IMC: through the looking glass of the new millennium

Communication World, Oct-Nov, 1998 by Ken Reich

Straight Talk on the Anatomy of a Vital Integrated Marketing Communication Concept

You've seen them - books authored by marketing those tantalizing venerable periodicals, editorials and feature articles full of "secrets to success." In many cases, they purport to have discovered a panacea to the ills of that sometimes misunderstood, mystical, magical realm we affectionately refer to as business-to-business marketing communication. "Ladies and gentlemen! - one size fits all concept is dead!"; "Thou shalt cluster and customize your message." Times have changed, and with them, so must our views on communication philosophies and strategies.

Today, more than ever before, being proactively responsive to meeting the needs of the individual customer is key. Those of us engaged in the day-to-day trench warfare of B-to-B marketing know and understand that in the '90s, and undoubtedly well into the new millennium, the rules have and will continue to change dramatically.

We are literally besieged by change. Think about it; the apparent never-ending barrage of mergers and acquisitions in banking, aerospace, food services, and our very own favorite sons, the brokerage houses. Another example is the energy power brokers who are in a virtual meltdown, scrambling for market position and our individual business. The same applies to our telephone and long distance service companies. The "Baby Bells," MCI, Sprint, AT&T and a host of others are embroiled in a market share battle of historic proportions; and the coveted prize? You and me.

I think it's safe to say customer loyalty and proselytisation are closely allied to perception reinforcement or transformation. Overall, is any one company's product and/or service truly different from its competitors? Or, are examples such as banks, telephone and electric companies just some highly visible cases of parity camouflage? Whether we want to admit it or not, we eat, sleep and live with perceptual change every day of our existence; at virtually every level of our lives. Especially as consumers, image, jingles, performance claims and the like all persuade or dissuade us when we are making a purchasing decision.

The business-to-business marketplace, computer software and "cyberstuff" not withstanding, is for the most part made up of mature markets; and with maturity comes sophistication. It is by necessity that marketing communication is an evolutionary process. It must satisfy the ever-increasing demands and emphasis placed on it as the single surviving, sustainable, competitive edge in the marketing environment. An environment where today parity and look-alikes abound.

Within the corporate maze of today's intellectually charged, technology-based and customer-driven marketplace, the B-to-B target audience is well informed, more sophisticated, and demands tangible results in short order. "Cyberspace," the explosive "information super highway," and new wireless Internet tie-in technology referred to as "cellular digital packet data" all attest to our rapidly expanding sophistication. It all translates into lightning speed in receiving information, and getting your message out ahead of the torrents of competitive clutter. In short, this whole new breed of advanced communication eliminates geographical boundaries, barriers of time and space, and even language.

Senior management is increasingly more sensitive and responsive to matters directly affecting shareholder value; demanding faster results, measurable ROI and justification for sales, marketing and advertising expenditures.

Today, whether you're selling high-tech devices, gizmos, widgets or name-plated capital equipment, as marketers we truly must produce results linked to specific business and marketing plan objectives. To meet our goals, it is essential that we understand the customer, not necessarily the market overall - it is incumbent upon us to identify what it is that motivates the buyer. Today's in-the-know strategists place a great deal of emphasis on "customer behavior." (Note, I said customer, not market.)

"Customer behavior" holds the key to understanding what it is that moves specific groups of prospects closer to a decision to commit and buy. Or what it is that fortifies an already favorable buying climate. Psychology plays a vital role in the process of building customer profiles, modeling and segmenting using finite criteria. Customer perceptions and behavior are crucial to crystallizing that all important key to a successful marketing plan; identifying the individual customer within your targeted niche markets.

The fundamental tenets of marketing have indeed shifted to a large degree, from the 1960s' four-Ps (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) to the 1990s' four-Cs; Customer Needs, Cost to meet those needs, Convenience to purchase (including negotiating terms and conditions), and Communication (dialogue between field sales, the corporate office and the customer). We are, in a sense, caught up in an "advertising channel shift." We're striving to talk directly to the individual customer or prospect, rather than the end-user universe. Today's business-to-business arena chews up and spits out dollars spent on mass marketing. It is no longer the numbers game we and our predecessors embraced so in the '60s, '70s and even the '80s.