Marketing Communications

Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

What is communication? 

Communication is a way of transmitting information. We communicate every day using speech, the written word, and other tools. 

Whatever method we use, communication essentially involves three things: 

•      A sender who transmits a message
•      The message itself
•      And a receiver who receives it

Organizations use different communication methods and tools to engage with their internal and external stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, partners, customers, and prospects. 

In marketing, internal communication is particularly important. That’s because employees throughout the business can help you deliver your marketing strategy. 

Example: Starbucks

For example, Starbucks employees, who are known as partners, support Starbucks’ marketing activity by acting as influencers on social media. They post stories and photos that promote the brand and its company culture.
            
For this approach to work, you need to keep your internal stakeholders motivated and informed by running an internal marketing communications strategy in tandem with any external campaigns.

What is marketing communication?

Marketing communication is a little more complex than regular communication. Not only are you transmitting a message to a receiver, but you want them to take a certain action afterward, such as buy your product or sign up for your service.

The marketing communication process operates like this:

•  A sender, who is usually a producer of a product or service, initiates a message and encodes an idea into it. For example, “Buy me now” or “This product can solve your problems.” 
• The sender sends the message, but noise and interference can disrupt its delivery. For example, the receiver might be distracted by their smartphone at the time or have a poor wifi signal. 
• The message is eventually received by the receiver, who then decodes and interprets it. 
• Finally, the receiver responds in some way to the message and provides feedback, which the sender can monitor and evaluate through market research and other methods.

Effective marketing communications

To ensure your marketing communications are effective, you can follow these steps:
1.    Identify and define your target audience. This is the group of consumers who are most likely to want to purchase your product or use your service.
2.    Identify the goals and objectives of your communication and what you want to achieve by it.  
3.    Decide on the impact you want your message to have and how you want the audience to respond to it. To do this, consider how people will decode or interpret your message.   
4.    Create the message. 
5.    Choose the channels that best suit the target audience and facilitate the delivery of the message.
6.    Collect feedback from the receiver and determine whether your intended message was accurately received.