The Advantages of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

What is IMC?

IMC is the process of merging public relations, social media, audience analytics, business development concepts, and advertising into a brand identity that is consistent across many media channels. It allows public and private organizations and businesses to create a consistent and engaging consumer experience for a product or service, as well as improve their image and relationships with stakeholders. 

Social media marketing, digital media, journalism, market research and consulting, public relations, non-profit and government, entertainment, television and radio, and other fields related to marketing and communications may employ professionals with an integrated marketing communications background.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a powerful concept that may help your company stand out and increase sales.

If you’re a small business, you might not be familiar with this word, so let’s have a look at what it means before we get into the perks. IMC is very closely related to multi-channel attribution and omnichannel marketing, although there are several key distinctions.

But in today’s topic we will discuss how IMC can be helpful

Benefits of Integrated Marketing

Including an integrated marketing communications strategy in your business strategy will have long-term benefits that will increase your profits and establish you as a market leader. The following part will go through some of the most effective ways to use IMC to improve your business.

1. Improved Results

There is frequently a lot of split between the various teams in traditional marketing strategies. As a result, press releases, advertisements, direct marketing, and sales promotions are dispersed and, in some cases, contradictory. From the outside, customers see this as disorganized and even chaotic.

Consider this: your business makes amazing cuisine. Your marketing strategies impact how your food (products) are displayed. When your marketing teams lack coherence, it’s as if someone grabbed all that great food and put it in a fridge. The food tastes the same, but the presentation is unappealing and suspect. Only the most dedicated customers will sift through the shambles in search of their lunch. Most people will rapidly become overwhelmed and switch to a brand with a clearer message.

Your marketing teams come together to create a single, massive, gorgeous marketing machine with a well-thought-out strategy. Blog posts, periodicals, outside marketing agencies, sales teams, and other sources of information bolster the press’s claims. As a result, there is a consistent message that helps clients trust you.

2. A better image of the company

Have you heard the expression “you eat with your eyes”? It doesn’t just pertain to food, though. Having a clear and cohesive brand message across style guidelines, logos, voice, and headers, among other things, is essential for improving brand image. Consistency builds consumer confidence and demonstrates that you care about your products. All of your brand’s elements will be in sync if you use IMC. This unified approach can help you boost your market impact and carve out a niche or industry for yourself. Here are a few examples of successful IMC campaigns that boosted product and service awareness by using their brand.

• Take a look at Domino’s AnyWare marketing. To make fast food orders more accessible, Domino’s created a website called anyware.dominos.com, which provided customers with all of the campaign’s critical facts. Prior to the start of this campaign, ordering a pizza was a time-consuming procedure that required navigating through a plethora of topping selections, entering payment information, updating shipping addresses, and then waiting for the delivery person to arrive. This website, which served as their major means of contact, had 500,000 hits. Domino’s had created an efficient ordering system. It might also be utilized on a variety of platforms, including Twitter, text messaging, smartwatches, and smart TVs.
• Another example is GoPro’s Be a Hero campaign. The purpose of this campaign was to make an emotional connection with their target audience. This campaign made use of magazines, in-store displays, billboards, and digital marketing channels. Tyler Morten, who claims that the goal of this campaign was to urge people to live a full life and create new ways to share their fantastic experiences with GoPro products, designed many components of it. Be a Hero was able to effectively advertise the new GoPro Hero device thanks to this campaign.

3. Cost-effectiveness

As a successful business owner, you already know that reducing unnecessary costs as much as possible is crucial to survival. This is why you should be worried about developing a complete marketing strategy, if for no other reason.

Cost-cutting

First, you’ll save money on buying or creating images and copy for various media. To save money on design, authoring, and photography, use the same material across all of your channels.

Let’s look at an example of a situation you might be dealing with right now. Video creation for various marketing mediums such as television, YouTube, and other social media platforms can be fairly costly due to all of the moving parts. One way to avoid this problem is to use an external communication provider. You’ll save money on agency costs because you’ll be dealing with a single organization that provides integrated marketing communication services.

Second, you’ll save time for your marketing department, which you can use to create higher-quality content to increase your visibility and drive sales.

Maximize your return on investment Third, instead of delivering uncoordinated advertising or “one-and-done” advertisements, you may boost your return on investment (ROI) by sending coordinated communications. Integrated marketing efforts should be treated in the same way as surprise birthday parties should be treated. Come up with an idea and then come up with a variety of creative ways to put it into action. Our focus, for example, is on marketing. That may be considered the party’s theme. As a result, everything we produce revolves around the marketing notion. And, while broad business council would undoubtedly be of interest to our audience, it isn’t consistent with our message. General business advice that isn’t tied to marketing would be out of place at the party. Maintaining a consistent message will ultimately boost your profitability.

Your marketing team will have more time to write smart and compelling messages that will compel customers to take action because they will have less fresh stuff to post each week. As the quality of your material improves, so will your sales.

4. An increase in morale

So far, we’ve gone through a lot of the external benefits IMC might offer your firm. Internally, a successful IMC strategy can result in a variety of excellent outcomes, one of which is increased morale. Your teams will need to communicate more efficiently as a result of fewer responsibilities, a higher emphasis on quality, and a requirement for uniformity across the board.

As a result of the open lines of communication, teams will be better able to understand each other and collaborate to solve problems. You’ll become a well-oiled machine capable of overcoming any campaign hurdle if you work together. As a result, they will almost surely create excellent results, which will boost the morale of your personnel.

5. Productivity Improvements

 Another internal benefit is increased efficiency. A strong IMC strategy will result in a marketing team that is energetic and well-connected. Having a communication channel through which members can quickly contact any and all departments is an important aspect of creating that team. With optimized communication pathways and a clear objective, your firm will save time by minimizing time wasted on repetitive communications or seeking to reach others for information. As a result, the output will increase. You’ll have the extra money in your pocket as a result!

If you already work with a variety of marketing agencies, and effective IMC strategy might be to select one that specializes in providing an integrated marketing approach. Instead of dealing with many providers, you’ll save money on agency fees and time if you do it this way. Modern corporate culture does not necessarily promote great communication efficiency. One of the most prevalent reasons why marketing initiatives fail is because of this. All members of an organization must be on the same page in order to run an effective integrated marketing campaign. You must first create a working relationship with your coworkers if you want to develop a relationship with your target audience.

6. Individuality

 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that your clients will view all of your adverts. Experts say that potential clients should hear your message at least seven times before deciding on your product. This is why IMC is so important to your business’s success. Customers who see your billboard on the side of the road are unlikely to see your television commercials, listen to your radio commercials, or even notice your internet advertisements. You can ensure that your message is consistent regardless of the channel in which your advertising is distributed if you employ an integrated marketing communications approach. No potential customers or clients will be left out of what you have to offer if you have consistent messaging.

Don’t forget that by being diverse, you’ll be able to reach out to more of your clients on their preferred channels. For example, different populations prefer to get their communications by email, text message, social media, or podcast. Overall, because of its diversity, this form of marketing method will help you reach a larger audience.

7. Less Perplexity

One of the most prevalent causes of client loss is confusion, thus avoiding it at all costs is essential for maintaining a strong brand identity. With integrated marketing, buyer misunderstanding can be significantly reduced, resulting in more closed sales. Consumers will receive a clear and consistent message from your company, leaving no doubt about what offers or promotions are currently available, as well as where they can buy your products. Internally, your team won’t have to worry about sending out conflicting messages, which will lead to better productivity and project turnaround.

IMC helps buyers access all required information about special offers and new product releases, allowing them to purchase things as quickly as possible. They can also avoid putting themselves in direct competition with other brands.

8. Maintaining Concentration

 IMC, as previously discussed, is another approach to establish a positive working relationship within your firm. Your staff will understand the message as well as the objectives and work to achieve them. When all of your company’s parties are in sync, you’ll be able to launch a powerful campaign. Furthermore, you’ll send the same message both internally and outside, increasing the likelihood of a positive return on your investment.

Conclusion

As you can see, using an integrated marketing communications plan can help you grow your business and increase your sales. It will not only improve your exterior image but will also benefit your internal teams in a variety of ways. Savings should increase and costs should decrease with successful IMC. This results in a win-win situation for both you and your team. It takes time and effort to set up efficient integrated marketing communications. The payout, on the other hand, makes this a method you can’t afford to neglect. You will reap the benefits outlined in this post and more with appropriate planning

If you’ve already started your small business or want to make adjustments to an existing one, your main focus should be on communicating successfully with your target audience. This can be accomplished by using an IMC strategy.