Introduction to Communications in Marketing

Introduction to Communications in Marketing

What are communications in marketing?

Communications in Marketing is a subset of the overall subject area known as marketing. Marketing has a marketing mix that is made of price, place, promotion, product (know as the four P's), that includes people, processes and physical evidence, when marketing services (known as the seven P's).

How does communications in marketing fit in? Marketing communications is 'promotion' from the marketing mix.

Why are communications marketing 'integrated?' Integrated means combine or amalgamate, or put simply the jigsaw pieces that together make a complete picture. This is so that a single message is conveyed by all marketing communications. Different messages confuse your customers and damage brands. So if a TV advert carries a particular logo, images and message, then all newspaper adverts and point-of-sale materials should carry the same logo, images or message, or one that fits the same theme. Coca-Cola uses its familiar red and white logos and retains themes of togetherness and enjoyment throughout its marketing communications.

Communications in Marketing has a mix. Elements of the mix are blended in different quantities in a campaign. The marketing communications mix includes many different elements, and the following list is by no means conclusive. It is recognised that there is some cross over between individual elements (e.g. Is donating computers to schools, by asking shoppers to collect vouchers, public relations or sales promotion?) Here are the key of the marketing communications mix.

Communications in Marketing - Meaning and its Process

communications Marketing  is essentially a part of the marketing mix. The marketing mix defines the 4Ps of marketing and Promotion is what marketing communications is all about. It is the message your organization is going to convey to your market. You need to be very particular about different messages you are going to convey through different mediums. Traditionally printed marketing was the whole sole method of conveying the messages to the consumers. However, in recent times, emails, sms, blogs, television and company websites have become the trendy way of conveying the organization’s message to the consumers. It is important though that the message you give in one medium should tally with the message provided in other medium. For example, you should use the same logo in on your website as the one you use in your email messages. Similarly, your television messages should convey the same message as your blogs and websites.

For the above reason, people controlling the marketing communication process are very important for the company. These executives make it an integrated marketing communication process. You would now understand why it has to be ‘integrated’. The reason is that the messages to be conveyed through different mediums should be the same.

Let us now look at the communication in marketing process. It is very important to have a process in place because then your advertising will reap proper benefits. There is an old advertising joke “I know my advertising works, I don’t know which half.” That’s why if the marketing communication process puts a tab on advertising because companies cannot bear to lose dollars on wrong type of advertising. Things have to be well-defined and integrated to get maximum revenues. Your communication in marketing process would look like:

The communication in marketing process identifies where the investments are being done and what is bringing more return on investment. Therefore, you can alter the advertising campaign to reap maximum benefits.

The process begins at the strategic development stage. You start by creating a communications in marketing program. At this point, you decide what all will fall in your advertising bracket. At the next stage, you capture responses of your consumers. These responses are then recorded and maintained as advertising data. The executives then analyze and evaluate the collected data. They generate the all important reports which will help to allocate the integrated and communications in marketing budget.

The integrated communications in marketing is a data-driven approach which identifies the consumer insights and develops a strategy with the right combination of offline and online channels which should result in a stronger brand-consumer relationship. It has grown manifolds in recent years due to several shifts in the advertising and media industry. This is the reason why it has developed into a primary strategy for the developers. Some examples of shifts are from media advertising to the multiple forms of communication, from general focus advertising to data based marketing and so on.

Selecting the most important communications elements is crucial for the success of company’s business. The advertising campaign should be effective across all platforms. Once the integrated marketing process is set, the company can reap rich dividends from it. These days, there are companies that specialize in creating the communications in marketing process for you. So you can either do it on your own or take their services. But an effective communication in marketing process is the order of the day!

The Importance and effectives of Communication in Marketing

Communication in Marketing is easily overlooked, but the ability to communicate effectively is necessary to carry out the thoughts and visions of an organization to the people. The importance of speech and words whether through a paper or a voice is a communication medium to convey directions and provide synchronization. Without communication, there is no way to express thoughts, ideas and feelings.

There are many ways to provide communication from the organization to the people of your community. Whether through a phone, fax, email, letter, website, instant message softwares, social networking websites (facebook, twitter, myspace) and etc… you are able to communicate your organization to the world. Things can be expressed, ideas can be shared, and thoughts can be joined.

The ability and the importance of communication in Marketing become much more crucial when you are on a mission or need to fulfill a goal. Without a means to communicate, your organization will become isolated. The ability to effectively communicate is very important when it is usually underestimated and overlooked.

Communication in Marketing is a necessity as we use it to network, spread ideas, and promote. Communicate effectively through well known mediums and convey it simply and precisely. The importance of communication is crucial to the success of your organization because you need to reach out in order to fulfill your mission.

The Importance of Effective Communication in Marketing.

We communicate all the time. Verbally, nonverbally, in person, in the media, through documents, via the internet, in our heads, with our families, with our neighbors, co-workers, people, with God.

We are constantly sending out a message or receiving one. But for the sake of keeping to MY topic, lets talk a little bit about the importance of effective communication when you are  through media.

Here are 3 things you must keep in mind when you get the “spotlight” opportunity:

Image- Do worries about how you look. This will be to really put yourself out there and thousands of people will see you and make a judgment about you and it is safe to say that more than 50 percent of that judgment will be based on how you look. Unfair? Maybe, but really it’s just how it is. Now by image I don’t mean you need to fit a certain standard. No. You have to look sharp! Get a trendy haircut, go get a facial so that your face is glowing and on the day of the interview. Make sure your makeup is done properly. With colors and tones that suit you. Do you wear glasses? Are they boring and old fashion? Consider getting a more “trendy” pair. Women, get the eye brows and nails done. I once saw a woman on T.V. with chipped off nail polish talking about . It was distracting and hard to see her as the expert that she was when she looked so undone. So really polish yourself up and aim at looking your best on that interview.

Voice Modulation-One of the most important things I do as a Media Coach is teach people how to modulate their voice. Some people either speak in a very low voice or a very high voice. Some tend to start off just right and then die out towards the end of what they are saying. Learn to speak in a tone of voice that is consistent, clear, and leveled. And it may sound easy. But it takes practice. So start recording yourself and listening to how you sound. And we always hate our own voices so have someone critique it or hire a Media Coach to help you modulate that voice.

Talking Points-You would think that if someone was trying to get on the media they would know what they wanted to say. Well, think again. It is so taken for granted. Figure out what your main point is and come up with 4 or 5 key points that you can communicate in quick sound bites. When you are on-air you only have a couple of minutes if not seconds, depending on the type of media venue you are appearing on, to say what you have to say. So be prepared to condense all your knowledge into simple to understand points.

Remember that ultimately what you want is to gain the trust of the public. Would you trust a sloppy, unprepared, whisperer? Probably not. So go that extra mile and really pamper yourself to look and expose the sassy expert that you are!

Establishing Total Marketing communications Budget

Personal communication is often more effective than mass communication, mass media might be the major means of stimulating personal communication. Mass communications affect personal attitudes and behavior through a two-step process. Ideas often flow from radio, television, and print to opinion leaders from these to the less media-involved population groups.

This two-step flow has several implications. First, the influence of mass media on public opinion is not as direct, powerful, and automatic as supposed. It is mediated by opinion leaders, people whose opinions are sought or who carry their opinions to others. Second, the two step flow challenges the notion that consumption styles are primarily influenced by a “trickle-down” or “trickle-up” effect from mass media. People interact primarily within their own social groups and acquire ideas from opinion leaders in their groups. Third, two-step communication suggests that mass communicators should direct messages specifically to opinion leaders and let them carry the messages to others.

One of the most difficult marketing decisions is determining how much to spend on promotion, John Wanamaker, the department store magnate, once said I know that half of my advertising is wasted but I don’t know which half.

Industries and companies vary considerably in how much they spend on promotion. Expenditures might be 30-50% of sales in the cosmetics industry and 5-10% in the industrial-equipment industry. Within a given industry, there are low and high spending companies. How do companies decide on the promotion budget? Four common methods are: the affordable method, percentage-of-sales method, competitive parity method, and objective-and-task method.

Affordable method:

Many companies set the promotion budget at what they think the company can afford. The affordable method completely ignores the role of promotion as an investment and the immediate impact of promotion on sales volume. It leads to an uncertain annual budget, which long range planning difficult.

Percentage-of-sales:

Many companies set promotion expenditure at a specified percentage of sales (either current or anticipated) or of the sales price. Automobile companies typically budget a fixed percentage for promotion based on the planned car price. Oil companies set the appropriation at a fraction of a cent for each gallon of gasoline sold under their own label.

Supporters of the percentage-of-sales method see a number of advantages. First, promotion expenditures will vary with what the company can “afford. This satisfies financial managers, who believe that expenses should be closely related to the movement of corporate sales over the business cycle. Second, it encourages management to think of the relationship among promotion cost, selling price, and profit per unit. Third, it encourages stability when competing firms spend approximately the same percentage of their sales on promotion.

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http://www.citeman.com/3097-establishing-total-marketing-communications-budget.html#ixzz2Cm506664, May 1, 2008