Marketing-Defining a Communication Plan - Essay Example

Integrated Marketing Communication Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) can be described as that it is a holistic approach to marketing communication and it integrate all types of marketing tools and techniques, approaches and resources of a company to directly affect on mind of the customer. Thus company needs to develop IMC program by using all the marketing mix elements including product, place, price and promotion (Clow, 2009). In fact IMC function is characterized by a number of variables ranging from the size, the nature and the market of the organization to the impact of government policies.

Graves Enterprises is doing well in its business activities in the market while it has been focusing attention on business expansion and develop a new customer base for their for their consumer products. However its business operations in particular require the company to adopt far reaching changes to the existing communication strategy and its orientation. Any communication strategy must have a customer retention focus that will ultimately produce the desired results. While this would effectively address the concerns raised by the consumer marketing director, there would be a greater degree of structural changes in communication within and without the organization (Zambardino, 2003).

47% of customers being retained would have a positive impact on revenue and profit related outcomes of the company. However $ 2 per unit in gross profit means nothing in the absence of the breakeven figures. The company may have lot of financial commitments by way of sales cost and therefore the net profit margin can be considerably reduce if the 47% customer retention plan fails. Thus the advertising campaign must be not only focused on the core customer base but also be extended to include the peripheral customer whose retention matters in the long term.

As the Marketing Director commercial products suggests the current cash cows of the company would be compelled a carry a greater burden if the slow growth market tend to cash unexpectedly. The company might have a lot of problem children and dogs and as a result there might be a few cash cows and stars. Assuming the communication strategy as based on advertising works out successfully, the net return on the investment must be proportionately higher (Percy, 2008). In other words per unit advertising cost must be much less to support cash cows to move in to sustainable long term profitable stars.

Thus the marketing communication plan of the company must be based on a proper alignment of the Boston Matrix with the Product Life Cycle (PLC). According to the Financial Analyst the breakeven point might occur during the second year of the communication campaign. In order to achieve this target the company must use a single agency for both advertising and media buying (Gronroos, 2004). Breakeven analysis shows that a higher level of fixed cost and a lower selling price would further burden the company budget because the margin of safety lying on to the right of the breakeven point would not be reached sooner.

The communication campaign thus has two constraints. In the first instance as it is now the company is invariably spending a higher fixed cost per unit sold by way of having two agencies to handle two closely linked tasks. Secondly the company is increasingly being drawn in to a point of no return by way of continuously sanctioning budgeted expenditure on long term media campaigns. For example the company is committing itself to media slot buying contracts without paying attention to the long term impact on the cash flow.

Therefore this report concludes that the marketing communication campaign ought to be restructured with much greater emphasis on increasing the returns per advertising unit cost y way of removing the existing structural bottlenecks related to the overall communication strategy and advertising campaign (Christensen, 2005). In order to achieve this aims the company must adopt a far reaching restructuring program concerning its current advertising campaign along with cost reduction measures.

REFERENCES 1. Christensen, Lars. “Integrated marketing communication and post modernity: an odd couple?”. Corporate Communications: An International Journal 10.2(2005):156-167.2. Clow, Kenneth. Integrated Advertising, Promotion and Marketing Communications. 4th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2009.3. Gronroos, Christian. “The relationship marketing process: communication, interaction, dialogue, value”. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 19.2(2004):99-113.4. Percy, Larry. Strategic Integrated Marketing Communications.

Massachusetts: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008.5. Zambardino, Adrian. “Account planning in the new marketing and communications environment (has the Stephen King challenge been met?)”Marketing Intelligence & Planning 21.7(2003):425-434.