When designing anything in marketing, the first consideration to test against it audience. The first group which comes to mind is the consumers. It is almost a given that any and all marketing communications is targeted towards changing consumer perceptions- but often in this pursuit many other audiences are ignored or forgotten.
Publicity Communications Publicity communications regards any promotion which relies on word of mouth. With the exception of donations, sponsorships, and other costs, there are no fees or payment required for this kind of exposure. This type of communication does not require use of the Internet, thus it differs from digital communications. As it does not rely on directly speaking with customers, it is not direct either. ...
Digital Communications Digital Communications is the newest form of marketing which exists today. While I say “new”, it is at least 25 years old (Counting from 2015, where Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1990). Ever since the first website was put up, since the first social media platform was released, and since Google started serving ads, digital communications has existed as a marketing tool. It was just ...
Advertising Communications Advertising communications is the love-child of marketing. It is heralded as the benchmark of success as an organisation: if you are able to put out an ad on a billboard, radio station, or television channel, your company is a big player. Besides the enormous cost most advertising communications require, is this respect founded? While many would define “advertising” as any sort of promotiona...
What is a brand? The brand is the singular most important aspect in Marketing. Because of it’s significance, there are hundreds of approaches in how to define, build, and maintain a brand. No matter what line of business you are in, or how established you are- you have a brand, and understanding this is important. Imagine a child sets up a road-side stall selling lemonade. The only signage she has ...
Direct Communications Direct communications pertains to any communications which occurs directly between a consumer and the company. Unlike advertising, there is no media channel separating the business from the consumer. Unlike publicity, it is not used to drive conversations customers have with each other. Unlike digital communications, direct communications does not need to occur through the use of technologies. Direc...
While there are many dangers and pitfalls of providing bad service, how can great service be achieved? Great experiences come from companies and employees who truly understand what it means to have an interaction with a customer. Humans are judgemental bastards. As a man, if I show up to a speech in a dress, I will probably lose all the reputation and respect I have built over the years. As an author, include one spellin...
Marketing is usually a dog-eat-dog world. It's all about "I'm better than you!" and "oh yeah? Well you don't have this feature." Of the notable bitter rivalries which exist, none is more instantly recognisable than Burger King and McDonalds. Whether you're loving it how it is or want to have it your way, the two restaurant chains just can not seem to get along. That is... until today.
*Please stay on hold while we transfer you for the seventeenth time.* Marketing often stops after the purchase is made. This is a mistake. Bad after-sales service and technical support is the cause of a majority of negative word of mouth. If a product is bad, it will cause complaints and there will be a minority of customers who are disgruntled enough to want to return the product. In this situation, having a...
In a world where everything comes easily, problems in delivery are not only costly in terms of logistics, but also in depressed sales. The average computer user will only wait 2 seconds before leaving a web-page which loads too slowly. While we would wait longer than that for a product to be delivered, we can learn from the web that customers are incredibly impatient. Waiting for lines, products to be delivered, and even...