What are the various methods used to make marketing communications more effective?
Marketing communication is an important aspect for any business that aspires to maintain customer loyalty and make significant profits. Identifying the target audience, designing and selecting communication channels are some of the various ways that make marketing communication effective. Identifying the target audience entails identifying the potential buyer, the current users and influencers of a product. The general public also influences the methods that will be used for communication. Clear communication objectives on the brand that are established to build brand awareness will make communication effective because people will have a positive attitude towards the brand (Journal of Marketing Communications, 2009). Well-designed communication channels also make communication effective as the marketer is aware of what they should say and at what time and to which audience. These are some of the factors that drive what the marketer is going to say; to whom and where so as to ensure that their communication is effective.
What has Facebook done well and why haven't others copied all aspects of their marketing plan?
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Facebook has been able to create an image of being a platform that is meant for people to connect. This, in turn, has enabled businesses create Facebook pages in which they can interact with their consumers. It is a feature that other social media platforms have not been able to create for their users. Facebook has also created a huge user base since it is an easy to use application. Other companies have not been able to copy Facebook’s marketing plan because Facebook has a localized language for each country and it has also enabled its users to merge their pages on other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram so as to improve their experience. Facebook also communicates with its consumers directly with meaningful conversations as opposed to other platforms that just send many messages with no critical information in them. This shows that it takes engagement to deeper levels since they have not limited character levels unlike Twitter. This has made Facebook stand out.
Read the attached chapters and describe the one or two points that were least clear to you. What questions do you have that would help you understand these points better?
In the attached chapters, the point that was not clear was the one that emphasized on the use of social media to drive the penetration of a product but the point does not specify which other goods apart from consumer goods do well when marketed on social media. This point sounds vague and needs clarity since some consumer services such as E-bay have become big brands as a result of social media. There is also no clear difference of marketing by use of social media and mainstream media advertisements.
What are the characteristics of a successful brand strategy?
Creating a brand should always be the mission of any organization that offers products or services to the general public. This will make sure that the brand name remains in the minds of customers and it will ensure that the brand retains its relevance in the market. A successful strategy should create inspiration, be different from other brands in the same market and it should be able to create a new experience for its users (Jung et al., 2014). Creating an inspiration means that it should be able to make itself the true definition of. the field in which it is competing in. An example is Nike that has been able to use athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo who plays for Real Madrid. This has created the image of Nike as a winning brand since it is related to a winning athlete in a winning team. Being different is also a strategy that enables companies to give their customers a different experience from the usual experiences derived from other products. Apple, for example, has dared to be different from other smart phone companies and despite facing stiff competition from companies that use android software, it has remained relevant among its users and it has attracted new buyers
Differentiate between traditional and new media options in relation to branding strategies.
Traditional media options include use of television and print media to reach out to the target customers while new media options involve the use of social media to get to the target audiences. The new media such as Facebook or YouTube content measures the success of a brand by how many views or shares it has from the general public and it also relies more on public reviews that they use to estimate brand performance. Traditional media, on the other hand, involves creating a message that will reach out to a huge population but it lacks a platform for engagement with the marketer of the brand unlike in the new media options where engagement is allowed. Brands that use traditional media are normally after economic decision making while those that engage the new media methods are usually after community decision making since they are more customer oriented (Persuit, 2013). An example of a brand that has embraced the new media options is Coca Cola. During its inception, the company was bent on using print media to reach to its customers but with the inception of technology, they are now using trendsetters and influencers as a marketing strategy for their brand. This can be seen in places like Africa where community influencers are being used by the company to reach out to customers in form of talent shows and huge concerts.
Explain the best strategies for earning and measuring customer loyalty.
Customer loyalty can be gained by improving the morale of employees as it affects the customer experience. Employees should be encouraged to remain in touch with customers and freely interact with them as it makes the customer feel welcomed and they would want to shop at the same shop again. Running loyalty programs that reward customers for making purchases will encourage them to keep shopping at the same point because they are sure that their loyalty will be rewarded. Customer loyalty can be measured by how often they repeat purchases and how many new customers they tag along when they come for shopping. It can also be measured by how they treat the emerging issues that may affect a product negatively. If they will stick to the product even after a bad experience, they will have proven their loyalty.
Companies like Samsung have earned customer loyalty for their brands because their staff interacts well with new and old customers. They also fix any issues with their devices and where they cannot offer immediate solutions, they recall the specific product (Dr. K. Selvi, 2012). This has improved the confidence of their customers in them.
Explain the branding strategies used for marketing purposes.
Branding strategies are meant to achieve the goal of a successful brand in the long term. Consistency is a strategy that can be applied on the delivery of a product to ensure that the brand in it is felt. It entails making sure that the customers are always relating to all your products and efforts that you make towards the improvement of the product (Stec, 2018). Another branding strategy is ensuring that the company is flexible so as to enable it adapt to the fast changing world. Consistency makes sure that you remain reluctant while flexibility ensures that a product is able to compete effectively. Coca Cola, for example, has remained consistent throughout its existence because it has always involved the consumer in all its promotional activities and it has been flexible to the needs and advancements in the beverage industry such as the introduction of new packaging styles that allow availability of small sized drinks for children and low income earners.
Select a company of your choice and state the effective marketing communications channels to successfully reach its target audience and why.
Coca Cola Company is a company that uses a series of marketing communication channels to get to its customers. Coca Cola uses mass media methods such as television and advertisements on banners. They also have an easily identifiable logo and bottle for their content and this has helped in creating a lasting image on the customers’ minds because every time they see a bottle with a red logo, they relate it to Coca Cola. The use of simple methods of marketing has made Coca Cola a successful product and it has enabled it establish a lasting brand image. This is because the marketing methods they use are able to reach to both urban and rural markets worldwide.
References
Dr. K. Selvi, D. (2012). Customer Loyalty Towards Telecom Industry. International Journal of Scientific Research , 2(9), pp.228-229.
Journal of Marketing Communications. (2009). Journal of Marketing Communications , 15(4), pp.283-284.
Jung, O., Jung, H., Lee, S. and Lee, E. (2014). Successful Brand Revitalization of Parkland through Brand Repositioning Strategy. ASIA MARKETING JOURNAL , 16(3), p.101.
Persuit, J. (2013). Social media and integrated marketing communication . Lanham, Md. [u.a.]: Lexington Books.
Stec, C. (2018). Brand Strategy 101: 7 Essentials for Strong Company Branding . [online] Blog.hubspot.com. Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31739/7-components-that-comprise-a-comprehensive-brand-strategy.aspx [Accessed 14 Feb. 2018].
