Integrated Marketing Communications - Woolworths - Case Study Example

INTЕGRАTЕD МАRKЕTING СОMMUNIСАTIОNS Student’s Name: Course Code: Tutor’s Name: Date of Submission Direct marketing and internet marketing Introduction Marketing is a process of communication between a marketer and customers with an objective of selling a product or a service (Belch and Belch, 2012). The key aspect of any marketing is to communicate the product’s value to potential buyers. Companies make use of marketing communication mix elements to move products and services through intermediaries. However, an increasing number are avoiding the intermediaries and prefer to go directly to the customer (Doyle, 2000). This is referred to as direct marketing. According to Hambrick and Fredrickson (2001), the internet has also been used considerably to market brands, products as well as services. Woolworths is a brand in Australia that has been using direct marketing as well as internet marketing. Internet marketing has been considered as a direct type of direct marketing since the marketers engage directly with customers with the use of internet as a medium. Knox (2016) says that Woolworths, an Australian company which has interest in New Zealand and Australia is a brand that can use direct marketing and internet marketing to increase its competitive advantage. This paper will discuss how Direct Marketing and Internet Marketing can improve marketing outcomes of Woolworth Company. Types of direct marketing and their advantages Direct mail This marketing involves posting mails that are meant to advertise a brand, product or a service (Belch and Belch, 2012). Woolworths Company can use this in making their customers aware of their products as well as their prices. Here the company will engage their customers directly and not as a group. It involves defined and accurate list of mailing for achievement of mail advertising (O'guinn, 2008). This will encourage good customer responses because potential buyers will get the personal attention. Direct mails include catalogues, self-mailers, and post cards among others. Woolworth’s marketers will get the customers’ preferences directly and this will make them attend to the various customers differently. In the long run, the company will achieve a higher competitive advantage due to this direct marketing (Hambrick and Fredrickson 2001). Telemarketing This is another form of direct marketing that Woolworths can make to attract more buyers hence increasing the brand’s profitability.it involves contacting potential buyers with the use of phones in the process of selling (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). This form of marketing facilitates integrative marketing communication and therefore generates new customers’ prospects and increases their volume. Woolworths will be able to use this as a tool that will facilitate follow up on the direct marketing campaigns. O'guinn 2008 says that the company can use cold calling where the marketer will call the customer for the first time to generate a lead that is new. It will help in attracting as many customers as possible due to the increased use phones by customers. Warm calling will create rapport as well as make follow up on the customers’ needs. Follow up calls will make lead to a prospect (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). This method is cost effective although it requires proper planning and research to make sure there is a match between the product profiles and the customer profiles. Personal selling Woolworths can also incorporate this method. It will have to involve selling through a person to person communication process (Parker and Winterboer 2011). This communication is also referred to as dyadic communication. The marketer or the sales person will have to locate all the prospective customers, determine what they want and recommend on ways to satisfy their wants or needs (Alvesson & Kärreman, 2001). Additionally, the sales person in the company will demonstrate the company’s capabilities as well as its products so as to close the sale then follow up and service the account. This method will increase the company’s competitive advantage since it’s a two way interaction with prospects and the message will be tailored to meet the customers’ expectations (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). Distraction is usually minimal when the marketer is presenting information to the customer. And the method also acts a research of information. The method is closely connected to other integrative marketing communication tools such as advertising, public relations together with sales promotion and the internet (Hambrick and Fredrickson 2001). Text/SMS marketing Woolworths can also incorporate text messaging in its marketing strategy to achieve its goals and objectives as far as integrative marketing communication is concerned (Kumar, Bezawada, Rishika, Janakiraman and Kannan, 2016). This is where the company will send text messages to individual buyers and prospective customers. This method is cost effective and is capable to reach a variety of buyers despite their location. The method incorporates sales alerts, links to updates in the market, reminders of appointments as well as personalized messaging (Doyle, 2000). A company like Woolworths will benefit with the use of this method because potential customers of the brand will be reached using their mobile phones wherever they are whichever time. It will also benefit by the cost effective method therefore increasing its profitable hence competitive advantage (Doyle, 2000). Leaflet marketing This is a method to popularize the different brands, products as well as services using flyers or leaflets which are well designed to pass the intended information to customers. The leaflets are then distributed by sales people to their potential customers (Kumar, Bezawada, Rishika, Janakiraman and Kannan, 2016). Woolworths will be able to reach a variety of customers using this method that is cost effective and appealing to the customers. This method will be approached with the use of blanketing, sharing and distribution as well as sampling of products. Additionally, this method will incorporate street marketing together with distribution of handouts at popular events. However this method of direct marketing does not give a chance to the marketer to select customers who fit their profiles making it a less targeted form. On the other hand as mentioned earlier, Woolworths can use internet marketing as a direct marketing initiative. Here the company will have to include the internet as a medium to reach as many potential customers as possible. The method will also take some forms such as the following: Social media marketing This is a marketing tool that gives a company or a brand to interact with its customers using social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram among others (Parker and Winterboer, 2011). The platforms make it easy for customers to share their sentiments and reach a wide range of other customers. The relevant information regarding the product or services is shared among the users of these social media platforms (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). Recipients can also share the information to reach more and more users and customers in general (Parker and Winterboer, 2011). Basically social media constitute internet services that make interaction between individuals and their brands easy through online communities. It provides marketing opportunities for businesses and companies of all sizes like Woolworths. The company can use social media to promote the name of the brand as well as the business. It also provides a medium to inform potential customers about the products as well as available services (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). The company or the business will also get an opportunity to be informed on what the customers think about the business such as Woolworths. If the customers’ sentiments are negative, the company will get the information through the same platform and make the required changes. Social media also helps the brands to attract more customers and build strong relationships with the existing customers (Berry, 2016). The company will benefit through social media services in that there will be a broad reach to customers. The company will have the ability to target their customers in particular and specific groups in their particular locations (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). This will be possible since the technology advancement in today’s world has made a variety of customers have access to social media platforms (Berry, 2016). Social media platforms are usually free or they are offered at low costs which customers as well as businesses will be able afford. Social media provides personal linkage between businesses and their customers. Customers and businesses can engage more freely than and as fast as possible with the help of the social media platforms (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). Nowadays to access any social media service, customers do not need to be educated or have special skills therefore it can allow all individuals to access with the help of their gadgets such as phones and tablets. Email marketing This is a measurable as well as effective way of reaching new as well as existing customers. It is very cost effective compared to other methods of direct marketing (Berry, 2016). Messages are tailored to variety of potential as well as existing customers to drive sales directly as well as build relationships with the customers (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). It is a powerful tool for marketing by companies such as Woolworths where most of the customers have access to emails. This method seems to be very powerful marketing tool which is measurable as most of the customers check their emails (Berry, 2016). However it is very important to have consent from the customers prior to sending emails to them. There are some tactics in email marketing such as electronic news letters where customers get the latest regarding their sellers’ products and services as well as the brand. Promotional emails are also sent to generate more leads and offers for a company’s regular buyers (Doyle, 2000). Advertisement or basically ads also appear in other business’s emails and are very useful in popularizing products, services as well as the brand such as Woolworths. General online marketing Other than the use of social media and email marketing, internet marketing can also take other forms. Woolworths can take the other forms of internet marketing to incorporate their customers and also make their products as well as services popular (Berry, 2016). This may be in the form of making use of blogs as well as coupon websites. Marketing blogs can be made available using the social media platform or the company’s websites as well as other popular websites (Doyle, 2000). Blogs can be said to be internet sites and may comprise some entries or posts on different topics that the author is interested in. A blog as used as a promotional tool by brands such as Woolworths engages the readers who in this case may be potential customers who may even start an online conversation to attract the buyer. Coupon websites also or basically group buying are sites where customers will purchase coupons online and later use them at businesses that are participating. In Australia for example coupon websites include Groupon, living social, Scoopon, catch the day and deals. Com. Au. Basically coupons are advertisement sites where direct marketing is used to make group buying deals (Lee, Ham and Kim, 2013). Woolworths can make use of these available sites to contact the available customers in the websites’ database. Conclusion In conclusion there are key elements in direct marketing and internet marketing that are used to move customers and therefore make them buy. Woolworths is an Australian company which has interest in New Zealand and Australia and can make use of direct marketing as well as internet marketing to increase its competitive advantages. The major methods that can make the company achieve its goals and objectives include direct mailing. Here customers are contacted using mails regarding the brand and the offered products. Others include telemarketing which is the use of phones as well as personal selling. Text marketing is also direct in nature as marketers engage their customers directly through SMS. Direct marketing also include leaflet marketing which also attracts customers and can be used by Woolworths. Internet marketing as a direct marketing strategy incorporates social media marketing, email marketing as well as general internet marketing with the use of blogs as well as coupon websites. All these strategies and methods are meant to take companies such as Woolworth to another step in matters concerned with attracting more buyers as well as retain the existing ones. These methods and strategies are meant to increase the company’s competitive advantage in the long run. References Alvesson, M., & Kärreman, D. (2001). Odd couple: Making sense of the curious concept of knowledge management. Journal of Management Studies, 38(7), 995-1018. Belch, E. and Belch, A. (2012). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communication perspective, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Direct marketing fundamentals. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from http://www.mplans.com/articles/direct-marketing-fundamentals/ Doyle, P. (2000). Valuing marketing’s contribution, European management journey, 3 (18), 233- 245. Hambrick, D. C. and Fredrickson, J.W. (2001). Are you sure you have a strategy?, Academy of management executive, 4 (15), 48-59. Knox, M. (2015). Supermarket Monsters: The Price of Coles and Woolworths' Dominance, Black Inc. Kumar, A., Bezawada, R., Rishika, R., Janakiraman, R. and Kannan, P. K. (2016). From Social to Sale: The Effects of Firm-Generated Content in Social Media on Customer Behavior, Journal of Marketing, 80 (1): 7–25. Lee, J., Ham, C. and Kim, M. (2013). Why People Pass Along Online Video Advertising: From the Perspectives of the Interpersonal Communication Motives Scale and the Theory of Reasoned Action. Journal of Interactive Advertising. 13 (1), 1–13. O'guinn, T. (2008). Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Parker, C. and Winterboer, C. (2011). Internet Marketing, Get Smarter, South Africa. Read More