TOOLS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION

1. Advertising2. Visual Corporate Identity3. Public Relations4. Sales Promotion5. Direct Marketing6. Sales Management7. Sponsorships8. Exhibitions9. Packaging10. Merchandising11. Point of Purchase Materials12. E-Marketing13. Customer Service

1. Advertising is a means of communication with the users of a product or service. Advertisements are messages paid for by those who send them and are intended to inform or influence people who receive them

1. Advertising creates awareness among the consumers about the products and the services available in the market.

2. It develops the image of the product in the minds of the customers.

3. It increases the visibility of the product among the customers.

4. It can help in increasing the sales of the company which directly leads to the business promotions

A major relationship between advertising and public relations in that advertising is more likely to succeed when prior public relations activity has created knowledge and understanding of the product or service being promoted.

Specific target markets and goals drive marketing, while PR focuses on creating a "buzz" or positive feeling around a specific entity or product.

A distinct difference between PR and

advertising is their extent of message control. When, where, and how an advertisement runs is quite controllable.

Ad space purchased in the right format: broadcast, radio, print, online, sky writing, floating barge means one has inherent control over what messages are communicated.

2. Visual Corporate Identity:

Corporate identity is the external personality of a company and it consists of

1. Corporate design name, slogan, logo, brochures, and business cards.

2.Communication-advertisements and PR announcements

3.Behavior-company ethics, values and culture.

 

    Three categories to encapsulate different structures of identity:

1. Monolithic – where one name and visual identity are used throughout (IBM)

1. Endorsement- where an organisation has a group of activities or subsidiaries which it endorses with the same name and identity (Channel)

2. Branding- where an organisation operates through a series of brands which may be unrelated (Procter & Gamble).

Corporate Identity Mix includes symbolism,

communication and behaviour. 1. Symbolism includes symbols like company’s

logo, type face, font, colour, building, stationary, visiting cards etc. through which an organisation consciously or unconsciously sends a message.

2. Communication involves how one communicates with its stakeholders, for example, through advertising, public relations, marketing and other information sources like websites and new media.

3. Behaviour means how one deals with its stakeholders like employees, suppliers, and customers etc.

For example, P&G changed its logo when its publics started linking it to devil. They thought that the 13 stars represent the original 13 colonies of the US and that the satanic number 666 is hidden in the curly beard.

Finally, in 1990s, P&G changed its logo to a wordmark using just P&G. This changed helped P&G in building its brand.

The P&G logo and brand name today are far stronger than the old name and logo were. The Procter & Gamble logo was designed in 1991 by Lipson Alport Glass & Associates.

The colour is blue which symbolizes trust, loyalty, integrity and power. Procter & Gamble uses the typefaces Franklin Gothic and Times New Roman.

3. PUBLIC RELATIONS:

    Is the planned promotion of goods, services and images of organizations intended to create goodwill for a person, place or event.

Public relations professionals work to build long-term relationships among individuals and institutions.

RPIE

The acronym PIE refers to research, planning, implementation and evaluation – the central components of any good PR program.

1. Research discovers where the topic at hand stands with the publics before the project begins.

2. Planning is the development of goals, objectives and strategies around a PR project.

3. Implementation means carrying out the plan.4. Evaluation determines whether the goals and

objectives were met and whether the desired changes occurred.

PR can be: 1. Proactive or 2. Reactive 1. Proactive PR involves placing editorials in

industry publications, arranging for a key figure to deliver a press conference on a new development or finding a celebrity to endorse a product.

2. Reactive PR includes coordinating a response to a negative press story, also known as damage control, providing editorials to journalists and media evaluation.

    

  4. Sales Promotion    Sales promotion is one of the seven aspects of

the promotional mix. The other six parts of the promotional mix are 1. Advertising 2. Personal selling 3. Direct marketing 4. Publicity/public relations 5. Corporate image sponsorships 6. Exhibitions

      

    Sales Promotion Strategies:

• Price deal: A temporary reduction in the price, such as 50% off.• Loyal Reward Program: Consumers collect points, miles, or credits for

purchases and redeem them for rewards.• Cents-off deal: Offers a brand at a lower price. Price reduction may

be a percentage marked on the package.

• Price-pack deal: The packaging offers a consumer a certain

percentage more of the product for the same price (for example, 25 percent extra).

• Coupons: Coupons have become a standard mechanism

for sales promotions.

• Loss leader: The price of a popular product is temporarily

reduced in order to stimulate other profitable sales

• Free-standing insert (FSI): A coupon booklet is inserted into the local

newspaper for delivery.

• On-shelf couponing: Coupons are present at the shelf where the

product is available.• Checkout dispensers: On checkout the customer is given a coupon

based on products purchased.• On-line couponing: Coupons are available online. Consumers print

them out and take them to the store.

• Mobile couponing: Coupons are available on a mobile phone.

Consumers show the offer on a mobile phone to a salesperson for redemption.

• Online interactive promotion game: Consumers play an interactive game associated with the promoted product.

• Rebates: Consumers are offered money back if the

receipt and barcode are mailed to the producer.

• Contests/sweepstakes/games: The consumer is automatically entered into

the event by purchasing the product.

Trade sales promotion techniques

• Trade allowances: short term incentive offered to induce a retailer to stock up on a product.

• Dealer loader: An incentive given to induce a retailer to purchase and display a product.

• Trade contest: A contest to reward retailers that sell the most product.

• Point-of-purchase displays: Used to create the urge of "impulse" buying and selling your product on the spot.

• Training programs: dealer employees are trained in selling the product.

• Push money: also known as "spliffs". An extra commission paid to retail employees to push products.

• Trade discounts (also called functional discounts): These are payments to distribution channel members for performing some function.

   5. Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is directly reaching a market (customers and potential customers) on a personal basis(phone calls, private

mailings) mass-media basis (infomercials, magazine ads,

etc.). It occurs when the producer connects with the

end user

It uses aggressive tactics that attempt to reach

new customers usually by means of unsolicited direct communications.

But it can also reach out to existing or past customers.

A key factor in direct marketing is a "call to action."

Direct marketing campaigns should offer an incentive or enticing message to get consumers to respond .

• Advertising mail includes advertising circulars, coupon envelopes, catalogs, CDs, “pre-approved” credit card applications, and other commercial merchandising materials delivered to homes and businesses.

• It may be addressed to pre-selected individuals, or unaddressed and delivered on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis

• Direct marketing involves the business attempting to locate, contact, offer, and make incentive-based information available to consumers

• There is no intermediary involved

Channels:

• Internet marketing : Online channels can eliminate geographic

considerations. With this capability people around the world have the same access as the person across the street.

• Face-to-face selling Mary Kay Avon Amway

Direct mail :

Virtually every business should seriously consider the Internet as a part of their marketing mix and determine if it is a viable fit for their direct marketing efforts.

Telemarketing Successful telemarketing campaigns depend

on a good calling list, an effective script and contact structure, and well-trained people that are compensated and rewarded for making calls that result in sales.

Direct-Response Advertising

Direct-response advertising is communicating with potential buyers through television, radio, magazines, and newspapers.

The prospective consumer watches, hears, or reads about the product or service and initiates a call to a toll-free number to place their order.

Kiosk MarketingCustomer order machines, versus vending

machines that actually provide products, are another form of direct marketing

 6. SALES MANAGEMENT:

    Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations.

       The role of Sales involves sales planning,

human resources, talent development, leadership and control of resources such as organisational assets

Sales planning involves strategy, setting profit-based sales targets, quotas, sales forecasting, demand management and the writing and execution of a sales plan.

7. Sponsorship:

Sponsorship is a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property typically in sports, arts, entertainment or causes in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property, according to IEG.

While the sponsee; property being sponsore may be nonprofit, unlike philanthropy, sponsorship is done with the expectation of a commercial return.

Sponsorship delivers increased awareness, brand building and propensity to purchase.

Unlike advertising, sponsorship can not communicate specific product attributes

Advertising messages are controlled by the advertiser, sponsors do not control the message that is communicated.

Consumers decide what a sponsorship means.

Best effects are achieved where there is a logical match between the sponsor and sponsee, such as a sports brand sponsoring a sports event.

Brands that don't have a logical match can still benefit, at least in terms of memory effects, if the sponsors articulates some rationale for the sponsorship to the audience

Advertising is considered a quantitative medium, whereas sponsorship is considered a qualitative medium.

It promotes a company in association with the sponsee.

IEG’s Complete Guide to Sponsorship cites Visa’s fund-raising

effort around its sponsorship of the Olympic Games and the U.S. Olympic Team.

They promoted their association by offering to make a donation to the team each time consumers charge a purchase to their card.

American Express used a similar strategy by donating to needy causes with their "Charge Against Hunger" campaign. As a result, both companies experienced a significant rise in sales volume.

Target audiences often perceive sponsorship in a positive way.

They see you as making a greater effort to support the event, often allowing more or better activities to take place as a result of your sponsorship.

EXHIBITION: An exhibition is an organized presentation

and display of a selection of items. Exhibitions usually occur within museums,

galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs.

Exhibitions may be permanent displays or temporary.

Exhibitions" are considered temporary and usually scheduled to open and close on specific dates.

While many exhibitions are shown in just one venue, some exhibitions are shown in multiple locations and are called travelling exhibitions, and some are online exhibitions.

Trade fairs have been recognized as one of the most efficient and powerful tools for effectively doing business.

As a face-to-face meeting point, fairs and exhibitions are basically a target opportunity for achieving your trade objectives.

They are a cost-effective means to reach your market audience - in one time and in one place.

• A high return/expense ratio: Trade shows are known to have a high return/expense ratio.

An EEAA (Exhibition Association of Australia) survey showed that an average expenditure of 9% of companies' marketing budgets in trade far events resulted in a return of 23% of business.

• CEIR (centre of exhibition industry researches): 76% of exhibition attendees arrive with an agenda; - 48% of

exhibition leads don't require a sales call to close the deal; - Exhibition leads cost 56% less to close than field sales calls; - 87% of exhibition attendees say they will share information obtained at exhibitions with their immediate superiors

9. Packaging A good packaging design not just motivates

shoppers to choose, but it also builds brand equity and supports what is advertised.

There are a lots of brands we had our first interaction and awareness by simply noticing them on the shelves.

What drives the awareness is largely the package.

Masafi mineral water's PR exercise on packaging re-cycling initiative with an environmental body and introduction of oxo-biodegradable shrink wraps that degrades in two years is a regional case in point

One of the decisions marketers must take is

whether they want to create dissonance with their packaging by disruption of the category status quo (for example overpowering use of black color in food category or loud/flashy design that screams for attention) or generate resonance by appealing with simplicity or straightforward design that communicates the brand proposition

These are not mutually exclusive – one can

create dissonance by simplicity, for example the packaging of Innocent drinks internationally – with its quirky design in a market characterized by showing pictures of fruit, it clearly stands out and communicates the proposition.

For example, toothpaste was traditionally packaged in squeezable screw-capped tubes. However, some customers complained that the tubes were difficult to squeeze; others found that they were left with wasted toothpaste at the bottom of the tubes; and still others were frustrated over continually misplacing the tiny screw-on caps.

Toothpaste companies responded to these problems by offering consumers a softer tube with a permanently attached flip-top cap and a "pump" package in addition to a conventional tube.

Another example is soap products. Pump

bottles have replaced bar soaps for the kitchen and countertop. Marketers appeal to children with brightly colored liquid soaps, character-laden labels, and an inviting, foamy consistency

10. Merchandising is the methods, practices, and operations used to promote and sustain certain categories of commercial activity. In the broadest sense, merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer.

At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to the variety of products available for sale and the display of those products in such a way that it stimulates interest and entices customers to make a purchase.

  

    Visual merchandising is the activity and profession of developing floor plans and three-dimensional displays in order to maximise sales.

Visual merchandising commonly occurs in retail spaces such as retail stores and trade shows

Ex: The Expedia US Merchandising team is

responsible for the creation, planning, management, and execution of the site promotions and strategy, as well as site placement optimization for Expedia.

This position reports to the Senior Manager, Merchandising as an individual contributor role.

    11. 'Point of Purchase – POP’ /Point of Sale It is a place where sales are made. On a

macro-level, a point of purchase may be a mall, market or city.

On a micro-level, retailers consider a point of purchase to be the area surrounding the counter where customers pay.

Consumers tend to make purchasing decisions on very high-margin products or services at these strategic locations.

Points of purchase may be real, as in the case of a "brick and mortar" store, or virtual, as in the case of an electronic retailer that sells goods and services over the internet.

Point of purchase is the place where everything a brand has done either results in a sale or doesn’t.

Every aspect of marketing is inseparably tied to consumer psychology.

From advertising and promotions to public relations, pricing and packaging, marketing strategies are designed with one purpose in mind: encourage habitual purchases.

Impulse purchases fuel profitability for a wide

range of industries. Generally induced through direct sales or

point-of-purchase displays, impulse buying has become a deeply ingrained component of consumerism

Children are especially susceptible to impulse marketing.

It is not a coincidence that you have to stand in line for 15 minutes at the grocery store while your children are surrounded by bright-colored candies at their eye level.

12. E-Marketing

   Email marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using electronic mail email.

Every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing.

It usually involves using email to send ads, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and any email communication that is meant to build loyalty, trust or brand awareness.

Email marketing can be done to either cold lists or current customer database.

Broadly, the term is usually used to refer to:

• sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business,

• sending email messages with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately,

• adding advertisements to email messages sent by other companies to their customers

There are many ways to “push” a message out to an online audience. It’s a deliberate effort that involves identifying a target as well as distribution channels.

Pull tactics mean making sure your message can be found.

    Online press releases and articles must drive traffic to your site .

The website is not a fancy brochure; it is a marketing tool that needs visitors to become customers.

To achieve this, press releases need to be optimised with the appropriate key phrases and links.

You can increase your search engine ratings by

concentrating on the various link building strategies that press releases and articles offer.

The link posted at the end of a press release or feature article is a great source of driving Internet traffic to your website.

    Email newsletters Email Newsletters are direct emails sent out on

a regular basis to a list of subscribers, customers. The primary purpose of an email newsletter is to build upon the relationship of the company with their customers/subscribers.

Transactional emailsTransactional emails are usually triggered based

on a customer’s action with a company. Triggered transactional messages include dropped basket messages, purchase or order confirmation emails and email receipts.

    Direct emails Direct email involves sending an email solely

to communicate a promotional message (for example, an announcement of a special offer or a catalog of products).

Companies usually collect a list of customer or prospect email addresses to send direct promotional messages to, or they can also rent a list of email addresses from service companies

Opt-in e-mail advertising, or permission marketing, is a method of advertising via email whereby the recipient of the advertisement has consented to receive it. This method is one of several developed by marketers to eliminate the disadvantages of email marketing.

Opt-in email marketing may evolve into a

technology that uses a handshake protocol between the sender and receiver.

This system is intended to eventually result in a high degree of satisfaction between consumers and marketers.

If opt-in email advertising is used, the material that is emailed to consumers will be "anticipated".

It is assumed that the consumer wants to receive it, which makes it unlike unsolicited advertisements sent to the consumer.

Ideally, opt-in email advertisements will be more personal and relevant to the consumer than untargeted advertisements.

• Quirk's online writers deliver 'value content' which means it attracts links naturally. Each month they come up with a specific angle "exclusive to your business".

• In keeping with Quirk's ethos of multi-channel marketing, the WebPR department will tie in with offline campaigns. It is not to replace the marketing department, but to boost the company online.

• Quirk is currently the only company in Africa to be an authorised Google Anayltics Consultant as well as being a Google Adwords company, with 11 years of experience in the business.

13. Customer service

It is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.

Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.

Customer support is a range of customer services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product.

It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, trouble shooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product.

         Marketing buzz or word-of-mouth marketing

— is the interaction of consumers and users of a product or service which serves to amplify the original marketing message, a vague but positive association, excitement, or anticipation about a product or service.

It refers both to the execution of the marketing technique, and the resulting goodwill that is created.

Examples of products with strong marketing buzz upon introduction were Harry Potter, the Volkswagen New Beetle, Pokémon, Beanie Babies, and the Blair Witch Project.