be promoted if they encounter similar products in direct marketing channels. Conclusion Marketing communications is important in every organization because it defines an organization’s relationship with its customers. Internet marketing and direct marketing are two important channels that Coca -Cola company can use to consumers communicate with consumers about its brand and improve its marketing outcomes. Direct marketing will enable Coca cola to precisely target a segment of prospects or customers with sale messages that are geared towards their specific needs and characteristics. Internet marketing will be beneficial because it will promote Coca cola brand experience. Internet marketing promotes brand experiences because it allows consumers to search for information about the products, interact with other brand users. Therefore, internet marketing offers a greater level of interactivity with products and other users of the brand. References Suh, S,. & Chang, S. (2013). "User Interfaces and Consumer Perceptions of Online Stores: The Role ofTelepresence," Behaviour & Information Technology, 25 (2):99-113. Venkatesan, R., Kumar., V., & Ravishanker, N. (2010). “Multichannel Shopping: Causes and Consequences," Journal of Marketing, 71 (2):114-132. Suntornpithug, N., & J. Khamalah, J. (2010). "Machine and Person Interactivity: The Driving Forces Be hind Influences on Consumers' Willingness to Purchase Online," Journal of Electronic Commerce Research , 11 (4): 299-308. Sung, Y. & Kim, J. (2012). Effects of Brand Personality on Brand Trust and Brand Affect., Psychology & Marketing, 27(7): 693-66. Belch, George E., and Michael A. Belch., (2013). Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communication Perspective. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Keller, L. (2014), Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Palito, D. (2013). The Direct Marketing Cookbook: A recipe for Getting and Keeping Customers. London: Routledge. Thomas, A. (2012). Direct Marketing in Action: Cutting-edge Strategies for Finding and Keeping the Best Customers. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. Strauss, J., & Frost, R. (2012). Marketing on the Internet: Principles of Online Marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Miltesky, J.(2014). Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More