Integrated marketing communication in the retail industry

Integrated marketing communication which carry out a plan and buys goods from it in order to control all the processes of production in the whole of marketing tools, possibility, and the cause of something within a business into continues program in fact of maximize the impact on the final someone who uses a product or service at a very small in amount of cost. Besides, the management principle which is planned to produce the direction in the marketing communication for example, advertising, public relations, sales, promotion and direct marketing who work together as a connecting force, better than allow it to work in isolation. (John Fitzgerald, 1988)

Moreover, the integrated marketing communication which is a strategic business process such as decision, grow, execute coordinated, measurable, brand communication program over time with consumers, prospects, customers, employees, associates and other targeted relevant internal and external audience. Follow by, the integrated marketing communication are more to the coordination of a company`s outgoing message by compare in different media and the consistency of the message throughout. This an aggressive marketing plan that captures and uses in covering a large area of customer information in following and controlling marketing strategy. (John Fitzgerald, 1988)

The industry that I have chosen is a retail industry. Retailing have been includes all the activities that involved in selling goods or services directly to the end of the consumers for personal, non-business use. A retailer or retail store is any business enterprise whose sales volume comes primarily from retailing. Besides, any organization selling to the final consumers whether is a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer who is doing retailing. It is not a matter whether how the goods or services are sold for example, by mail, person, vending machine, telephone or internet or where they are sold in store, on the street or in consumer`s home. Moreover, retail industry has been divide into three types which is store retailer, non-store retailer and retail organization.

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2.0 The promotional mix: The tools for Integrated Marketing Communication

Promotion can be defined as the coordination of all seller-initiated efforts in setting up channels of information and persuasion services and selling goods or promote an idea. Besides, promotion is a best way of thinking about the communication function of marketing. Moreover, in the discussion of integrated marketing communication we should point how other marketing elements that include brand name, design, package, price or retail outlets implicitly communicate with consumers. The promotional mix can be defined as the basic tools or elements that are used to accomplish organization`s objectives. We can clearly know that the promotion is any form of communication a business or organization uses to inform, persuade, or remind people about its products. The promotional mix is a combination of the different types of promotion. A company decides on the promotional mix that will be most effective in persuading potential customers to purchase its products.

In the retail industry is using promotional mix to consciousness their product or brand awareness, communicating the special value proposition and to get acceptance of their products that conveys to the consumers messages about the retailer, its products, its goals and its services.

2.1 Advertising

The retail industry using advertising to focuses on the fastest growing segment of the overall advertising market. Advertising paid form of nonpersonal communication through various media. The objective is to inform reader, listener or viewer about organization, service, product or idea by identified sponsor. (Michael L.Ray, 1982) In the retail industry, they used the celebrity host in advertising their products to the public because it can clearly send the message to the public.

There are several advantages of having advertising in retail industry is promotional mix which include the ability in controlling the message such as what, how, when something is said. Secondly, the cost-effective method for communicating with large audiences and cost per contact through advertising is often quite low. Advertising can be used to create image and symbolic appeals for products and services, a capability which is very important to the retail industry in selling products and services that they have difficult to differentiate. Another advantage of advertising is the valuable tool for creating and maintaining brand equity. The equity that results from the different retail industry is important because it allows the retail industry earn greater sales volume and higher margins and also provides the retail industry with a competitive advantages. Until now advantage of advertising is the ability to strike a responsive chord with customers when other elements of the marketing program have not been successful. (Michael L.Ray, 1982)

Advertising also has some disadvantages. The costs of producing and placing advertising can be very high. Other problems with advertising include its credibility and the ease which can be ignored. There is also a high level of `clutter` which is a major problem in advertising. (Michael L.Ray, 1982)

2.2 Sales promotion

The retail industry also will use another tactic which is sales promotion defined as those marketing activities that provide extra value or incentive to sales force, distributors, or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate immediate sales. (George, 1990) Retail industry used the sales promotion to captured the customers attention by giving discounts, voucher and other.

There are some factors underlie the rapid growth and use sales promotion by marketers. First, they provide extra incentive to consumer or middlemen to purchase or stock to promote a brand. Secondly, the way of appealing to price sensitive customer and way of generating extra interest in product. Third, some time it will effect directly measured than those of advertising and it can be used as a way of building. (George, 1990)

The retail industry also may face problems which will associate with sales promotion technique such as many businesses are doing too reliant on sales promotion and focusing too much attention on short-run marketing planning and performance. Besides, many forms of sales promotion do not help establish or to make the brand image strongest and short term sales gains are often achieved at the expense of long term brand equity.

2.3 Publicity/ Public Relations

Public relations are another promotion tactic which use in retail industry. Publicity is a nonpersonal communications about an organization, product, service, or idea that is not directly paid for nor run under identified sponsorship. Besides, public relations are a management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the public policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest, and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance. (Bertrand R. Canfield, 1977)

An advantage of publicity over other forms of promotion is its credibility and usually higher than other forms of marketing communication. Besides, it is low cost way of communicating. Moreover, it often has news value and generates word of mouth discussion among consumers. There is also a major of disadvantages is the lack of control afforded in the retail industry and it might be negative as well as positive.

2.4 Direct marketing

Direct marketing is a method which the retail industry shares information directly with target customers to generate a response and a transaction. Besides, it has not traditionally been considered an element of the promotional mix because it has become such an integral part in integrated marketing communications program in many industry, this shows that it as a component in promotional mix. (George, 1993)

The advantages in the retail industry which use direct marketing that is allows the retail industry to be very selective and targets its marketing communications to specific customers segments. Besides, message can be customized to fit the needs of specific market segments and effectiveness of direct marketing efforts is easier to assess than other forms of promotion. (Michael, 1991)

There are also some of the disadvantages when the retail industry using the direct marketing which is problem with clutter as there are too many direct marketing messages competing for customers attention.

3.0 Porter`s five forces in retail industry

3.1 Rivalry

Traditional economic model, competition among the retail industry drives profits to zero. However, competition is not perfect and firms are not unsophisticated passive price takers. If rivalry among the retail industry is low, it considered to be disciplined. This results show the retail industry history of competition and informal compliance with a generally understood code of conduct. (Janet, 1997)

3.2 Treat of Substitutes

Substitutes products refer to additional industries because products demand affected by change price of a substitutes product and more substitutes products become available, the demand become more elastic since customers have more alternatives. Besides, it shows ability of retail industry to increase price. (Thomas, 1997)

3.3 Buyer power

The buyer power effect customers have on a retail industry. Generally, buyer power difficult to break, the relationship to the producing industry is near to economist term which is a market has more suppliers and one buyer.

3.4 Supplier power

These requirements connect to buyer and supplier relationships in retail industry. Suppliers, who are powerful, can influence on the industry.

3.5 Treat of new entrants and entry barriers

When retail industry profit is higher, they think additional firms to enter the market to take advantage at the high profit levels, over time driving down profits for all firms in the industry. However profit decrease; they expect some firms to exit the market thus restoring market equilibrium. (Janice, 1999)

4.0 The importance of integrated marketing communication

Integrated marketing communication tools are very important in a retail industry because it is a very successful communication with the customers and important to make sure the business generates sales and profit. Develop and implement in promotional mix can encourage the target audience to buy our products and manage with a budget that the retail industry can afford. Besides, promotion mix can help the retail industry to achieve their objectives.

5.0 Conclusion

The retail industry using the integrated marketing communication tools is the most effective ways for getting more sales and profit. Besides, by using all the tools can help the retail industry move old stock and merchandise new products. Moreover, the brand in retail industry can increasingly popular and also can built customers loyalty or change their longer term buying habits. Finally, the integrated marketing communication tools help to sent a clearly message about what the products and services that the retail industry is selling and this may increase in profits and sales.