Integrated marketing communication really resonated with my consumer centric mindset.
Wikipedia defines IMC as:
This is an approach to brand communications where the different modes work together to create a seamless experience for the customer and are presented with a similar tone and style that reinforces the brand’s core message.
The seamless experience for the customer is a concern shared with the customer centric product development approach.
This Brand touch point matrix perfectly symbolise this approach.
The consumer have different touch points with your brand. Your job as a marketer is simple: you need to increase those touch points and make sure that each touch points helps the consumer to move forward into the conversion funnel. If your touch points are not taking the consumer into the same directions then your marketing is not as effective as it could be.
Going a bit deeper, integrated marketing communication redefines the 4 P’s with 4 C’s:
Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER – understand the consumers problem and respond to that.
Not PRICE, but COST – understand the consumer’s cost to satisfy the need. Price is just one part of the cost.
Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE – specially true in the digital age: convenience of the buying, convenience of the delivery, convenience of access, convenience of availability…
Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION – mediums working together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication two-way.
Read more on comprehensive overview on integrated marketing communication from MultimediaMarketing.com – or this story with loads of examples.