Tony Holmes, group account director with McCann Erickson, offers a nice analogy about the powers of effective integrated marketing. He says, “Good integration gives different channels different roles to play. Using a musical analogy, it’s the difference between ‘unison’ – where every instrument plays exactly the same notes – and ‘harmony’ – where they play different notes that come together to create one beautiful, orchestral sound.”
The components of this ‘sound’ have altered considerably however, in response to the onward march of digital. The speed of this change has caught many marketers off balance. Digital, clearly, is likely to play an integral role in virtually any form of integrated marketing mix these days. Which has left many wondering, is there still a place for offline techniques? And more pertinently, what factors should marketers be considering in this new environment when they come to formulate the mix?
Here, B2B Marketing sets out some crucial steps that should be considered to ensure your integrated marketing mix hits the right notes.
1. Getting back to basics
For Richard Bush, managing director of Base One Group, the fundamentals of planning a campaign have not changed – just the tools and techniques. Hence he suggests marketers should still go back to the basics when formulating their mix – who they are aiming at, what they are trying to achieve, where they want their message to go, their budgets, and the most persuasive way to achieve these outcomes. “The main change in this is in the areas of ‘where’ and ‘what’,” Bush says. “Our challenge now is to move from promotion to publishing and get others to spread the word. This requires a change in mindset in a number of ways.”
For Bush, this includes being prepared to try lots of different things, dropping the ones that fail and running with the ones that work; being ready to open up communication beyond the marketing department and focusing on the brand being something people experience rather than a promise made in advertising.
2. Overcoming barriers
Many industry professionals note the importance of aligning the marketing mix with business objectives. There are, of course, simple ways of approaching this. The obvious way, suggests Holmes, is to select channels based on their ability to achieve individual objectives: advertising to raise awareness, PR to shift public perceptions, DM to generate leads and so on.
While this may work well for many, the possibilities opened up by digital suggest a more sophisticated approach is a better way forward. For Holmes, a powerful method is to identify barriers between you achieving your objectives and then select relevant communications channels to help you overcome them.
“This works better for me because you generate distinct media roles and more creative ideas,” he says. “So if a customer barrier was ‘why would I buy brand X, when everyone else buys brand Y?’ you might decide your communication objective was to create advocacy. Your core channel might be experiential events and your media idea might be to identify key influencers to test products head-to-head. Then PR might broadcast test results and raise the challenge, [your] website might enable virtual testing and peer-to-peer debate, promotions might encourage recommending a colleague, advertising might build stature and give customers the confidence to endorse you.”
3. Channel your efforts carefully
The ability to select the appropriate channel through which to communicate has become a whole lot easier in the digital age. There is no excuse these days for not being very precise with the mix – fine-tuning the channel to suit the receiver. Ruaraidh Thomas, managing director of Data Lateral, says, “Through integrated customer management, marketers can ensure that customers receive marketing through their channel of choice, as and when they want it.”
“Digital comes to life as part of the mix, combining different channels to reach people at the most appropriate time through the most appropriate means. The sad fact is that some marketers are tarring digital with the same brush as direct mail, filling inboxes with spam because they haven’t recognised the importance of analysing data and making the most relevant choice.”
4. Be prepared to change the mix
Bush mentions the importance of being prepared to try – and where necessary drop – different marketing tactics. Again, digital is playing a key role in this. Craig Whiston, Coremetrics’ head of client services, EMEA, agrees. “Measuring the success of integrated campaigns in real time enables B2B marketers to quickly identify under-performing tactics and take steps to rectify them before their poor results cascade,” he says. “Letting a problem go unnoticed for too long can be a costly oversight. Minutes equate to lost conversions and lower profit margins, so real-time analysis is key.”
Whiston suggests B2B marketers should ensure they monitor all click-through elements of their integrated campaigns. He adds: “These include conversion events, such as downloading white papers or signing up for webinars. Checking departure and bounce rates for extreme or unusual patterns is also imperative in order to identify and fine-tune problem areas to maximise results across integrated campaigns.”
“Analytics can also be used to tailor website content to match users’ interests in real time. For example, specific products can be displayed that relate to a search term or URL clicked.”
5. Email’s role in integrated marketing
Email has often been viewed as the focal point of any integrated campaign. Increasingly, however, marketers – faced with falling response rates and more robust spam filters – are having to think more carefully about where email fits into their marketing activities.
Drew Nicholson, joint managing director of DNX, says, “I don’t think email is the silver bullet. It has its place at the table but it is most effective if you know who you are talking to. If you have good customer data – such as how long somebody has been a customer, their spending patterns and so on – you can provide very well targeted email communications.”
Bush makes the important point that, “much of the drop-off in response that the industry is experiencing is due to poor use [of email] rather than there being any limitation in the tool itself.”
He argues: “Email is a valuable and almost precious tool that should be treasured. It should be mainly used where you have a relationship (demand generation or retention) but even then used in a highly relevant and personalised way.”
6. Offline – a vital ingredient in the mix
Is there still a place for offline techniques in the marketing mix? Many experts answered a resounding ‘yes’ to this question. As Holmes points out: “There are still times when touching and feeling, or a desk-top stunt is the best way to cut through and connect.”
Nicholson agrees, citing recent highly successful DM campaigns. “There is a kind of ‘wow’ factor in receiving something that is quirky and personalised,” he says. “It is not always easy or possible to achieve that kind of impact online. Also, the fact is that we are all getting wiser to online media tactics.”
So where and how might online and offline techniques be harnessed in tandem? Thomas outlines a good example of how the two can complement each other and create the kind of harmony mentioned earlier. His client, a recruiter, was established in mainland Europe but relatively new to the UK.
“We developed a campaign aimed to take advantage of Workpocket’s [a HR best practice guide given out free by the recruiter] value to HR professionals in order to gain face-to-face meetings with them. A combination of direct mail, supported by targeted email and campaign websites, was judged as the best way to target business professionals. The campaign drove recipients to a personalised microsite to capture additional data and allow the recipients to forward Workpocket. The campaign secured more than 1200 new business development meetings.”
7. And finally – don’t forget your staff
Your own employees are obviously powerful brand advocates – arguably even more so in the social media age – and, as such, a constant presence in any marketing mix. Holmes points out, “It’s an enduring truth that great brands are lived from the inside out. Your staff can be a key part of a customer’s journey – sales, installers, customer service, etc. In some B2B environments, staff are amongst the very few touch-points [customers] have, hence they are critical.”
