How integrated marketing strategy is essential for a modern B2B business

An integrated marketing strategy is essential to ensure that you are keeping step with technological advances that are changing how your customers interact in your marketplace, as well as exploiting these to maximise your brand’s visibility. Some industries have been slower than others when it comes to embracing digital technology, but now is the time to make up lost ground. There’s no doubt that the most forward-looking companies are the ones who are now starting to reap the rewards of a truly integrated marketing strategy. As well as retaining customers and building brand loyalty, these are the organisations who are effectively reaching out to potential customers and building new relationships at the same time.

Integrated marketing uses all the strength of traditional advertising and PR that we are all familiar with, but coupled with that, it calls on multi-channel communications to get your messages to your existing and potential customers. Successful marketing strategies are always customer focused and an integrated strategy puts the customer front and centre. Knowing your demographic is key in deciding which marketing methods to use and which would work best. Find out how your customers want to connect with you and then build your strategy around their preferences.

The most important feature to remember is that you need to provide your customers with an absolutely consistent experience at every touchpoint. Whether you are interacting with them as part of an email campaign, an online search, a leaflet mailout, a social media forum or a face to face meeting at a trade fair, your brand messages must mirror each other whichever medium you are using.

Consumers are pretty much constantly connected to mobile technology so they expect to be able to access your brand wherever they go, from any device. Although the messages need to be the same, the way you frame them needs to be considered carefully. Your Twitter followers, for example, need to be addressed differently from your email newsletter database. When strategic marketing planning, a creative marketer will tailor your messages for different audiences for each communication channel, while making sure the message and your brand values are upheld.

Ensure that you can leverage all relevant communications channels without compromising the consistency of your messaging. Talk to Intermedia.

Originally published April 3, 2017 16:21pm, updated October 14, 2020