No one in the business arena can argue about the prominent character that good marketing communications portray in every achievement that a company can get. There would be no true and lasting success when a company neglects this particular area of importance. Tools as they are, they may cost you a remarkable amount of money. But when properly guided, they can help empower your brand so it will work towards meeting your business goals. They may help boost your company’s productivity and establish its roots.
People may have known about your company’s existence for a long time now. But they may have known only a little about your brand or your products and services. As a person whose company is on your shoulder you know that your company lives until now and will continue to make a difference in the future because you are convinced that you have got so many things to offer. And you want that people will come to know your brand, believe of its benefits, and have their lives transformed for the better through it.
Transmitting your thoughts to your clients and those who you would want to reach for your brand requires that you use certain forms of good marketing communications, the ones that have been tested and proven to bring positive results. And they include a variety of things because there are not only few but many ways that you can send the message to people regarding your brand. Yes, ways to communicate your message are almost limitless. But they serve the same purpose and are geared towards accomplishing the same things; for your brand to have a strategic place in the market and in the hearts and minds of the people, influence their will and emotions, and stir up their loyalty to your brand.
The four identified forms of marketing communication are:
1) Sales – Here we consider the communication between buyer and seller. In the most basic sense, this function is achieved if the salesperson helps you to make a purchase by starting a conversation with you, making a recommendation or answering your questions. This is also achieved via email messages exchanged between seller and buyer on online sites such as eBay.
2) Advertising – Wedged somewhere between fine art and propaganda, advertising is an art/science entirely unto itself. Entire libraries have been written on the subject and yet still new and innovative (and occasionally invasive) advertising methods are currently being dreamed up in boardrooms around the world. As a form of communication, advertising addresses the buyer via interpolation; attempting to win him/her over, usually with a combination of lifestyle promise, fancy graphics and sex appeal (although not always). Advertising is cautiously measured, even though it is a one-sided type of communication initially; the sales figures for the products themselves usually define the perceived customer response.
3) Public Relations (or ‘PR’) – This is the act of addressing potential customers as well as existing customers. Building good PR is fetching more and more importance from the modern companies. Donating money to charity, ensuring that your products are ethically sound, or taking care of your employees in a positive and supporting way are all proven (and effective) forms of PR. Profits from PR are usually implied, as PR exercises typically cost money and bring in little, if any, revenue in the short term. Nevertheless, once again, sales figures would establish a consumer response. PR is also a direct way to reach the customer, demonstrating that your company is concerned with the same issues as they are. In today’s ecosphere of ‘ethical consumption’ where we live, PR is an exclusively vital form of marketing communication.
4) Customer Service – Many calls it a lost art but customer service is a vital pillar of any business’ ultimate success or failure. The name says it all, Customer service indicates that your organization is serving the customer. Think of it this way, if you were in a restaurant with a snarky, abusive waiter, would you think twice about visiting that restaurant again? However, if you were in a restaurant receiving an efficient, qualitative and friendly service, you would be more likely to eat there again. This function overlaps somewhat with Sales, but it also includes unique functions such as dealing with angry customers and fostering loyalty among buyers.
Good marketing communications may appear in different styles and approaches and can be delivered through an assortment of mediums such as radio, TV, print, Internet, mobile, and many more. One particular style may work effectively when used to a certain group of people. For example; audio advertisements through radio and mobile promos through telecommunications network may work well with people who are always on the go like business executives, medical representatives, marketing agents, and others. While on the other hand, TV commercials and print ads may work best for those whose lives and works are fixed at one place.
Communications through prints can be brochures through which you can give your clients fresh updates of your latest products and discounted sales offers. When items and the corresponding offers are eye-catching, they may accomplish your purpose of getting more sales. Brochures can be placed at some strategic locations in the malls, hotel lobbies, school campuses, and other places which are frequented by people, or they can be sent through email as e-books or e-brochures. Communications through the Internet can be through sponsorship banners that can be placed at major search engines and websites that when clicked will lead your target clients to your official website where they can get to know about you and your brand.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/widen-up-your-business-scope-virtuous-marketing-harsh-gupta/
