What is integrated marketing and how to apply it in your business

Integrated marketing is a strategy that consists of sending a single and coherent message in all the communication channels that your brand uses.

The goal is to create a consistent and memorable experience for potential and current customers , and reinforce your brand image and values .

Integrated marketing can help you increase awareness, loyalty, and sales for your business, as long as you apply it appropriately and effectively.

In this article, we will explain what integrated marketing is, why it is important, how you can implement it, and some examples of success.

What benefits does integrated marketing have?

Integrated marketing offers several benefits that can make your marketing strategy more effective and profitable. Some of these benefits are:

• Coherent narrative : By using the same message and tone across all channels, you create a story that connects with your target audience and reflects your value proposition . This makes your brand more memorable and differentiated from the competition.
• Improved performance : by integrating your marketing actions, you can optimize your resources and maximize the impact of your campaigns . You can leverage the same content and assets in different formats and platforms, and measure the results together and comparatively.
• Greater engagement : By offering a consistent and personalized experience to your customers, you generate trust and satisfaction. This promotes the interaction, recommendation and loyalty of your customers, and increases customer lifetime value (CLV).
• Cost savings : By planning and executing your integrated marketing strategy, you can reduce the costs associated with creating and distributing content, as well as contracting and managing vendors and tools.

Disadvantages of integrated marketing

Some disadvantages are:

• Poor choice of message : if the message to be transmitted is not well defined, is not relevant to the target audience, or does not adapt to the different channels, it can generate confusion, rejection or indifference in the recipients. Therefore, it is important to do a prior study of the needs, interests and preferences of potential clients, and create a message that is clear, consistent and attractive.
• Complexity in campaign planning and coordination : integrated marketing requires detailed planning and coordination of the actions to be carried out in each channel, as well as the resources, deadlines and budgets to be used. This involves greater effort and investment than a traditional campaign, and can cause difficulties in synchronizing and optimizing actions.
• Risk of saturation or contradiction : integrated marketing can cause the message to be repeated too much or contradicted in some channels, which can generate fatigue or distrust in customers. It is necessary to measure the frequency and intensity of the message, and ensure that it is coherent and complementary across all channels.

How to do integrated marketing step by step?

To implement a successful integrated marketing strategy, you must follow a series of steps that allow you to define, execute and evaluate your actions in an integrated way. These are the steps we recommend you follow:

1. Define your target audience : the first thing you should do is identify and segment your target audience , that is, the people you want to reach with your message. To do this, you can use demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral criteria, and create buyer personas that represent your ideal clients.
2. Establish your objectives and KPIs : the second thing you should do is define what you want to achieve with your integrated marketing strategy, and how you are going to measure your success. To do this, you can use the SMART method, which consists of establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and temporal objectives, and assigning them key performance indicators (KPIs) that allow you to evaluate their compliance.
3. Create your message and your visual identity : the third thing you must do is create the message that you want to convey to your target audience, and the visual identity that you want to project with your brand. To do this, you must take into account your value proposition, your mission, your vision and your values, and ensure that your message and your visual identity are clear, consistent and attractive.
4. Select your channels and formats : the fourth thing you should do is choose the channels and formats that you are going to use to spread your message and your visual identity. To do this, you must take into account the preferences, habits and behavior of your target audience, and the available resources. Some examples of channels and formats are: social networks , email marketing, blog, web, podcast, video, infographic, ebook, webinar, etc.
5. Execute and coordinate your actions : the fifth thing you should do is launch and coordinate your integrated marketing actions. To do this, you must develop an action plan that details the tasks, those responsible, the deadlines and the budgets for each action, and use tools that allow you to automate, integrate and synchronize your actions in the different channels and formats.
6. Analyze and optimize your results : The sixth thing you should do is analyze and optimize your integrated marketing results. To do this, you must use analytics tools that allow you to collect, process and visualize the data of your actions, and compare them with the objectives and KPIs that you previously established. This way, you will be able to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your strategy, and make the necessary adjustments to improve your performance.

What examples of integrated marketing exist?

To better illustrate the concept and application of integrated marketing, we show you some examples of brands that have used this strategy successfully.

Types of advertising campaigns: What they are and when to apply them

Coca Cola

The famous beverage brand has used integrated marketing to launch its “Share a Coca-Cola” campaign, which consisted of personalizing the labels of its bottles with names and positive messages. The campaign was disseminated through various channels, such as television, radio, social networks, web, points of sale, etc., and managed to increase sales, recognition and engagement of the brand.

Manzana

The renowned technology brand has used integrated marketing to promote its products such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, etc.

The brand uses the same message and the same visual identity on all its channels, such as television, press, social networks, web, physical stores, etc., and manages to create a coherent and differentiated experience for its customers.

Nike

The prestigious sports brand has used integrated marketing to promote its “Just Do It” campaign, which consisted of motivating people to practice sports and overcome their limits.

The campaign was disseminated through various channels, such as television, cinema, social networks, web, events, etc., and included the participation of famous athletes and anonymous people. The campaign managed to generate a great impact and a strong emotional connection with the public.

How to apply integrated marketing in your business

Integrated marketing is a strategy that can help you improve your communication, your image and your marketing results.

To apply integrated marketing in your business, you must follow a series of steps that allow you to define, execute and evaluate your actions in an integrated and coherent way.

In addition, you must have the appropriate tools that make it easier for you to implement and monitor your integrated marketing strategy.

Some of these tools are:

• Mailchimp : a marketing platform that allows you to create, send and analyze email marketing campaigns, social networks, landing pages, websites, etc., in an integrated and automated way.
• Marketo Engage : a marketing solution that allows you to manage, personalize and optimize your marketing campaigns across all channels, such as email, web, mobile, social networks, etc., in an integrated and coordinated way.
• VoxFeed : a marketing platform that allows you to create, manage and measure influencer marketing campaigns, that is, people who have a large audience and credibility on social networks, and who can spread your message and your visual identity in an integrated and effective.

These are just some of the tools you can use to apply integrated marketing in your business. There are many other options that you can explore and adapt to your needs and goals.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After leading several digital businesses and advising several other businesses; I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and enhancing digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.