Published on Tuesday, 4 February 2020 at 8:25:58 AM
Developing an integrated marketing approach for your business sounds simple in theory, but in reality it requires buy in and agreement from many departments, not just marketers, to achieve true results. An integrated marketing approach looks at all aspects of the communication of your brand image, this holistic method means that every touch point of your brand is covered from customer experience to staff satisfaction. Consistency of messaging across multiple platforms and channels equates to repetition of messages to customers and stakeholders, making your brand story memorable. Lets take a step back and decipher what this all means.
What is Integrated Marketing?
Wikipedia describes Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) as “a holistic planning process that focuses on integrating messages across communications disciplines, creative executions, media, timing and stakeholders. An integrated approach has emerged as the dominant approach used by companies to plan and execute their marketing communication programs and has been described as a paradigm shift.”
By applying consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels and using different promotional methods to reinforce each of these, marketers can ensure that the brand image appears consistently across platforms and will therefore be deemed trustworthy by consumers and stakeholders. Effectively, your company’s reputation and brand image will benefit from ensuring things like your website, social media presence, events, any mass marketing campaigns and so on take on an integrated approach. It will. However, what about those things that aren’t clearly in the marketers bucket?
What else affects my brand?
Presenting your company externally with one image is just part of an integrated approach. How you speak to your staff, your internal communications and related platforms such as your intranet also need to be consistent. The way your staff write an email, their email signature, personal selling techniques and the way they provide customer service, all impact on your brand perception.
Providing consistency and clarity in execution across all mediums is then suddenly a bigger role.
Creating an Integrated Approach
Starting with a comprehensive strategic plan that evaluates the benefits and suitability of a variety of communication disciplines for your company, including both online/digital solutions and traditional, is your first step in implementing an integrated marketing approach. Consistency in output will ensure your brand image is understood by your customers and stakeholders. Implementing effective staff inductions and repetition of your brand values and image will ensure staff are speaking from the same book. Integrating your messages internally and externally in this manner will ensure maximum communication impact.
How an agency can help
A marketing agency can provide your company with the skill set and guidance to create an integrated marketing strategy and implement an integrated marketing campaign across multiple platforms. They also have enough distance from your brand to be able to evaluate it for consistency and clarity in all channels. Sometimes you need fresh eyes!
Market Creations can help you to develop your integrated marketing approach. With capability in strategic planning, web design and development and expertise in the complete suite of marketing, both digital and traditional, we can assess and implement an integrated marketing campaign for your company. Our team can help make a difference.
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