Integrated Marketing Communications - Essay Example

? Benefits and Challenges of Integrated Marketing By Introduction Integrated marketing communications is a method for attracting and retaining customer relations that will help an organization maintain a competitive advantage through communication methods. The customer relations that will be maintained by the organization through integrated marketing communication will lead to value increase in the organization products brands (Kitchen, &Pelsmacker, 2004, p 147). For instance, Coca Cola applied communications method to attract and retain customers through its website and CSR. Various methods of communication such as billboard advertising and radio advertising and messages are linked together in a systematic and integrated manner. All promotional tools are harmonized together in the advertising chosen by a particular company. (Fill, 2009, p.5). Promotion tools include methods of advertising, personal selling, customer care relations, database marketing, consumer and sales promotional, sponsorship and public relations. These promotional tools aim at making the consumers aware of the products that the company is offering in the market and the benefits of using these products. Basic components of integrated marketing include foundation, advertising means, promotional means, and integration methods and foundation is laid on the objectives of brand management and corporate image (Schultz, Tannenbaum, & Lauterborn, 1992, p 61). It is important for the organization to put forward effective tools of promotion, which help the organization design messages that will promote organization products in the media such as offers, gifts and personal selling messages in the radios, television and print media (Pickton & Broderick, 2005, p 48). Benefits of Using Integrated Marketing Communication According to Smith and Taylor (2004, p 85), Customers act in a specialized manner when they only buy things that they require. When the organization gets to know what customer wants through direct selling the organization will increase production on these particular goods and reduce wastage of resources. The customers’ needs and wants better gets to be well known by organization creating image awareness (Schultz and Schult 2004, p 36). Organizations are able to create a better customer satisfaction and protection by creating a customer database that they will use in their research and analysis (Fill, 2009, p.8). Databases are important in helping Organizations to create strategies that lead to increased sales. Apple Inc. for instance, has a well-developed database within which it lists all its products and their prices hence ensure high quality products and services. Ludi and Bird (2005, p.63) asserts that marketing communication helps organizations to attain competitive advantage over its competitors. When an organization gets to know the customer needs and wants it will be in a better position to create messages that will attract and retain customers. Advantages of the organization gaining a competitive advantage over its competitors are that the organization will experience increased sales, which will in turn increase profits (Hackley 2010, p. 25). Integrated marketing communication will enable organizations to choose a media that will help save organizations management time, stress as well as money. The media chosen will also save money and time for the customer (Hobson 2008, 42). In this regards, many organizations will prefer commercial adverts than any other since they are very economical. Coca Cola Company uses so much of commercial adverts to reach to its customers. Wal-Mart as well advertises its goods and products through various media but prefers commercial TV adverts as they give a better picture. Organisations gain competitive advantage by creating value in their products and the image of the company as well as producing low costs goods due to the reduced costs of production especially the advertising costs. In most cases, the advertising costs are pushed to the consumer. Through the increased competitive advantage of an organization, an organization is able to create a good image, develop and nature customer relations in a healthy and long lasting effect (Fill, 2009, p.17). A relationship is created in that the customer will always pay attention to an advertisement posted by the organization and will always be willing to try a product made by that organization. Within the automotive industry, Ford has been a major player attained through competitive advantage accruing from good image attained through advertisement. On a different perspective, Toyota Company in the same industry has built better image and brand recognition through their usual advert, “the car in front in always Toyota”. Jain (2008, p. 47) explains that creation of healthy consumer relationships will help the organization to create loyalty among consumers that will see the consumers influencing their friends to buy organization products which will increase the organization sales (Shah & D’Souza, 2009, 456). Integrated marketing can help organizations to increase its effectiveness in making profits. By creating unified messages, an organization will have superiority over the other advertising messages in the business market. All the messages created by the organization will bring out a message that has a chance of suppressing other advertisements in the market. In turn, the organization will lure customers into buying their products, which will increase organization sales (Medill School of Journalism, Dept. of Integrated Marketing Communications, 2008, p.125). Sheldrake (2011, p.11) states increased organization image awareness to the consumers will created a long lasting effect on the customer. Image awareness creation of an organization will always linger in the consumers head. Messages that cut across various communication methods will help consumers to pay attention to organization’s advertisements and eventually consumers will make purchases of organization products (Fitzgerald& Arnott, 2000, P.123). When consumers make timely purchases, the organization will be able to make a pattern in the buying processes of the consumers that will reduce uncertainty in buying processes of consumers. Integrated marketing helps the organization to make messages that are credible and consistent. Since messages are linked in a systematic manner chances of making redundant and wastage of resources such as time and money to repeat advertisements are minimized. Messages that are consolidated, crystal clear and catchy will reduce the risks of consumers turning away from an advertisement or a promotional effort due to boredom or irritation or lack of entertainment (Hulbert, Capon and Piercy, 2005, p.147). A credible message will help the management to crate a database that will be used to make comparison between an organization brands and predict the brand outcomes. Integrated marketing communication helps a organization to reduce duplication of photography and graphics. Varey (2002, p.46), explains that when advertisement messages are arranged in a systematic manner, there is reduced costs of advertising. By ensuring that photography and graphics developed in one advertisement will be shared in exhibitions, sayings, sales literature and exhibitions. An efficient method of communication is efficient when one agency for all communication advertising is chosen. That agency will be responsible for all methods of communications that will reduce confusion, time, and money. Other agencies can be used in coordination with the sole agency to reduce workloads and stress which is a major benefit of integrated marketing executives. All in all the main benefit of integrated marketing communication is that it helps the buyers to move from their buying stages by ensuring that the consumers are more active in buying the organization products through persuasions and promotional offers such as additional free gifts and price offers. Internal benefits of integrated marketing communication are not based on profits only but include efficiency in making marketing mix strategies and decisions as the consumer buying process has been observed (James 2006, p 65). Challenges of Integrating Marketing Communication According to Trollinger (2007, para.1), challenges of integrated marketing are faced in every organization. Lack of origination efforts to focus on organizational internal objectives rather than objectives of customers is a major challenge. This process is known as functional silos. Difficulties arise when internal management is unable to see beyond their internal objectives in to the broader and future objectives of an organization (Fill, 2009, p.13). Undivided focus of internal objectives will be reflected in messages produced by the organization. When an organization is caught up in functional silos, it will produce communication methods that will produce noise in the messages. Another challenge is change resistance from the consumers end. Some consumers are very loyal to brands that they are used to buying or to the organization that they are used to hearing. Therefore, however much an organization focuses on advertising some consumers will not change their buying methods or processes. Henslowe (2003, p.123) asserts that organizations may not have the necessary power to change customer’s perception of competitor brands. However, inability of an organization to change consumers’ perception can be attributed to lack of creativity in creating advertisement messages. Lack of ability to change customers’ perception is the conflict in timing sales. The advertisement can come at a time when the consumer has already done their shopping or changed their preferences. Management plays a key role in integration of marketing communication methods. Organization management may not possess the necessary skills to carry out effective integrated marketing communication. Lack of necessary skills and expertise in the management can create a barrier to effective integrated marketing communication (Fill, 2009, p.45). Organization management will not be able to make the necessary budgets to meet the demands of integrated marketing communications if they do not have good planning skills. Advertising requires an extensive budget to meet all the requirements of effective communication using all methods of communication and an organization may lack the finances to do so. Integrated marketing communication does not provide an accurate method of measuring results (Zikmund and Babi, 2007, p.58).In an analysis of the market many assumptions are put in place in order to make a conclusive report. Assumptions such the target population, the targeted number of sales and the consumers buying processes are given some assumed values since the actual number is difficult to arrive at in a specified market. When such parameters are assumed, the results are obviously not accurate. In conclusion, (Blythe, 2009, p.120), benefits of integrated marketing communication are more effective in creating a market for a company’s product. Simple communications can be created to show how messages can be sent to the receiver and how the receiver understands all communication messages. Organisations are able to understand the customer’s needs and emotions, which are important in attaining effective communication and measuring standards (Schumann& Thorson, 2007, p.56). Although barriers pose a risk into effective integration marketing, management of the organization should come up with ways of mitigating these barriers. It is important for every organization to practice integrated marketing communication because the benefits are large than the barrier. Bibliography Blythe, J 2009, Key Concepts in Marketing, London: Sage Publications. Dolan, J 1999, Integrated marketing communications, Harvard: Harvard business School. 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