The Marketing Communication refers to the means adopted by the companies to convey messages about the products and the brands they sell, either directly or indirectly to the customers with the intention to persuade them to purchase.
In other words, the different medium that company adopts to exchange the information about their goods and services to the customers is termed as Marketing Communication.
The marketer uses the tools of marketing communication to create the brand awareness among the potential customers, which means some image of the brand gets created in their minds that help them to make the purchase decision.
Marketing communication offer solutions to the following questions:
- Why shall the product be used?
- How can the product be used?
- Who can use the product?
- Where can the product be used? And
- When can the product be used?
Marketing communication includes Advertising, Sales Promotion, Events and Experiences (sponsorship), Public Relations and Publicity, Direct Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Word-of-Mouth Marketing, Personal Selling. These tools of communication are collectively called as Marketing Communication Mix.
Objective of Marketing Communication
Marketing communication objectives are long-term goals where marketing campaigns are intended to drive up the value of your brand over time. In contrast to sales promotions, which are short-term inducements to buy, communication goals succeed when you persuade customers through consistent reinforcement that your brand has benefits they want or need.
(i) To Increase Awareness
Increased brand awareness is not only one of the most common marketing communication objectives; it is also typically the first for a new company. When you initially enter the market, you have to let people know your company and products or services exist.
This might include broadcast commercials or print ads that depict the image of your company and constant repetition of your brand name, slogans and jingles. The whole objective is to become known and memorable.
Established companies often use a closely related goal of building or maintaining top- of-mind awareness, which means customers think of you first when considering your product category.
(ii) To Change Attitudes
Changing company or brand perceptions is another common communication objective. Sometimes, misconceptions develop in the market about your company, products or services.
Advertising is a way to address them directly. In other cases, negative publicity results because your company is involved in a business scandal or unsettling activities.
BP invested millions of rupees in advertising to explain the company’s clean up efforts to the public following its infamous Gulf of Mexico oil in mid-2010. Local businesses normally don’t have that kind of budget but local radio or print ads can do the trick.
(iii) To Influence Purchase Intent
A key communication objective is to motivate customers to buy. This is normally done through persuasive advertising, which involves emphasis of your superior benefits to the user, usually relative to competitors. It is critical to strike a chord with the underlying need or want that triggers a customer to act.
Sports drink commercials showing athletes competing, getting hot and sweaty and then taking a drink afterward are a common approach to drive purchase intent. The ads normally include benefits of the drink related to taste or nutrients.
(iv) To stimulate Trial Purchase
Two separate but closely related communication objectives are to stimulate trial use and drive repeat purchases. Free trials or product samples are common techniques to persuade customers to try your product for the first time. The goal is to take away the risk and get the customer to experience your brand.
Once you get them on the first purchase, you have to figure out how to convert that into a follow-up purchase. Discounts on the next purchase or frequency programs are ways to turn one-time users into repeat buyers and, ultimately, loyal customers.
(v) To Drive Brand Switching
Another objective closely tied to stimulating trial use is driving brand switching. This is a specific objective of getting customers who buy competing products to switch to your brand. Tide detergent is normally pitted against “other leading brands” in comparative ads intended to motivate brand switching.
The advantage with this goal is that customers already buy within your product category. This means need is established. You just need to persuade them that your product or service is superior and induce them to try it out.
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