Techniques such as one to one marketing, mass marketing, and direct marketing are all marketing strategies used to boost the effectiveness of a marketing plan. These in conjunction with data mining allow companies to create marketing strategies that can be used in product development, customer service, pricing, and distribution. Currently the business marketing environment is surrounded by trends that are continually changing. These changes made marketing evolution to the integrated approach inevitable.
For every business, integrated marketing is a necessity in order to keep up with the ever changing marketing mediums such as the internet, print, social media, radio, and TV. Therefore, Integrated Marketing Communication (MIMIC) is the encompassing of all marketing tools, avenues, and sources within an organization into one program at a minimal cost that will shape the way customers buy (Slow & Aback, 2007). This trend has enabled companies and their brands to gain considerable market share within their industry and return high profits.
This reason lone makes integrated marketing an asset to any company. By narrowing the gap between companies and their consumers and meeting customers wherever they are, MIMIC can deliver on the dollars spent and show a large return on investment. MIMIC can also be helpful in customer service by allowing a company to clearly understand its customer’s wants and needs which increase customer satisfaction and garner great reviews. Amid the countless corporations worldwide, Apple has seen the value of MIMIC and has capitalized on it.
Its use of MIMIC has allowed Apple to successfully achieve its objective of optimizing its marketing dollars to create high profits. Using a mix of mediums to deliver its message to its customers has Apple taking the technology world by storm. Apple uses advertisements on television, billboards, print ads, and brand placements in movies and series to showcase their products. Social media is no one of the linchpins in Apple’s marketing plan since it is very congested and hard to stand out in. Doing so is risky but has paid off for the company so far.
Message consistency is also a key component in Apple’s marketing plan. The many places a high value on the design of its products and chooses to differentiate itself from its competitors that way. It places the focus on the value and not the price. Value of the Plan A major result of Apple’s MIMIC utilization is its high level of customer engagement. Through its ability to to spread its message across numerous channels and to reach their customers at multiple points, Apple has become a household name. This visibility has electrified its customer base.
Apple’s customer base has developed into a tight knit and loyal band of raving brand ambassadors. Its popularity can be attributed to how it communicates with its consumers. Using advertisement strategies that include promoting their products via the internet, digital marketing, print, and social media, Apple has been able to dominate its competition. Advertising for businesses has become highly competitive and holding their audiences attention has gotten harder as a result of the merge between traditional communication and media avenues into integrated marketing strategies.
MIMIC has become a necessity in most company’s marketing strategies. With all the different types of mediums that customers use to consume content, not incorporating integrated marketing into its marketing mix could spell disaster for a company. Most integrated marketing strategies are comprised of brand management and development, customer relations, and tracking sales and consumer feedback. Allowing data to drive advertising goals and objectives allow a company to nimbly navigate the ebbs and flows of consumer behavior.