Blog Written for Business Owners, Marketing Managers, Business Development Managers and for individuals building their own brand or others who are looking for increased marketing effectiveness AND increased ROI on their marketing dollars.
Consider This:
Your marketing budget has worked for you for the past 5 years. After reading some of our blog you decide your marketing is somewhat disjointed and haphazard. You would like to improve the results you are getting, but are unsure how to make it work more effectively without disrupting the results you’re getting now. What should you do?
The purpose of this blog is to: Introduce you to a more effective way to think about and manage your marketing. It is called, Integrated Marketing System (IMS2).
Introduction
What is OUR Definition of Marketing?
To CTF, marketing is a process designed to produce four separate RESULTS.
· Create/Enhance Brand Awareness and Create Greater Visibility
- Stimulate Increased Buying Interest (& Generate Qualified Leads)
- Produce More Trial/Sales
- Enhance Current or New Customer Retention
What is an Integrated Marketing System (IMS2)?
Since the number and variety of marketing methods is very broad, They are often used individually. The elements of our Integrated Marketing System on the other hand are chosen so that they work as one system and each element reinforces the results of another.
By analogy IMS is like a golf umbrella (which is a example of a small system).
Each panel of the umbrella covering is like a separate function or marketing method. In other words, One panel may be planning, another panel is direct mail marketing, a third panel is telemarketing, a fourth panel is face-to-face sales calls, (5) public relations, (6) advertising, (7) trade shows, (8) web-site and so on… And on… (see more complete LINK TO …. list in BLOG #9090).
Furthermore, the whole marketing process should work together. There must be a support system to make the umbrella work properly. These struts must work in synchrony. The shaft must hold everything together and enable the struts to move easily. Any of the three elements which are broken, make the umbrella nearly unusable.
The panels should be completely intact. The panels should all be attached effectively to the metal skeletal support system. This is an analogy for effective marketing. And it is the best analogy we have discovered that helps to explain integrated marketing.
The only shortfall in the analogy is that once it is deployed an umbrella is fixed, whereas an IMS is more dynamic.
In most companies, this synchrony and integration in their marketing activities are usually not present due to the variety of products and services as well as the division in corporate responsibilities.
This is especially true if you business is large enough to have separate managers for functions like Advertising, Interactive Services, Promotion & Public Relations and Relationship Marketing.
Does holding one or more marketing planning meeting together constitute IMS? Probably not.
This is lack of synchrony and lack of integration is especially true for small companies, due to lack of sophistication and “man” power.
Even though your marketing team works together, the system of marketing may not work together. Yes, you may use a common brand identity. You may even use multiple methods with the same brand message, but the key difference may be “LEVERAGE”.
So is this Integrated Marketing?
If there is no leverage, your system is not truly integrated.
What is leverage?
What are some examples of marketing methods that are integrated?
- A Seminar with a sales event attached to it.
- A Trade Show with a networking event attached to it.
What is one example of 2 marketing methods that are Integrated?
- A sales event promoting an opportunity to upgrade to a better version of the item your customer already owns, but with superior features the provide better support or ease of use.
- A sales event with an opportunity to upgrade to or add-on options of the item your customer already owns, producing a better value for the customer.
What Are The Key Characteristics of Integrated Marketing?
INTEGRATED MARKETING HAPPENS WHEN EACH OF YOUR MARKETING ELEMENTS LEVERAGES EACH OF THE RESULTS OF THE OTHER MARKETING ELEMENTS.
SEVERAL OPERATING KEY CHARACTERISTICS ARE:
1. ALL YOUR MARKETING ELEMENTS HAVE A CONSISTENT THEME
2. Effective integrated marketing creates building blocks of KEY BENEFITS
3. EACH MARKETING ELEMENT STANDS ALONE AND PRODUCES ITS OWN RESULTS, yet connects with all the other individual parts to tell and ENTIRE STORY
4. The choice of a SPECIFIC marketing element is based on its ability to produce results as well as its ability to INTEGRATE with the other elements of your system.
5. Effective marketing reaches potential customers from many directions A, I, T/S, R (USE OF MULTIPLE CHANNELS/SENSES).
6. EACH MARKETING ELEMENT ENHANCES THE RESULTS OF THE OTHER INDIVIDUAL MARKETING ELEMENTS AND PRODUCES GREATER PURCHASE RESULTS AND RETENTION.
7. Effective integration means that for each dollar invested the marketing system’s value will grow by more than one dollar (i.e. 1+1+1=5) thus, using LEVERAGE
8. Everything works together and produces a positive result (HIGH VALUE FOR YOUR CUSTOMER).
9. CREATING A LONG TERM COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE with EXISTING and NEW customers alike.
Does It Cost More?
Only if you choose to invest more than you are currently. In fact it should cost less in the long run!!
Next Steps
Once you have read the FREE blogs (1-7), feel free to contact us for a FREE assessment of your current marketing system, so we can determine how we might help you multiply your marketing investment.
Contact us today for a free assessment of your current marketing system, so we can determine how we might help you multiply your marketing investment.
Bottom Line – you gain a competitive advantage over your competitors thus, increasing your market share. By implementing our system You learn how to Turn $1.00 of Marketing into $10.00. If your marketing team cannot explain how they are accomplishing these objectives within one complete marketing system, you should follow our future blogs that explain how to proceed.
If you want move faster and gain a COMPETITIVE advantage over our other blog readers, feel free to call or e-mail us to get started.
We look forward to putting our experience, expertise and creativity to work for you. If you want to start today, contact us now.
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Blog Topic #8 – Where Does Social Media Fit?
Blog Topic #9 – Be Sure your Strategy Meshes with the YNS System
Blog Topic #10 – Developing Your Goals
Blog Topic #11 – Developing Your Tactical Marketing Plan
Blog Topic #12 – Maximizing Your System Results
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