Sooner or later, any business owner will be faced with the question of how to tell a large audience about you. Also, you need to explore how they promote their product, how unique the company is, and how it differs from others. Marketing communication will help you in this task. This includes almost all information about the brand through press, television, radio, internet, outdoor advertising. It is important for an organization to establish effective communication with its audience. Expressing their own style, delivering the necessary information on time, they need to do it. What tools can be used at the same time, how to communicate with each client, will be discussed in this component.

 

What is Marketing Communications?

Today, such phrases are often found. But not everyone understands its versatile and comprehensive essence. Marketing communication is an orderly process approach that understands what the consumer is interested in and controls the activities of the enterprise as a whole. This is one of the most important parts of the marketing mix, which includes the price, the place of sale, and the product itself. 

Communication is always a two-way process. It not only allows you to create a message and choose a transition channel but also allows viewers to track, receive feedback, analyze and improve the information. 

The sequence of stages of marketing communication development is based on the cyclical nature of the process: 

●      at the first stage, the product itself. Its main features are analyzed, the target audience is studied, the behavior of competitors in the market segment is studied in detail;

●      on the second, the strategic goals and objectives of promotion are determined;

●      on the third, A detailed plan is made to achieve the goal, the means of communication are selected, the message is prepared;

●      The fourth stage involves a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of the work.

 

Marketing communications goals

The most important aspect of the dialogue with the audience is to increase brand awareness. For my initial introduction, the technologies are used in internal marketing. Intermediate goals are formulated with a number of factors in mind: 

sales promotion. For example, there are promotions in a supermarket or an online store and the message in this regard is only aimed at achieving such goals; 

●      Clear Positioning. To be recognized, you need to differentiate yourself from the competitors, you need to focus on your organization. In this case, all methods are good;

●      Increasing Trust In The Company And Loyalty. It will help Messenger programs, bonuses, holiday greetings for regular customers;

●      Warming Up Interest In The Product. This can be achieved through the spread of viral content, the introduction of word of mouth.

 

Understanding the question of what marketing communication is, you need to understand that their main goal is to increase competition and build a close friendly relationship with customers. 

Types and tools of marketing communications

Different types of marketing contacts are organizationally interconnected, so it is rather difficult to divide them into separate groups. Next, let's try to figure out the roots.

 

Branding

It is a long-term, but necessary process of creating and promoting an image of a company or its products. In this case, a multi-level network of communication channels is used. A strong association of a product or service with a specific brand name, logo, or design element is considered an indicator of achieving goals. For example, the most famous soft drinks are Coca-Cola, sportswear manufacturer Nike, and the high-tech car Tesla.

 

Advertising

This is the most popular type of communication in marketing. Its main function is often to inform about any offer of the company and to believe that the advertised product is beneficial for the consumer. Recently, the emphasis has been on what attracts a person extra, motivating him to buy. 

In addition to general communication channels (outdoor, television, radio, press, internet), there are many more ways to refer to a client today. One of them is product placement - using a logo or product name in movies, clips, and similar places. 

Depending on the type of object being advertised, advertising can be commercial, political, or social.

 

 

PR (PR) - public relations

It's a way to pay and connect with business representatives and a wider audience through free channels. Often, conventional media, social networks, and personal contacts are used for this purpose. The main task is to build a positive reputation for the company. 

An example of a PR action is a socially important event. For example, a contest for children, a festival, or a flash mob, is an invitation to cover the press or television. For journalists, it’s an informative event, news, event and for a company, it’s a way to show their activism.

 

Publicity

This marketing communication is conducted exclusively through publications in various publications. On the positive side, it is considered that the message about the company’s business is transmitted to independent individuals, which seems more credible to users. To do this, journalists are sent press releases and invited to various events: press conferences, presentations, etc.

 

Sponsorship

It also aims to maintain a positive reputation for the organization. The essence of this approach is that the company allocates funds for sports competitions, contests, concerts, and other public events. In exchange for the poster, the company logo is displayed along with the information provided by the sponsorship. It’s a great way to declare a company’s existence, financial stability, and prosperity. 

Sponsorship should not be confused with charitable work, in the latter case, money can also be allocated for events, but it is recommended to do so anonymously.

 

Direct marketing

This interaction is based on the personal request of the address provided. As a rule, it is managed via email, calls, and instant messenger messages. This is different from direct marketing in that the information is directed to the consumer group. 

This type of communication requires a customer base for marketing: a list with names, contacts, likes, and other data.

 

Loyalty program

This is a very good way to encourage repeat sales. The company has introduced a bonus, discount system. Gifts and discount cards are also popular with regular customers. The latter option makes it possible not only to attract customers but also to build a foundation with their contacts. The goal of these programs is long-term interaction.

 

Personal sales

It is a type of communication that involves personal communication between the seller and the buyer. In some niches, this is especially relevant, as it allows you to recommend a particular brand of product, talk about its benefits, and influence the decision to buy.

 

Direct marketing

Like direct marketing, it communicates electronically. But on the contrary, it is personalized, targeting a specific person, not a group.

 

Effectiveness of marketing communication

In the work of publicity experts, it is important to carefully analyze the results and test the effectiveness of marketing communications. 

Traditional sociological methods are used for data collection. For a quantitative assessment, a large representative sample was studied using. As a rule, these are surveys conducted on the Internet, by phone, or via chatbots. 

A qualitative assessment is possible through the focus group. Consumer dashboard data, content analysis, in-depth interviews, and expert trial comparisons provide guidance on how to update your communication strategies.

 

Examples of marketing communications

Apple's work is a prime example of marketing communications. The main messages of the brand were: "We create an innovative product", "We work out of the box", "We fulfill every client's desire". It was their company that did the relay in all possible ways. 

For a modern manufacturing firm, it is worthwhile to clearly articulate the ideas needed to reach your wider audience. Marketing communication tools such as sponsorships, promotions, corporate websites, etc. may be recommended. 

For the promotion of a private business, for example, a pastry chef service, social media communication, direct marketing, and loyalty programs are suitable. 

Today, no one can do without thoughtful content marketing. This allows you to provide complete information about the brand using the site and its content.

 

How to choose a marketing communications channel?

To select the so-called media mix (a set of channels for conducting conversations with viewers), several things are important: 

●      Taking into account the ability to achieve the goal of communication, coverage, characteristics of the target audience, impact on preferences, etc .;

●      Issue price (no funds will be spent, how fast they will pay).

 

In the process, primary and secondary channels are identified, then budget and potential performance are compared. As a result, a list of used channels is created. 

Sometimes several companies come together and promote their products and services using cross-marketing ... This allows them to partially reduce costs and get faster results, but there are also some drawbacks.