Wireless and the Integrated Marketing Communication Process

 
 
 
 

Let's look at how wireless advertising and m-commerce are related. The obvious characteristics of advertising are that it is paid for a company and it expects an audience will be receptive to its message. Promotions are designed to provide motivation to the consumer to take a specific action in line with the message. On the other hand, commerce is generally thought of as what happens after a successful marketing campaign: If a consumer becomes aware of his or her need, he or she will visit the store or Web site and buy the product or service.

The difference between advertising and commerce is generally a clear one in the Internet. Email, banner ads and sponsorships are all forms of advertising designed to provoke immediate or delayed commerce. The Web site allows immediate results from the advertising. However, the distinction between advertising and commerce is not always clear with wireless. Some of this blurring online with banner ads lets consumers link or order directly from the ad, but blurrier lines of difference in the wireless world can be expected, given the space limitations of mobile devices.

Consumers can have many more contact points with advertisers in the wireless environment. Therefore, devices that connect consumers and firms can play a significant role in IMC. The strategy is used for CRM (Customer Relationship Management), e-procurement such as marketplaces or supply chains while the major reason for implementing mobile Internet solutions is to aid messaging. Many companies are investigating the mobile Internet for these functions.

Newell and Lemon (2001) stated "Consumers have told us that if we deliver marketing messages that are targeted, compelling, convenient and interactive, they will pay attention." Consumers dislike irrelevant messages but they do not mind relevantly useful messages. Therefore, the marketing target should be identical with the communication target. Marketers also need strategies which directly approach the consumer.

Moreover, users of wireless devices tend to have an objective, such as reservation of a flight, looking for a bank nearby or booking a restaurant. Therefore, marketing in wireless devices can be more persuasive. An electronic coupon can be a good method. Consumers recognize integrated brands not separated brands. As was mentioned before, consumers can have many more contact points with advertisers in the wireless environment. Thus, marketers should manage all contact points of a brand and integrate the marketing communications.

Most marketing and advertising practitioners emphasize the importance of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), especially the consistency of a marketing message. Schultz (1993) states that "The IMC process starts with the customer or prospect and then works back to determine the forms and methods through which persuasive communications programs should be developed. Influencing or directly affecting behavior is the ultimate goal."

MC is a "new way of looking at the whole, where once we only saw parts such as advertising, public relations, sales promotions, purchasing, employee communications, and so forth. It is realigning communications to look at it the way the customer sees it-as a flow of information from indistinguishable source." (Schultz, Tannenbaum and Lauterborn, 1994).

IMC creates through accountability by linking communications activities directly to organizational purposes and the resulting bottom line, and thus maximizing resources.
IMC influences the behavior of target audiences over time, and traditional mass communications just marginally affect these long-term behaviors (
Brody, 1994).

Public relations brings a crucial element to the integrated mix. If public relations is to be completely integrated into the organization, it should counsel management and manage communications in a way that forms the consumer's opinions and behavior with relevant components(Gonring, 1994).
Many business executives already understand the interrelationships among public relations, corporate images and sales.

The Internet is becoming more accessible, and, ultimately, ubiquitous, because of wireless technology. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is emphasized by most marketing and advertising practitioners to maintain the consistency of a marketing message. Consumers can have much more opportunity for contact with advertisers in a wireless environment, so that a consistent marketing message becomes more important. Therefore, we can say that the external devices that contact consumers play a significant role in Integrated Marketing Communication.

Transformations in the business-to-business market have encouraged a rethinking of the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication. A successful IMC program for the business-to-business environment needs a carefully planned and well-managed consumer database, an orientation towards targeted consumers and prospects, and a psychology which drives the prospective sales approach. These should combine traditional media, techniques, modes and methodologies with new IMC methods in order to succeed. However, Innovations in marketing have never really replaced traditional techniques. Such innovations will be successful only when integrated into earlier models (Reich,1998).

Advanced communication technology also eliminates geographical boundaries, the limitations of space and time. It is also crucial that we understand the customer, we need to identify what it is that motivates the buyer. In other words, consumer behavior should be investigated in order to understand what it is that moves specific groups of prospects closer to a determination to commit and purchase.

Consumer behavior and perceptions are important to crystallizing that all- crucial key to a successful marketing plan. The fundamental views of marketing have shifted from the 4 Ps (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) to the 4 Cs (Customer needs, Cost to meet those needs, Convenience to purchase, and Communication--dialogue between field sales, the customer and the corporate office. Reich (1998) states "The four-Cs is not designed to replace, but rather to refocus, redirect and examine the true market engines: the customer."