The Importance of Marketing Communication
Marketing communications is how you get your messages
out to your stakeholders; this includes all internal and external audiences.
The foundation of marketing communications is built on an understanding of what
your different stakeholders want to know; for example you might communicate the
benefits of a product to your customers and the sales figures to your
shareholders.
Business
communication takes many forms. Companies communicate internal information
between managers or employees, while external communication is used to inform
consumers about the company’s products. Marketing is an important function for
a new small business. Entrepreneurs and business owners must inform consumers
about the goods or services they are offering. Businesses develop marketing
strategies to deliver specific messages to consumers in the economic
marketplace.
Function
Businesses
often follow a few basic steps when creating marketing communication. These
steps include creating a message, selecting a communication channel, sending
the message and responding to feedback. Marketing strategies can also include
an analysis of the economic marketplace to determine the strength of consumer
demand and the supply of products by competing companies. This analysis helps
businesses understand how to differentiate their communication or marketing
messages from other advertisements.
Types of Channels
Business
communication in marketing is usually delivered using a specific communication
channel. Marketing communication channels include television commercials, radio
advertisements, print media ads and other traditional marketing channels.
Information technology has increased the number of marketing channels. These
channels include websites, email, chatting, texting and social media networks.
Information technology marketing channels increase the target markets or
demographic groups companies can reach with business communication messages.
Communication Process Models
Marketers
should understand the fundamental elements of effective communications. Two
models are useful: a macro-model and a micro-model.
Micro-models
of marketing communications concentrate on consumer’s specific responses to
communications. These models assume the buyer passes through cognitive, affective
and behavioral stages, in that order. This learn-feel-do sequence is
appropriate when the audience has high involvement with a product category to
have high differentiation, such as an automobile. An alternative sequence, “do-feel-learn,”
is relevant when the audience has high involvement but perceives little or no
differentiation within the product category, such as an airline ticket. A third
sequence, “learn-do-feel, is relevant when the audience has involvement and
perceives little differentiation, such as salt .By choosing the right sequence,
the marketer can do a better job of planning communications.
Strategy
Marketing
communication strategies are divided in two basic groups: direct and indirect.
Businesses use a direct communication style by comparing their products to a
leading competitor or the industry standard. This style allows businesses to
promote the benefits of their products and why consumers will receive
satisfaction when purchasing them. Indirect communication styles present a product’s
feature and allow consumers to make up their own mind about the benefits of the
product. An indirect communication method may be perceived by consumers as less
adversarial than the direct method.
Considerations
Businesses
should carefully consider the receiving audience of business communication and
marketing. Using a blanket communication channel or communication style may
create cultural or societal confusion. Demographic groups usually respond to
marketing communications in different ways. The reception of marketing messages
is often filtered by the demographic group’s age, race, cultural beliefs or
other factors. Tailoring business communication in marketing can help companies
avoid these negative situations.
Hiring an Agency
Using
a professional marketing agency can help companies develop effective business
communication in marketing. These agencies usually have copious amounts of
resources regarding economic markets, consumer demand and behavior and other
information pertinent to creating marketing strategies. Small business owners
may also develop a professional relationship with independent marketing
representatives who can provide key insight on business communication and
marketing strategies using several different communication channels.
Measuring Communication Results
After
implementing the communications plan, the company must measure its impact by
asking members of the target audiences whether they recognize or recall the
message, how many times they saw it, what points they recall, how they felt
about the message, and what are their previous and current attitudes toward the
product and company. The communicator should also collect behavioral measures
of audience response, such as how many people bought the product, liked it and
talked to others about it. Suppose 80 percent of the targeted customers are
aware of the brand, 60 percent have tried it , and 20 percent who tried it are satisfied. This indicates that the communications
program is effective in creating
awareness, but the product fails to meet consumer expectations.
However
if 40 percent of the targeted customers are aware of the brand and only 30ware
of the brand and only 30 percent have tried it, but 80 percent of them are
satisfied, the communications program needs to be strengthened to take advantage
of the brand’s power.
My Point of View
Communicating effectively yields results in any business
and of course without it businesses will fail. Understanding stakeholder’s
needs and key messages comes from having an integrated marketing plan; The best
chance of successfully getting audiences is to take the desired action e.g.
getting the customer to make a purchase, and consider the DRIP analogy. DRIP
stands for differentiate, remind, inform and persuade and should be a blend of
messages delivered through a number of channels, over a period of time; this
helps keep the key messages memorable.
