Marketing Communication

Questions: 1. Choose an organization. Write a proposal for the creation of tools and techniques that are suitable within a divergent media environment in relation to the chosen organization. 2. Create a proposal for a customer-centric app for an imaginary organization. Explain how the features of this app are customer-centric. Where possible, collaborate with an expert to verify the viability of the features. 3. An organization wants to develop marketing communications in order to promote the launch of a new product with the aim of making as many sales as possible, as well as having the opportunity to gather customer feedback on the new item. Describe your recommendation for a tool/technique that is fit for this purpose. 4. Choose an organization. This may be a well-known or one where you are a client. Make a proposal for a cross-sector marketing communications solutions for this organization. (15) 5. Describe a channel that is highly effective in empowering customers and responding rapidly to customer perspectives. 6. What is your organizations policy/procedure/protocol for maintaining contact with business networks and clients? Answers: 1. The fictional organization I chose is called Deepdipo Technologies. The Company sells electronics which includes smart phones, tablets and personal computers to customers. There are many manufacturers of these products. The products have also gained a wide acceptance by consumers. The customers however need to know the differences between them before purchasing. The divergent media environment would be the best solution for this purpose. The tools and techniques that I propose for the print media are magazines and newspapers. Television and radio would be best for the broadcast media. For electronic media, I would propose videodisks, videotapes, web-pages and CD-ROMs (Mohr and Nevin, 2010). Billboards would be the best media for the display media. These tools and techniques suits the divergent media for the sales of electronics. Once a new electronic has been manufactured billboards would be the best for the display media. Unlike the other types of media, billboards would provide the image of the device from all angles. This will help appeal to the eyes of the intended audience and potential customers. The radio and television provide the best broadcast media as the introduction of new products will reach a wide number of people. Unlike the display media, broadcast media gives the marketer the chance to explain more about the products (Tome and Snoj, 2014). Deepdipo Technologies will use this opportunity to explain to the potential customers why they should purchase their new product and avoid the other products within the market. Web-pages would be important in reaching for generation x and the millennials who are well-known to spend their time in the internet. The websites would provide them with all the information including the images, specs and more explanation about the new devices. My imaginary organization is a taxicab organization. The main task of the organization is to provide transportation to customers using their cabs. Most taxicab organizations have wide areas where they park their cabs and wait for customers to make calls to be picked from certain locations. Other customers wait for any cab that may pass by to request for transport. For those who request cabs by calling the taxicab firms, the organizations send drivers who are in the parking lot to serve those customers. A lot of time is wasted in such a processes since the customers have to wait for the cab without the knowledge of its exact location. In order to make this easier for the customers, I would propose an app that shows the cabs that are on the move. The proposed app would help indicate the cab that is nearby. The customer, the firm management and the drivers will have access to the proposed app. This app will should operate on a majority of phones and on the personal computers in order to increase convenience. From the view of the cabs on the map, the customer can request the driver nearby to pick them. Once the request is made, the driver is immediately notified. If in case the driver is engaged, he can inform the customer to look for another cab. In order to make improvements on the app, when the driver is transporting a customer, he/she clicks on a button that removes him/her temporarily from the map. Once the customer is dropped in their appropriate locations, the driver can then click on a button to place them back on the map. The features of this app are customer-centric because the customer is the one that mainly engages the app. In addition, the app allows the customer not to waste a lot of time waiting for a cab that they are not sure of its location. Also, instead of the customer dealing with individuals at the organization, he/she is able to directly contact the drivers. The ability of the app to only indicate drivers who are not engaged makes it easier for the customer to pick the right driver instantly. 2. A new product does not have any established customers. In this case, everyone is a potential customer for the product. Non-personal communication would be the best marketing communication that that would reach a wide audience. This type of marketing communication does not require the marketing individuals to be in contact with the potential customers, meaning that not many marketers would be required to be on the field. Non-personal marketing communication includes media, events, sales promotions and publicity (Mohr and Nevin, 2010). The organization should use media in order to make most sales. The media should include: magazines and newspapers for print media; television, radio and telephone for broadcast media; wireless, webpages, videotapes, audiotapes for electronic media; and signs, posters and billboards for display media also. Using media, the organization will have the chance to describe and showcase the new product. Images of the new product will be well displayed on the media. The size, color and shape of the product on the media will help create a visual in the minds of the potential customers. Media also provides the opportunity for the marketers to include explanation about the product and appealing messages that would catch the attention of the customers. These messages may be in form of texts or audios. The display and messages in the media will appeal to the customers to purchase the new product. Conferences, sales promotions and events creates the opportunity for the organization and the customers to meet and interact. Media will enable the organization make as many sales as possible whereas conferences, sales promotions and events will provide the opportunity for the organization to collect feedback. 3. Our organization constantly requires different items that require to be supplied. For any items required, our organization contacts the supplies firm in order to get the items with the best market prices. This makes our organization a client to the supplies firm. Basically, our organization is part of the market for the supplies firm. The cross-sector marketing communications solutions that I would propose for the supplies firm would be one that is best for them to communicate with the market. For the supplies firm, I would propose direct marketing. According to Lund and Marinova (2014), direct marketing communication can be in a variety of formats including direct e-marketing, telemarketing, postal mail and point-of-sale (POS) interactions. With direct marketing, the marketer has to directly interact with the client. Interaction can be by voice or face-to-face. Since the supplies firm makes it possible for the client to get anything they require at a fair price, their clients are unlimited because every organization is a potential client. Direct marketing suits this type of organization because products or supplies required can be sourced from different firms and it is the responsibility of the supplies firm to convince the clients why particular sources are better than the others. E-marketing, telemarketing, postal mail and point-of-sale (POS) interactions avails the organization to its client and both can come to an agreement. This proposal has the benefits that the supplies firm meets its clients and the potential clients so as to answer any questions that the clients may have. For instance, a client may want to know what options exist for the items that they require and the differences between the items. Direct marketing would also enhance the partnership between the supplies firm and its clients. Contrary to direct marketing, in the other forms of marketing communication solutions, either party can request for attention from the other and face a disappointment due to failure of a reply. 4. Nonpersonal and personal communication channels have many sub-channels within them. Personal communication channel is described as the communication between persons, but the massage emanates from a specific person. Personal communication can be face-to-face, over telephone, person to audience or through couriers, post, mobile messages or emails. Personal communication does not always empower customers and respond to their perspectives because the persons may not always be available. Nonpersonal communication channel is highly effective in empowering customers and responding rapidly to their perspectives. According to Michman and Harris (2007), nonpersonal channel includes events, atmospheres and media. Media includes broadcast media, print media, display media and electronic media. Events are the occurrences that are designed to communicate to the target audiences and includes conferences, ceremonies and sponsorship events where target audiences are met. The atmosphere is what the companies create within the environments of their offices. Nonpersonal communication highly empowers customers because firms ensure that the message they include in the channels appeal to their needs. The organization of events ensures that customers perspectives are rapidly responded to. According to Michman and Harris (2007), nonpersonal communication channel, especially experiences and events have seen organizations grow since the rapidly respond to customers perspectives. Companies build images of their brands by creating and sponsoring events. Mohr and Nevin, (2010) point out some of the companies that have largely progressed by sponsored events: Visa actively sponsors Olympics; Perrier is a sponsor of most events including sports; Harley-Davidson is a sponsor of the motorcycles rallies that take place annually; and IBM and ATT sponsors art exhibitions and symphony performances. Such sponsored events are part of the non-personal communication channels that rapidly respond to the perspective of customers. Apart from creating events, all the other forms of media capture the attention of the customer instantly. 5. Our organization makes every effort to maintain contact with clients and business networks. The firm has created the culture of making every staff and new employees believe that clients and business networks are the most important things for the success of its businesses. Due to this culture, the policy in our organization is that every client should be treated individually and well. In order to maintain contact, the organization requires every staff to: keep clients informed by making regular communications to update them; be the clients useful resource by providing any information that seems useful to them; be open and honest to clients by avoiding manipulations and cons; meet the agreed deadlines at all times; and to have a partnership vision. Good partnership between the clients and the organizations staff ensures that business networks are maintained. The organization believes that communication is the most essential thing in the life of every individual and not least in business relations and our work. The manager insists that there is a large variety of ways in which one can be in contact with clients. When budgeting, the organization ensures that it allocates a good amount to everything to do with communication. Some of the ways the staff are supposed to keep in touch with the clients includes use of mails, phone calls, social media and even paper mails. It is the duty of the staff to note the most comfortable means of communicating with specific clients. It is also essential that members of the organization make themselves available as possible such that enquiries are promptly responded to. During communication, we are urged to always be open and honest so as to maintain the clients. Communication also helps to create business networks. It is the duty of every employee to create a good relationship with the client through hone st communication at all times. References Lund, D. J., Marinova, D. (2014). Managing Revenue Across Retail Channels: The Interplay of Service Performance and Direct Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 78(5), 99-118. doi:10.1509/jm.13.0220 Michman, R. D., Harris, L. (2007). The Development of Marketing Channel Communication Models. Journal of Business Communication, 15(1), 29-39 Mohr, J., Nevin, J. R. (2010). Communication Strategies in Marketing Channels: A theoretical perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54(4), 36-51 Tome, D., Snoj, B. (2014). Marketing Communication on Social Networks - Solution in the Times of Crisis. Marketing (0354-3471), 45(2), 131-138.