Tag: communications mix

The Communications Element of the Marketing Mix

Before you decide to spend money on advertising; or any other kind of external communications; or indeed, how much to spend; you need to know if your choice of communications are the best way to meet your marketing objectives.  It is often the case that advertising budgets can become a solution looking for a problem.

You also need to ask, are communications the priority?  Do other aspects of your marketing mix needing fixed first?

There is no point in spending thousands advertising a new feature of your product if consumers are complaining about how terrible your after sales service is.

Sort those issues which are a priority, then think about your communications mix.

Your communications strategy must reflect your organisational goals and the critical success factors you set.

When choosing your mix of communications tools (PR, TV advertising, print, social media, etc) you need the appropriate mix of push and pull media.  Push media is pushing your product into the minds of consumers e.g. traditional advertising. Pull media is getting consumers to demand your products from retailers and other suppliers (this could be media like social media and PR).

A strategy that is all push and no pull; or vice versa; is unlikely to succeed in modern markets.

And you cannot rely on past methodology.  The world of communications is constantly mutating.  In the 1950s most communications were broadcast monologues.  Today, the aim of communications is often to create two and three way communication.  Communications is about conversations; between companies and their customers; between existing customers; and between customers and prospective customers.

The level of advertising and communications spend do not automatically lead to results and simply trying to match the share of voice of a market leader may be a process in wasting scarce resources.

Definitely do not choose communications channels out of habit.

The best way to decide on your communications mix is:

  1. Match communications tools based on their strengths and ability to match the purpose of the communications.  For example social media is a step towards creating electronic word of mouth and a brand community (although other communications tools will be needed to meet those objectives). Social media is not a proven sales channel.  Remember the mnemonic DRIP (Differentiate, Reinforce, Inform, Persuade).  Depernding on the purpose of your message different communications tools will be appropriate.  For example, advertising may be the priority if you are aiming to differentiate your offer from that of your competitors; print media and PR may be the best way to inform your customers of product attributes; Social media may be a good way of reminding existing customers of your products; Sales Representatives may be the best way to persuade your target customers to buy.
  2. Match your communications profile to the expectations of your target audience.  So if you aim to sell fashion to the under thirties, social media and digital communications may be the priority in your mix.  If you are selling stairlifts to pensioners, direct mail and television advertising may be the priority.  it is not by accident that daytime TV is filled with adverts for over-50’s pension plans and disability aids.  Tesco will show families with children in their communications; BMW will show male professionals and executives.  Look for archetypes, not stereotypes.
  3. Integrated communications campaigns work better.  Promotion and other communications should be part of a wider customer journey.  It is a mistake to put all your communications in one channel.  I see small business after small business heavily investing in social media as their sole communications channel thinking they have found a silver bullet to solve their communications ills; they haven’t, they simply could be wasting their finite communications budget.  It is best to integrate communications channel that work well together and which compliment each other.  Choose channels that are synergistic and may create a greater whole than individual channels.

You need to map that customer journey from their first awareness of your brand through to them being repeat purchasers and then habitual purchasers.

Commercial communications are increasingly two way interactions.  You should reflect this in your communications strategy. Do not shout a monologue into the void. Focus on conversation, duologue and dialogue.  Increasingly getting target customers to talk to each other is a top-level aim of commercial communications.

We live in an over-communicated society.  Consumers are bombarded with commercial messages every day.  It isn’t a case of being the one who shouts loudest, be the one who shouts differently.  Stand apart from the communications churn.

To do all this you need a communications and advertising plan which:

  • Sets a budget
  • Determines your target audience
  • Determines the content of communications
  • Decides your media mix
  • Decides on advertising frequency
  • Defines how communications will be classed as successful

Your advertising objectives should be to:

  • Convey information
  • Alter perceptions and attitudes
  • Create desires
  • Establish connections
  • Direct actions
  • Provide reassurance
  • Remind
  • Give reasons for purchase
  • Demonstrate product/service features
  • Generate enquires and footfall

Those objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound)

And remember the Six I’s of Digital Communication:

  1.  Integrate across media channels. It is not by accident that Amazon, Uber, Just Eat, Trivago and other internet-based retailers and service providers all use traditional advertising channels.
  2. Create Independence of location: think remote marketing and remote delivery.
  3. Think Industry restructuring: Digital is often about disrupting existing market models.
  4. Think Individualisation: We live in a world where new technology and just in time supply chains mean mass customisation and micro-targeting of communications
  5.  Think Interactivity: Conversation not monologue

Increasingly, communications are as much about creating a brand community as pushing products onto consumers. The communications models of even twenty years ago are no longer appropriate.  Look to the future of communication, not the past.

 

Think before jumping on the social media bandwagon

Last Thursday, I attended the regular small business networking meeting arranged by my local branch of the Federation of Small Businesses.  By the end of that meeting, I was fuming.  The focus of my anger, that evening’s talk entitled Five Things You Must Do Now on Social Media.

I was angry at the length of the talk; at these events contributors are supposed to give presentation of around 20 minutes, the speaker talked for over an hour.  However, I was even angrier at the content of the presentation.

The speaker, like me, was a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.  Yet in her talk on the latest hot topics in social media marketing there was not a single mention of strategy, of objectives, of monitoring activity or of return on investment.  There was also no mention of the potential hazards of using social media as a marketing communications channel.

I therefore dug out my textbooks and looked at what experts in digital marketing had to say on the subject of social media.  I referred to Dave Chaffey’s book Digital Marketing (Dave also runs the excellent Smart Insights website) and the SOSTAC method advocated by PR Smith.  These two individuals are probably the most renowned academics working in the field of digital marketing.

PR Smith uses the acronym SOSTAC to define the process of creating a digital marketing plan.  In fact, it is such a useful system of planning development, it can be used across marketing planning.  It stands for Situation, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics, Action, Control.

Social Media is a single communications channel.  It is a tactic not a strategy.  It seems that some operating in the field of social media marketing have forgotten this and treat their speciality as an overarching marketing strategy.  It isn’t and it should not be treated as such.  By all means use social media marketing in your business but that activity should be the result of a careful analysis of your businesses market position and the attributes of your target audience.  So,if I was promoting a fashion brand to teenagers, social media would be a priority communications channel and I would likely want to invest heavily in it.  If I was promoting stair lifts to pensioners, I would prioritise more traditional forms of marketing communication.  It seems some marketers operating in the field of social media have developed a myopic view of communications which may be of little use to many small businesses.

Then there was the title of the talk, “Things you MUST do”.  Sorry, but that is plain wrong.  It infers that the activities MUST be carried out by all businesses.  Surely a better approach is to carry out those activities which best fit your business model, your client base and your available resources.

The speaker had previously worked for a major motor car manufacturer and had now set up their own social media consultancy.  The talk was to small businesses most of whom were either one-man-bands or had fewer than five employees.  There seemed to be little recognition from the speaker as to the resources available to the speaker’s former employer than to the attending audience.

I will quickly list the five things the speaker highlighted:

  1. Using Live Video
  2. Becoming a LinkedIn all-star
  3. Asking for emails
  4. Spending some money as organic reach was dying on social media sites
  5. Getting creative.

The idea that small businesses would be able to produce suitable Live Video seemed a stretch.  Having organised press conferences and media events, I can attest to how difficult it can be to produce successful content on a recorded basis, let alone live.  Sometimes the most confident CEO can turn into a blathering idiot the moment a camera is thrust in their face or a microphone pushed under their nose.  If you are planning such an event, it is always best to have someone with sufficient media training to run the event and to prompt nervous participants.  In my old career, I worked with the likes of Lynn Faulds Wood, John Stapleton and Carol Smylie.  These are broadcast journalists and presenters who could expertly direct those not used to such exposure through an interview.  This is an important skill which many small business people will not have.

The live video idea was mentioned for things like product demonstrations and launches.  It is always worth remembering Murphy’s Law; if anything can go wrong, it will.  I have seen hilarious examples of content from product demonstrations that have gone horribly wrong.  At least those will be remembered.  What is far worse are dull, boring demonstrations which do not stick in the mind.

Live video content is not as easy as it appears, particularly if you are doing an activity such as product demonstration.  Channels such as QVC tend to use employed product demonstrators to give a professional gloss to product launches and ‘how to guides’.

Dee et Al. (2007) argued that social media was increasingly important in influencing consumer perceptions about brands.  They argued that there was a big difference in what was appropriate content depending on factors such as age demographics, gender and the type of product.  They found very few product types which had popularity in all market segments e.g. movies, cars and restaurants.  In short, you need to carefully analyse your target customer segments and design appropriate content.

Microsoft, who part own Facebook, increasingly expect businesses using that platform to pay for the promotion of commercial content.  They are also adamant that consumers must be able to interact with the brand content.  They advise:

  1.  You must understand your customers motivations for using social media.  That content must match the topics they already discuss and match the life stage of those networking.
  2. You need to express yourself as a brand.  A logo and a brand name are not enough.  You have to develop a brand personality which includes a side of the brand not normally seen.
  3. You must understand the consumers motivations for the use of social media and mirror motivations.
  4. You need to create and maintain good conversations.  Those discussions must resonate with the audience and once started a conversation must be followed through. I follow a number of small business networking groups on twitter.  the bad ones are where people end up tweeting about their dogs, the weather or their holidays AND DON’T STICK TO THE SUBJECT OF THEIR BUSINESS.
  5. You have to empower participants.  Let those who network with you express themselves through your brand.  This could be through the use of apps or widgets
  6. You need to identify and nurture online brand advocates and use reputation management tools.
  7. You have to follow the golden rules of Social media
    1. Behave like a social networker
    2. Be creative
    3. Be honest
    4. Be individual
    5. Be conscious of your audience
    6. Update regularly

One firm which is at the forefront of the use of social media for marketing is Ugg, the sheepskin boot manufacturer.  They identify brand fans and give them opportunities to work for Ugg.  They use celebrities as brand advocates and they pay a number of bloggers and vloggers to develop a brand community.  These bloggers don’t only write about Ugg products but they discuss wider ‘youth’ issues such as music and wider fashion trends.

Ugg are very careful that the brand advocates match their brand image.  They were furious when Oprah Winfrey promoted their boots on her television channel as she was outside their young fashion-conscious demographic.

In Digital Marketing, Dave Chaffey discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using social media to develop viral marketing campaigns.

He argues that social media, used correctly, can be a relatively inexpensive viral agent to speak to a large audience and that it can be a good tool for developing customer referral through electronic word of mouth.  However, he warns that for that activity to be truly productive you already need to have the ear of major market influencers.  This can be evidenced in Ugg’s use of celebrities and paid bloggers.

Chaffey also argue that social media can be a high risk marketing communications strategy.  It requires significant initial investment to develop the ‘viral agent’ and to seed the communications programme.

He also warns that many users of social media see the use of portals such as Twitter for commercial purposes as a misappropriation.  People use social media to socialise and during such times do not want to be pestered by brands.

It is often difficult to develop appropriate content for social media channels.  It has to engage the audience and encourage sharing.

Then there is the need to seed the viral activity through the use of key influencers,  This can backfire.  For example, several sports personalities have received criticism when they have promoted products through social media without mentioning that they are being paid to do so.

If a piece of social media goes viral, it can break one of two ways.  It can generate a positive reaction or it can be negative.  It is extremely difficult to judge which of these two paths a viral campaign will follow.  There may well be a need for ongoing and vigilant reputation management.

In conclusion, on its own, social media may not be a sufficient strategy for small businesses.  You need to back it up with more traditional marketing communications activities.  You need to look at your customer engagement ladder.  For many businesses, social media should be focussed on the retention of existing customers than on new customer acquisition.  At best, it is a route to turn existing regular customers into brand advocates.

Social media and other online activities only work well when they are part of a wider marketing communications mix AND you have the time and resources to commit to the social media channel.  You need to decide whether social media is going to be a continuous activity or whether it is going to be part of individual campaigns.  If continuous significant ongoing investment is required.  You also need to balance investment between individual online tools and monitor the return that the investment brings in.  There is no point in having a hugely successful piece of online content if nobody buys your product.

I believe many smaller businesses see social media as a quick and easy fix to their promotional activities.  It isn’t.  It is a tactic which requires careful consideration of viral content and you need to attract key social media influencers.  If those things are not achieved, intensive investment in social media can be a huge waste of time, money and effort.