Integrated management communication is a concept that ensures that all the marketing communications are made to work together rather than in separation. These marketing communications include sales promotion, advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, public relations and interactive or Internet marketing.
Sales promotion involves persuasion of potential clients to buy certain products. It is a component of personal selling process. Business firms employ certain tools in sales promotion including money off coupons, competitions, discount vouchers, free gifts, point of sales materials, and loyalty cards (Simms, 1992). For instance, Tesco has computers used for sales promotion. Moreover, it uses the payday discount plan in order to attract many customers. Tesco focuses on timing of the sales promotions; that is when the clients have a lot of income to spend.
On the other hand, Asda is doing away with the Buy One Get Free (BOGOF) offers. It is now focusing on giving consumers the right claims rather than the vague ones. However, the BOGOF offers have been so instrumental in the sales promotion process in any retail business. In the case of Aldi, sales promotion is also highly instrumental in attracting a wide range of consumers. It promotes its products by using vouchers, competitions and money off coupons.
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Personal selling involves an individual selling a company’s products or services to customers. This also entails persuasion so as to attract their attention towards certain products (Donoho et al, 2011). Various companies, such as, Tesco, Adsa and Aldi have embraced the strategy in their marketing process. It significantly helps in the business growth since many clients are acquired.
Moreover, advertising forms another key component of integrated marketing communication. Certain companies utilize this component in their marketing strategies. For example, Tesco and Asda maximize on advertising in order to draw many customers’ attention. However, some companies including Aldi do a little advertisement in their marketing but focus a lot in sales promotion. Aldi does not focus on advertising so much apart from using the weekly newsletter that has special prices known as Aldi informiert (Cigdem, 2011).
Direct marketing involves the advertising that gets to the clients directly without employing the ancient ways of advertising, for example, newspapers and radios (Ferrari et al, 2011). In certain companies, such as Tesco, Adsa and Aldi, this marketing communication is widely used alongside the other methods. In this process, fliers, promotion letters, catalogue distribution and street advertising are used.
Additionally, companies also use the internet or an interactive marketing. This involves promotion and advertising online to the potential customers (Maktoba et al, 2011). They have certain sites on which their products and information are displayed. Tesco, Adsa and Aldi use the method in their marketing strategies.
Furthermore, publicity is another way of marketing a firm’s products through the integrated marketing communication (Díaz De Rada, 2011). This concerns attracting the public’s attention towards a certain thing. In marketing, it helps a lot in that it is cheap and credible. The above companies utilize it in their marketing strategies.
In conclusion, integrated marketing communication is highly influential in enhancing the performance of any business firms. Tesco, Adsa and Aldi are doing well because they have adopted the system in their marketing process.
