Marketing communication: principles and practice

Characteristics of marketing communication management
Programme feature
Consumer relationship
Business-to-business 
relationship
Communication 
Informal
Formal
context
Number of 
One or few
Many
decision-makers
Dominant tool
Advertising and sales 
Personal selling
promotion
Content
Emotions and imagery
Rational, logical – information
Decision period
Short
Long and involved
Scope of impact 
Limited to a few people close
A range of people in the value 
of dissatisfaction
to the purchaser/consumer
system
Marketing approach
Targeting and segmentation
Limited targeting and 
segmentation
Budget priority
Brand management
Sales management
Evaluation and 
measurement
Extended range of techniques
Limited use of techniques

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suggest some important bases for judging the effectiveness and efficiency of
marketing communication means (note that many are also used in public
relations, including communication among employees of the providing
corporation, and also among consumers and buyers).
The manager needs to ask and answer a set of questions from a communi-
cation perspective before making decisions about activities that will intervene
in purchase and consumption:
• How well do we hear the voice of our customers, and other consumers
and buyers?
• Can these people talk to us about their interests and ours in a manner
that is attractive to them and to us?
• What is our style of communicating?
• What do our designs, brand name, literature, advertising, information,
etc. say to these people about us?
• Do we excessively dominate and control through our communication
activities?
• Are we assertive, aggressive, or passive?
• How consistent are the messages we intend with those that our customers,
other consumers and buyers, and other stakeholders construct from our
words and deeds?
• Do we have an efficient, coherent system for communicating?
Box 7.3 provides an example of communication as interaction.