Integrated marketing is the holistic approach to marketing communications that ensures consistency in both online and offline marketing. It is a powerful approach that can help organisations enhance their brand and reputation, create competitive advantage, and support business growth. This article has some useful advice on this important marketing technique.
Integrated marketing is a powerful approach that ensures the clear and consistent delivery of a brand and its supporting messages to new and existing customers across multiple marketing channels. It means that, however a customer comes into contact with your brand, they receive the same core information about your organisation and a reinforcing experience.
Done well, integrated marketing should result in improved brand awareness, greater customer trust and loyalty, and increased propensity to engage with your organisation. Although it may require a lot of effort, taking an integrated marketing approach can deliver many benefits, such as a noticeable competitive advantage, improved staff motivation, and increased opportunities and sales.
Getting it right
Making the most of integrated marketing means identifying and aligning both online and offline tools such as advertising, PR, direct and digital marketing, events, print collateral and even sales processes, so that they address the needs of customers and provide a seamless perception of your organisation and its brand values.
Central to this process is understanding the needs and wants of your customers, the market drivers under which they operate, the channels they use to research your products and services, and the part they play in the purchasing process.
From this, you can craft your brand values and messages so that they have the most chance of resonating with your target market, and outline the best tools to reach that market.
For example, you might receive good media coverage from work deployed with a healthcare provider which you can then promote on social media channels, and develop as a case study for use at events. This is then an opportunity to communicate a clear message, such as the cost and efficiency savings and improvements in patient care that your product can deliver. This should then be highlighted across all communication and resonate with brand values to position your business as an enabler for healthcare service delivery improvements.
Also, remember to set clear performance measures, informed by your business and marketing objectives, so that you can adapt the various market elements (your ‘marketing mix’) and prioritise those that are proving the most effective. If your news is being picked up on social media, for example, consider developing a white paper and promoting this as sponsored content to specific audiences. This can generate enquirer data which can be fed into the sales process, so delivering measurable ROI on your integrated marketing efforts.
Top tips
- Get senior level buy-in: An executive level champion is extremely important for it to be most coordinated.
- Build your customer insight: Ensure you have the fullest understanding of your customers’ needs and processes.
- Draw on aligned business and marketing objectives to set out measures that matter most: Each aspect of integrated marketing should work towards a common, business-driven goal, such as lead generation.
- Ensure brand images and messages complement each other: Be clear, consistent and concise across all channels.
- Prepare messages for more than one audience: Addressing the needs of purchasers and key influencers can help increase your chance of success.
- Capture, share and act on information: Ensure two-way communication, so if you hear a message needs changing, or a new customer group emerges, make sure this translates into action.
- Be prepared to change it all: Markets and customers change, so learn from experience, test and look to constantly improve.
For further information contact Highland Marketing at http://www.highland-marketing.com/
