How to Plan Marketing Communications?

10 Minute Guide How to plan marketing communications?

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CIM 14280 | DS | October 2007 10 Minute Guide What are marketing communications?

1 Introduction Cost Marketing communications are the tools • Is the overall cost of the campaign a company uses to deliver a range of expensive? promotional messages to its target markets. • Will there be much wastage? • How much will it cost to reach a given Businesses use a range of marketing number of individuals? communications to promote their – A sales promotion of an expensive companies, their products and their gift may be costly per unit, but the services. campaign could be cheap if only a dozen items are mailed Examples of marketing communications – An ad campaign may be seen by tools include: thousands, but perhaps only a very small percentage of those people • Brochures are potential customers • Mailshots • Websites Clout • Advertisements • Can the campaign reach a large • Sales promotions number of people? • Exhibitions • Can the message be personalised? • Personal selling • Press publicity campaigns Credibility • An advert may be viewed with These tools can be used in isolation, but it’s scepticism, whereas a favorable piece usually more successful to use a blend for of press coverage will be widely maximum impact. accepted as accurate

Each element of the mix can be judged Control against a number of criteria – ‘the 4Cs’: • Can you target particular audiences? • Can you adjust the message to suit individuals or as the campaign progresses?

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Typically, an evaluation of your campaign alternatives may look like this:

Sales Public Personal Direct Advertising promotion relations selling marketing

Clout Low Low Low High High

Costs High Medium Low High Medium

Credibility Low Medium High Medium Medium

Control Medium High Low Medium High

The objective of all marketing 2 Why it is important communications activities is ultimately The purpose of any form of marketing to achieve sales, so it is important to communication is to provide information communicate effectively. Before engaging to your target audience in a way that in any communications programme with encourages a positive, or buying, response. customers, you have to decide: For example, our clothes shop mentioned • What you want to say (this should above is expanding and moving to larger include where possible and relevant): premises. The proprietor needs to – Who communicate this fact to the target (eg Suzanne’s fashion shop) audience and has considered the following – What is happening key elements as part of the marketing (is moving to new premises) communications activity: –Why (to allow the shop to stock • The business is moving and increasing more ranges) its range of designer clothes – When • Both new and existing customers are (next week) welcome – Where • She will make contact with potential (the new address) customers using direct mail, local press • Who you want to say it to articles and posters • How to present your message • She plans to contact existing local – How to send your message customers by mail, potential customers • Where to send your message from a wider geographical area by • When to send your message press activity, and passing trade by placing posters in the shop window You also need to consider the style and • The mailings will be sent out two weeks tone of your message and the follow-up before the opening, press releases one actions that will be required by you and week before, and a press feature is your staff in order to generate that all- planned for the day of the opening important sale. In terms of the style and tone of the message, her customers are invited to a ’champagne celebration’ with the opportunity to buy new stock at a special discount on the opening day. As part of her follow-up campaign, she also plans to host a fashion show two months after the opening, offering the proceeds to a local charity. By developing this planned

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programme of marketing communications Business-to- Consumer with her customers, the proprietor of this business markets markets business is providing them with more opportunities to buy. She is not just opening Use company Use own money up her new shop and waiting for customers money to walk through the door. Small number Large number 3 What you should do of buyers of buyers Here are some examples of the simple steps for deciding on, and developing any Decisions made Decisions made form of, marketing communications. by groups by individuals

Start by deciding your objectives Long time to Short time to Do you want to improve general awareness make a decision make a decision about your business? Are you launching a new product? Are you looking to attract new customers or to encourage existing However, remember that all purchases are customers to buy more from you? made by people, and always try to appeal A successful marketing communications to the heart as well as the head. campaign will use a mixture of promotional techniques to get the key messages across Different marketing communications will be to customers. Once you have decided your appropriate in each market. objectives, consider the various elements of the promotional mix and decide which Business-to- Consumer are the most appropriate at this time. business markets markets

Set an appropriate budget Formal approach Informal If you are concerned about the cost of the appropriate approach appropriate campaign, try running a test (perhaps by sending a direct mailing to just a few Personal selling Advertising and recipients) before embarking on a larger dominates sales promotion initiative. dominate

Decide what you want to say about Greater use of Greater use of your business or product/service logic and emotions and This is not as easy as it sounds. Are you imagery saying exactly the same as your competitors? Does what you say pass a information-based ‘so what?’ test? Are the claims you make messages backed up by the standards you deliver? Sales management Brand management Remember ’AIDA’ – use your material to: a key priority a key priority

• Secure your customers’ ATTENTION • Keep them INTERESTED • Focus on the main benefits that your • Generate a DESIRE product offers customers, and use • Encourage them to take ACTION short words and sentences to explain these clearly in any communication. Try Select your target audience not to use too much jargon _ and if you Selling office machines is not the same as do have to use it, explain what it means selling shampoo, and business-to-business in simple terms. customers should not be treated in the • Don’t forget to include basic company same way as business-to-consumer information such as name, address, customers. contact numbers and website.

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• Once you have decided which words colour A5 flyer. You can then decide and pictures to use, think about the what you can afford and proceed way you want your communications on that basis. Remember – the more material to look and feel. The design, planning undertaken at the start of colours and layout of your brochure, the project, the more cost-effective mailing, website, exhibition stand, an exercise this will be. annual report, etc will create an image of your business in your customers’ When you get to the ’final proof’ stage, minds and should reflect what you do. be absolutely sure that the material says If you are not really sure what you want, everything you want and that the colours, check what competitors and other local style, paper weight and quantity ordered businesses are doing. This exercise will are agreed before you ’sign it off’. Mistakes help decide the things that you like or at this point can be very costly to change. dislike, and will help to focus your mind so that ideas can be formulated more • Generally, you will need to allow up to clearly. two weeks from ’sign off’ of the final • At this point, unless you have the proof to delivery of printed material, specialised skills to do it yourself, it may so allow time for this within your be necessary to talk to a designer, ad planning calendar. agency, etc to develop your ideas into • Finally, be consistent in your overall the promotional material you are promotional approach and measure seeking. If you haven’t worked with your success against the original a designer before, invite at least three objectives. Don’t rely on gut instinct different companies to quote for your when considering whether to repeat or requirements. It is also helpful to talk to extend an activity. Check to make sure other business colleagues to see if they it really did deliver the sales, raise can recommend someone. Check that awareness, encourage new enquiries, the company has solid credentials in etc. the media you plan to use – a company that is expert in producing print material 4 Tips for effective marketing may not have the capabilities to design communications a complex website. To use the marketing communications tools • Prepare a short written ’brief’ for your effectively, it helps to follow some rules. agency. This ensures that you have your ideas straight and that there will be no • Different customers have different misunderstandings in what you are needs, so your marketing asking them to do. Let them see any communications activity may be wasted existing ideas that you like or dislike, if targeted at the wrong customer and provide as many texts, group. It is therefore important to tailor photographs, diagrams, maps, etc promotional messages to meet the as you can. needs of each different segment of • The designers will usually provide you your audience. with a number of ’outline design ideas’ • Your designer will be able to advise from which you can select a favourite on the different layouts that are possible for further development. You can for both websites and printed materials, amend these as you see fit, but and which are most cost-effective. remember that all amendments take Keep in regular contact with the design time and will therefore add to the cost team throughout the process so that of the finished material. Most designers you can provide feedback on their work closely with a number of print ideas, monitor progress and keep them houses, stand production companies, on track regarding your deadlines and web tech specialists, etc so they will be budgets. able to provide an estimated cost for • Even when budgets are limited, there converting their design ideas into, say, are still a lot of different ways to make a full-colour A4 brochure or a single- the most of what you have to spend.

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Consider a two-colour brochure rather than a full-colour one, or compare the Finding out more value that your business would achieve Visit by printing, say, 1,000 posters, www.cim.co.uk/marketingresources compared to having a good press gives more useful advice for small release printed in the local paper. businesses wanting to build on their • Remember that your website can be marketing knowledge. more than an online brochure. Use it not only to communicate ‘to’ customers, but also to gather feedback, and even take orders ‘from’ them. 5 Case study

The London Eye

The London Eye, part of British Airways, wanted to attract new visitors. Its annual marketing budget of £1.5 million was used to increase passenger numbers via focused advertising and other promotional activities.

Londoners were encouraged to take additional flights with the sale of joint tickets offering a trip together with a champagne meal at a nearby restaurant. Overseas visitors were targeted with an online campaign combined with advertisements at key entry points to the UK. Students were offered joint tickets with Tate Britain for the Turner Prize exhibition. This was promoted through student bars and Student Union mailings.

Other initiatives included a 45-minute Thames cruise, the production of guidebooks, the introduction of trained capsule hosts and the re-launch of the website www.londoneye.com

The overseas campaign led to a 5% increase in passenger numbers. Within three months 7,800 Londoners had taken up the ‘flight and meal’ deal, and there were 300 redemptions of the student tickets. Overall, BA saw an 8% growth in visitor numbers to more than 4 million, and an increase in gross profit of 23%.

While activity on this scale would be beyond the remit of most SMEs, this example does illustrate the benefit of using a selection of different techniques to achieve a specific and clearly defined result.

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