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Integrated Marketing SuccessHow to combine the right media and message for a winning campaign By Kim T. Gordon Can you describe how media impacts your typical prospect during the course of a single day? Imagine your prospect wakes up, reads the newspaper while having a cup of coffee, and listens to the radio in his car on the way to work. At his office, he checks e-mail and visits a variety of web sites from his computer, sees billboards and bus shelter advertising as he walks to a neighborhood lunch spot, reads a magazine while waiting for his food, and then listens to the radio on the drive home. Once there, he flips on the TV news and goes through the day's mail, and later that evening surfs the Internet to find a gift for a family member while watching his favorite team sport on television. Although it's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to typical consumer media experience, this example points out many of the ways customers may be exposed to your message throughout the day. How can you ensure your marketing will be a memorable part of their media experiences? By creating an integrated marketing campaign using the media that affect your customers’ decisions to buy what you market. Just look at the dramatic ways integrated marketing can benefit your small business: Win Top-of-Mind Awareness Launching an integrated marketing campaign this year can mean the difference between creating seamless, memorable communication with your customers, and getting lost in the din of competing advertising messages to which they're exposed. When you employ a central message in all media and sales channels, every contact a prospect has with your marketing reinforces that message and drives it home. Exposure in multiple forms of media can keep you top-of-mind. The key is to ensure that every encounter creates a consistent experience that reflects positively on your company, product or service. Get Maximum Media Impact A successful integrated marketing campaign capitalizes on the strengths of individual media. Look at the media your customers are exposed to that affect their decisions to buy what you market and select a mix of the best. For example, web pages can carry deeper content and more complex communication, while outdoor ads give a quick punch of information. Some, such as direct mail, e-mail, and article placements, will help you tell your full marketing story, while others, such as online or out-of-home ads, can generate leads and drive prospects to learn more. Keep Prospects Engaged As customers move through your sales cycle, they may be motivated by different marketing methods -- from broadcast and print advertising, search marketing and public relations for cold prospects, to direct mail, events, and e-mail for warmer ones. Entrepreneurs that use just one or two methods to reach customers often have difficulty keeping them engaged, and lose sales to competitors who make consistent contact using a variety of media. By choosing an integrated media mix that meets the varying informational needs of cold, warm, and hot prospects, you can maintain frequent contact without boring or annoying them. Become a Part of Daily Life An integrated marketing campaign can follow your prospects all day long, taking advantage of multiple touchpoints. In the example above, you saw how a typical prospect might be exposed to media throughout the day. If this were your customer, you could choose from his favorite newspaper, magazine, cable TV, radio, online, and out-of-home advertising media to create an integrated mix. By choosing just print, out-of-home, and online marketing you could be part of his life morning, noon, and night. What better way to achieve success for your growing business? Get In-depth Coaching on this Topic>>
Kim T. Gordon's columns and articles are read by more than 3 million small-business owners each month. She is a small-business expert and the author of four books, including Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars: The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business. Copyrighted material. May not be reproduced in whole or part without expressed permission from the author. |
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