Promotion of goods and services requires an integrated approach, which is implemented in the development of a communication strategy. Today, marketing is becoming an essential element of any organization, whether it sells bread or provides intellectual services. A well-thought-out competent marketing communication policy of a company is a necessary condition for its success.
Concept
Any communication process has a specific goal, the achievement of which is associated with the development of a strategy. In marketing, the main way to implement plans and goals is to build relationships between the buyer and the manufacturer. Communication strategy in the broadest sense is a comprehensive, global program to achieve the company's marketing goals. In a narrower sense, it is synonymous with the concept of marketing strategy. In practice, the communication strategy includes marketing, creative and media strategy. Thus, this concept represents the general program of actions of the company to establish communication withmarket, external and internal environment.
Benefits
Developing a communications strategy allows an organization to create a thoughtful plan of action to achieve its goals. The strategic approach has a number of advantages. It allows you to optimize costs and distribute all types of resources as economically as possible: time, human, financial. Strategy is a way to see the whole picture and find the shortest and most profitable paths to the goal. It helps to build a hierarchy of goals, and move towards global achievements without wasting resources in vain. The strategy also allows you to find hidden reserves and new opportunities for business development. An integrated approach is based on a deep study of market realities, understanding the advantages and disadvantages of the product, and this helps to find innovative solutions in the modernization of the production process and promotion.
Types of strategies
Since strategy is a term from the military environment, its name can be borrowed from there as well. Traditionally, defensive and attacking strategies are distinguished. Defense and attack can be flank and frontal. That is, they can only be directed at one or more opponents or properties of the goods - hit the flanks. Or be conducted on all fronts: competitors, markets, etc. There are also guerrilla strategies, that is, hidden from the eyes of the enemy. It is not in vain that the famous marketer Jack Trout likened the process of communication to war and called his epoch-making work "Marketing Wars".
There is also an approach, withinwhich highlights presentation strategies, manipulations and conventions. In this perspective, all strategies are classified according to the main method of establishing contact with target audiences. A presentation is an open passive communication, within which the goal of influencing the communicant is not set. Its opposite is manipulation, that is, hidden influence. And the convention is built on establishing interaction between the parties.
Structure
Communication strategy combines three areas of action planning: marketing, creative and media strategies. The marketing strategy includes researching the company's position in the market, identifying brand advantages, and selecting target audiences. A creative strategy is the formulation of a key message and the development of visual embodiments of the main idea of communication. Media strategy is the choice of channels of contact with the audience, planning ways to communicate with consumers through the media and other points of contact.
Development technology
Any strategy is developed on the basis of rigorous analysis. And the marketing communication strategy begins with an important stage - the study of the situation. For a quality solution, it is necessary to understand the features of the promoted product, to have information about the company's position in the market, about competitors, their advantages and disadvantages. Companies often order such marketing services from specialized agencies. Based on the information received, the brand platform is formulated, developedproduct positioning. The next stage is the definition of market segments and the audience with which communications will be established. After all the research has been done, it's time to create a key message. A creative solution is built on the benefits of the product and on consumer insights. It should evoke a given emotion and association in the addressee. The next stage is the choice of distribution channels for the message. To choose the right media, you need to understand the media preferences of the target audience and analyze their image and lifestyle. The key message should be visualized, i.e. convey in the material: word, music, television commercial. The stage of developing an advertising product includes the search for the most striking and attractive advertising images. The last stage in the formation of a communication strategy is the development of a media plan. It is necessary to determine the frequency and scope of communications, with the time of contact with the consumer.
Strategy Platform
Developing a communication strategy is unthinkable without a brand platform. The company must have a good understanding of its mission and the benefits of the product. They form the basis of the concept of positioning, which is understood as the desired image of the product in the perception of the consumer. The manufacturer must formulate a unique selling proposition (USP), which will "settle" in the minds of consumers. It can be natural: when the product has a real distinctive quality, for example, the operating system in Apple phones. Or artificial, i.e.invented. For example, Dobry juice has such a USP - "juice created with kindness." The brand platform is not developed for each advertising campaign, but is an element of the strategy. On its basis, slogans and messages are formulated for advertising products: packaging, radio and television commercials, outdoor advertising, etc.
The stage of setting goals and objectives
Communication strategy includes two kinds of goals. Long-term goals should correspond to the company's development plans for a long period of time, for example, gaining a position in the market, capturing new markets and segments, etc. tactical short-term goals are associated with the stages of brand promotion and development. Goal setting can be done in different ways. The most popular is the SMART model, according to which the goal must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and limited in time. That is, the team must understand what and at what stage should be achieved. Employees must also share the goals set, understand their benefits for themselves.
Target Audience
For the competent development of a communication strategy, you need to understand well who it is addressed to. The target audience is the most important parameter in research. Most often, agencies offer marketing services for assessing the socio-demographic parameters of the audience: gender, age, marital status, education, income, etc. However, for the formulation of messages and the concept of positioningunderstand the needs and behavior of the consumer. This allows you to find insights that are relevant to people, to choose words and topics close to them. A set of consumer behavioral characteristics is called psychographics and is described by the concept of lifestyle. Each consumer, depending on his type, stage of the family life cycle, spends resources in his own way and makes purchases based on certain reasons. To identify such information, it is not enough to conduct a questionnaire or survey, they can only be obtained with the help of qualitative research: interviews, projective techniques.
Implementation tools
Traditionally, a communication strategy is based on the use of specific tools. It includes such means as: personal selling, PR tools, advertising, BTL. The communication strategy of the company involves the selection of media in which advertising will be placed, planning promotions and events. Media planning proceeds from the data obtained during the analysis of the media preferences of the audience. It also takes into account a large number of objective characteristics of the media: ratings, circulation, passenger traffic, etc.
