Marketing Communication - Report Example

MARKETING COMMUNITATION Table of Contents Part One 3 Part Two 5 Marketing Environment 5 Product Life Cycle 5 Segmentation and Target Audience 6 Part Three 7 Communication Process Model 7 Part Four 8 Ethical Stance in Advertisement 8 Part Five 10 References 12 Bibliography 13 Part One Marketing Communication is the mix of different tools of ways of communication that a company uses to inform the consumers and promote the company and its products. It helps in impacting the consumers at a minimal cost. Presentation of the message to the target market by various media and cues so that the customers respond to it favorably is the prime purpose of any marketing communication. This in turn can generate the market feedback for further improvement of the products and thereby can increase sales. The main objectives of marketing communication are as follows: Marketing communication aims to increase the market share of any company. Marketing communication also helps to have better brand recognition. It creates brand awareness among the consumers. To make brand recall and improve it further, marketing communication is an effective way. In order to increase sales, a favorable climate is to be made, which is possible only if the marketing communication is well developed by the company and as the marketing initiatives need to be communicated in the market. The prospects i.e. the customers need to be informed and also educated regarding different products of company which are prevailing in the market. To inform and educate them proper tools of marketing communication are highly efficient. In order to have a competitive advantage in this cut throat competitive market, one should know how to make effective utilization of marketing communication. With this the company can stay ahead in the market and can be the market leader. The different tools for communication in the market can be done by advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations, direct marketing and event marketing. As Bartels observed “a marketer is like a chef in a kitchen…..a mixer of ingredients”. So, while commuting in the market, one needs to mix the tools properly. Tesco’s products are more eco-friendly. It aims to provide products like Tesco laundry detergent which reduces the carbon foot print. It forces consumers to go green. In this way, Tesco is promoting their product which emits less carbon foot print which is an example of tangible advertisement. As the whole world is conscious about environmental issues Tesco is taking the advantage about it and producing product which is good for the environment. Also they have introduced orange juice with the level of carbon reduction. Tesco is using the Carbon Reduction Label in their products as a new strategy in the market. John Lewis has launched its on-line magazine with the on-line partner greenbee.com. It informs about the products they offer, different schemes available and various destination for vacation. Overall, the magazine gives one a guide to access category of products available and new launches in the store. They are using this on-line magazine as a strategy for promoting their products. Tesco and John Lewis, both the companies, have a reputed position in the market. They use internet to market their products like on line shopping and free home delivery. The above mentioned objectives are important and both the company use different mix of tools for achieving them. Part Two Marketing Environment Both the companies, Tesco and John Lewis, are powerful enough to take on home shopping operations. The categories of products of both the companies are quite similar. Both the companies pay increased emphasis on online marketing. Though both the companies are in almost similar segment of products and services, it is observed that Tesco has a wider marketing department with property and financial services as its functional areas. Product Life Cycle Since both of the companies operate in the category of retail and means of communicating are approximately the same, the product life cycle of the marketing communication also depicts similar pattern. Analyzing the figures, it can be stated that the both of the companies are in the growth stage and therefore the tangible advertisement of Tesco and the intangible advertisement of John Lewis also adheres to the need. Segmentation and Target Audience Since both the companies use internet as a model for shopping and delivery, the market is spread globally and touches every niche market where internet is present. The target audience for both the companies of repute includes those people use internet and prefers to buy on-line and get home delivery by making payment through plastic money. A huge segment of consumers are there who prefer buying on-line using credit or debit card and enjoy getting things being delivered at home. Also, most of the stores are kept open 24 X 7 which implies that the companies basically target the working professionals (Weinreich, 1999). Part Three Communication Process Model (The University of Rhode Island, n.d.) This model can be utilized for both the companies and can be applied to each advertisement in order to critically assess each advertisement. It is true that the task of reaching to the customers is comparatively tougher for John Lewis as they basically rely upon the intangible advertisements rather than the tangible mediums of Tesco. The model involves a sender (Tesco or John Lewis) who wants to communicate in the market. For the purpose, they encode their information or message and send it to the media. The media then sends it to the receiver who has to decode the message. Lastly, the receiver (the intended addressee) sends feedback to the original sender. When the advertisement is tangible, it is easy to communicate as the advertisement could be seen and felt but online or intangible advertisement does not have such scope and therefore, human psychology cannot be addressed personally in the case of John Lewis. This is how both the companies work upon their marketing communication for proper feedback so that as per the consumers’ reference, they can market and promote their products. Advertisements of Tesco’s laundry detergent and John Lewis’s on-line magazine use the model to gain maximum advantage in getting consumer opinion. Part Four Ethical Stance in Advertisement .Creativity Creativity is something which differs from one person to another. Each individual thinks different and perceives in different ways. Advertisement agency uses there resources to develop an advertisement which appeals to the consumer immediately and stays in the mind for a long time. Both Tesco and John Lewis have different advertisement for different products which tends to appeal to the consumers and made so that everyone long to browse there site. Even due to creative and different style of web-pages many consumers refer these companies to their friends, colleagues and family. It helps in referral marketing way of promotion. Presentation and Structure of Message The presentation of the message that the company tends to inform the consumers should be in clear and understandable form. Many of the companies use on-line customer care departments to convey the information. The presentation of the product and company is very important as it catches the eyes of the customers. So, a proper presentation is necessary for mass appeal both on-line and off-line. Effective presentations provide a brief view about the product, so it should be simple, clear and attractive to lure the customers towards the product. While one visits the site of Tesco and John Lewis, he or she finds that both are made in a simple format for easy accessibility and clear but yet so attractive that one wishes to browse for products. The structure of the message should not be complicated so that it becomes difficult for a common person to understand. It needs a simple structuring for easy understanding for every individual. The structuring and presentation of the information need to modify in a particular way which will make everyone to perceive what the company wants to convey. It is not only for the consumers but it is also for the stakeholders who should be properly communicated through better structured mode of presentation so that they are aware about the current position and performance of the company so that they can stay updated with all the necessary information and act quickly in making decisions. Tesco laundry detergent (the tangible advertisement) which is good for the environment adds certain ethical values to the society. John Lewis uses on-line magazine that contains information adding value to the new information age to grow. Part Five Extended Communication Mix for the Company Since both the companies are using the same technique for the promotion that is on-line and being a on-line based business it should tie-up with different web sites for additional web view of the consumer. From the above extended communication model, they can create a consumer database which will give a future benefit in terms of loyal customers. New customers and existing customers can be easily identified. With such database, each customer can be easily identified according to the segments and different strategy, offerings, different product availability for each segment will enhance the consumer and tend to make them purchase repetitive. According to the segment, differential approach of communication can be adopted for the better understanding and communicating with the clients. This will increase the strong relationship for a long term of period. With this model, a constant touch can be maintained with the consumers so it is possible to easily identify the needs and wants of a consumer and make that product available to the client as per their desire. Many a times, after conducting research upon the market in traditional ways, it has been found out that the company fails because the company is not in touch with the customers whose taste frequently changes during the passage of time. But this model will enable the company to be in touch with the consumer whose preferences keeps on changing according to the change in the taste and preference of the market. Tesco and John Lewis will gain advantage if they follow this model in accordance with the modern ways of advertisement i.e. Tesco laundry detergent and John Lewis on-line magazine as customers are the most important parties for a business. References The University of Rhode Island, No.Date. Schramms Model of Communication. Feedback [Online] Available at: http://www.uri.edu/personal/carson/kulveted/wlsmodel.html [Accessed July 07, 2010]. Weinreich, K. N. Hands-On Social Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide. SAGE, 1999 Bibliography John Lewis Plc, 2010. Research. Business Week. [Online] Available at: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=22500310 [Accessed July 07, 2010]. Kimmel, J. A. Marketing Communication: New Approaches, Technologies, and Styles. Oxford University Press, 2005. TESCO PLC, 2009. Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Annual Report & Reviews- Tesco PLC. [Online] Available at: http://ar2010.tescoplc.com/business-review/kpi.aspx [Accessed July 07, 2010]. Read More