For a better understanding of what basic marketing communications are, it is better to separate the term and define each part separately. The word "marketing" has been around for a long time, it seems that everyone knows its meaning, but if you ask, you will get a large number of different definitions. There is nothing surprising: in each textbook it is defined in its own way, although, of course, there are no opposing opinions. In a nutshell: marketing communications is the process of identifying, stimulating and meeting customer needs to the fullest. Getting profit during this process is already the area of work for other specialists (accountants, financiers, tax inspectors).
Communication - this term is clear to everyone. Therefore, marketing communications is a set of activities aimed at informing the target audience about the useful qualities of a product (service) as fully as possible. This complex includes many tools and concepts.
The most significant marketing communications arethis is:
- Advertising: an impersonal appeal to the consumer of a product, with a call to buy this particular product (service) and an explanation of any uniqueness. Channels used: radio, TV, newspapers, outdoor advertising, mailing lists, Internet.
- Formation of a recognizable trademark (brand): development of a logo, branding.
- Public Relations (Creating a positive image of a company or product) Public Relations (PR): Caused by oversupply in the market. In order for the end consumer to make his choice in favor of your product, you need to demonstrate objective assessments of independent experts, other consumers, and public opinion. We can consider the Russian mentality as a support (for our person, the opinion of a neighbor is more important than everyone else).
- Promotion of loy alty programs (additional goods and services that improve the image of the company and trademark).
- Sales management (personal sales, sales promotion with bonus programs). Polite guys came to many with a demonstration of the wonderful possibilities of a vacuum cleaner, which costs a little less than a car - this is personal sales. But this is not the best example, with the right goal setting and process, you can achieve great results while maintaining the face and prestige of the brand.
- Direct marketing (addressed personal appeal to the buyer through direct mailings via the Internet, mail).
- Sales promotion: promotions, one-time discounts, lotteries, other events to revive interest intrademark. Focused on the short term.
In everyday life we can see the use of marketing communications in politics:
- generate brand interest (candidate);
- make the candidate program (useful properties of the product) publicly known;
- achieve consumer interest in the product (voting).
It turns out that the technologies are similar, the main thing is that the consumer is not offered stale goods. But this already lies in the field of ecology of the goals and mission of the enterprise. For a company operating for the long term, marketing communications is a process located in the interests of the society for which it works.
