Integrated Marketing Communications

Two of our favorite definitions of “Marketing” are found in organizations that help small business owners establish and grow their trade, one in the U.S. small business association and the other is in the Australian Department of State and regional development. These definitions revolve around the concept of customer, customer and the customer!

Simply, marketing is about finding out the wants and the needs of the customer and offering a product or a service that meet these wants and needs. And Integrated Marketing is basically the process of managing all media and coordinating all activities that will help the marketer reach and acquire a client. It is more important now than ever for you as a business owner, a president of a company or an executive to fully adopt an integrated marketing strategy for your business. Depleting the allocated marketing budget in one medium no longer provides the anticipated return. We advise our clients to “maximize the marketing mix”. Here are some practical steps to help you develop then maximize the marketing mix:

• Research. First and foremost, understand and profile your “ideal customer”
• Survey. Ask existing clients and new leads how they found out about your business, your product or service.
• Segment. Equipped with the knowledge of research and surveys, segment the media to reach potential clients and the multiple media that each prospect uses
• Implement. Put to practice the activities that will generate a higher impact when combined and keep in mind that;
  • Different customers will require a different combination of media
  • Integrate your online and offline advertising and communication
• Measure. Track your Return on Investment (ROI) and apply your “lesson learned” in your future campaigns

Case Study – A high-tech company that offers Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). Working closely with the president of the EMS company and his business development team, a WSINetSense senior marketing consultant devised and implemented an integrated marketing plan that helped the company achieve and exceed its yearly goals. The company’s integrated marketing strategy included an effective combination of offline activities such as print ads, technical papers, technical presentations as well as a very comprehensive online marketing initiative leveraging the merging internet marketing programs such as Search Engine Marketing (Pay-per-click and Search Engine Optimization campaigns), banner advertisement, webcast sponsorships among other targeted campaigns. For every campaign, metrics and periodic measurement and analysis was done to ensure the planned objectives are achieved. The company has seen a substantial increase in exposure to potential customers. For more information on how WSI NetSense can help you maximize the return on investment and show you how the overall return of your integrated marketing activities can be significantly higher than the individual sum of each component and to help you implement an effective Integrated Marketing strategy, contact us for a free consultation.