This document summarizes a research study that aimed to determine the influence of integrated marketing communication (IMC) on consumer decision-making in the pharmaceutical sector in Tamil Nadu, India. The study involved designing a questionnaire to survey marketing managers and analyzing the collected data using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics on the survey responses are provided. The results of hypothesis testing using regression analysis are also presented, showing that IMC and factors like coordinated marketing, synergy, and consumer behavior have a significant relationship and impact on one another. Over 60% of the variations in IMC are explained by the independent variables in the study.

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International Journal of Management (IJM)
Volume 11, Issue 11, November 2020, pp. 3803-3811, Article ID: IJM_11_11_375
Available online at https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=11&Issue=11
ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34218/IJM.11.11.2020.375
© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed
DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF
INTEGRATED MARKETING
COMMUNICATION ON CONSUMER DECISION
WITH RESPECT TO PHARMACEUTICAL
SECTOR IN TAMILNADU
V. Nagachitra
Research Scholar, Department of Management & Research
Adaikalamatha College, (Affiliated to Bharathidasan University)
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
Dr. J. Kavitha
Assistant Professor, Department of Management & Research
Adaikalamatha College, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
ABSTRACT
In today’s marketing environment, promotion involves integrated marketing
communication (IMC). In a pharma sector, IMC involves bringing together a variety of
different communication tools to deliver a common message and make a desired impact
on customers’ perceptions and decision making. Further to the evolution of modern
marketing, where IMC has become a major way of achievement the objectives of a
company, there is a need to identify opportunities to increase its impact on consumer
decision making. Therefore, is of interest, the relatively recent approach found in the
literature, according to which IMC works specifically through all the four classic
elements of the marketing mix: product, price, placement and marketing
communications. The present study is focusing on Determine the influence of Integrated
Marketing Communication on consumer decision with respect to pharmaceutical sector
in Tamilnadu.
Key words: Integrated marketing communication (IMC), Consumer decision Making,
Marketing Mix
Cite this Article: V. Nagachitra and J. Kavitha, Determine the Influence of Integrated
Marketing Communication on Consumer Decision with Respect to Pharmaceutical
Sector in Tamilnadu, International Journal of Management (IJM), 11(11), 2020, pp.
3803-3811.
https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=11&Issue=11

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1. INTRODUCTION
Marketing communication is key to competing effectively, particularly in markets where
competitors sell essentially the same product at the same price in the same outlets. Only through
marketing communications may an organization find ways to appeal to certain segments,
differentiate its product, and create enduring brand loyalty. Remaining more appealing or
convincing than competitors’ messages is an ongoing challenge.
A key definition of IMC belongs to Philip Kotler who, in 1999, referred to BMI as “the
concept under which a company carefully integrates and coordinates its many communication
channels to deliver a clear, consistent and compelling message about the organization and its
products”. In 2003, he comes back with a new approach to the concept of IMC, arguing that an
organization’s entire marketing approach should be regarded as “a way of looking at the whole
marketing process from the point of view of the customer” (Percy, 2008).
Today, health institutions have become consumer-centered and aim to produce high-quality
services at reasonable prices. Therefore, health marketing has become increasingly competitive
all over the world
Health care and promotion are two concepts that have been difficult to think together. It is
always debated which messages will be given to people with health problems related to a
hospital or similar health institution. Moreover, it is not clear when the need for health services
will arise. It is natural that healthy person does not pay much attention to a doctor, hospital, or
health care. Because of these features, it is possible to say that there are different dimensions of
promotion in health services ([7], p. 252). Promotion is a remarkable issue in health services.
In broad terms, the product/service, price, distribution, promotion, and human element in the
marketing mix constitute the means of communication. The promotion function in any service
organization consists of efforts to communicate with old, current, and future customers.
Customers must be aware of the service provided by the organization. Promotion includes
promotional activities such as advertising, sales promotion, and personal selling. Health
institutions do not carry out aggressive promotion activities. They believe that word of mouth
communication is more reliable.
It is necessary to address the image of the organization before discussing how promotion
activities can be carried out in healthcare facilities. For example, is the organization innovative,
dynamic, and using advanced technology, or is it more traditionally committed? Answering
these questions is very important. The answers to these questions vary depending on the type
of service offered by the health institution and the market conditions in which it operates. Some
questions need to be answered about how to manage promotional activities.
Public relations are at the forefront in terms of creating a positive image in the society in
terms of services and works offered in health institutions rather than advertising in marketing
communication. Health services marketing with image management, it aims to create
communication programs that will enable customers to evaluate the hospital and the health
services provided positively ([7], p. 253). Health institutions and staff should have the ability
to communicate effectively with their customers and stakeholders. Communication can be more
effective with a clear audience and when the audience’s media habits are in-line with what is
known. Successful communication involves nine elements of communication. These are the
source, coding, message, media, decoding, receiver/viewer, response, noise, and feedback. In
addition, the audience must understand the responses from awareness to knowledge, preference,
taste, beliefs, and purchasing.

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2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Schultz (1993) defined IMC as concept of marketing communication planning that combine
and evaluate strategic role of different communication discipline to get the clarity, consistency
and greater impact. According to Percy et al. (2001) planning and execution of all marketing
communications are required in a same way to meet the objective. Process of producing and
applying the different communication programs and the probability to have impact in future
over time, overall IMC process starts with the customer and work to determine and define the
methods and forms to develop the influential communications programs (Schultz, 1993).IMC
is also considered as a strategic business process which is used to plan, develop, execute and
evaluate the coordinated and assessable influential marketing communication programs
relevant to external and internal audience over time (researchandmarkets.com). Raman and
Naik (2005) defined the IMC in following words, ―an IMC program plans and executes
various marketing activities with consistency so that its total impact exceeds the sum of each
activity. It is a strategy in which different communication tools like advertising, public relations,
sales promotion, direct marketing and personal selling work together to maximize the
communication impact on target consumers (en.wikipedia.org). IMC is also defined as a
management concept which is designed to make unified force of different aspects of marketing
communication such as sales promotion, public relations, advertising and direct marketing
rather than to work in isolation.
The American Association of Advertising Agencies (Caywood & Ewing, 1991) defines
IMC as a concept that emphasizes the need for synergy in marketing communications programs
(Duncan & Caywood, 1996). Duncan and Caywood (1996) identifies brand value as the core
of IMC and the importance of perception. In addition, Duncan and Caywood (1996) emphasize
the purposeful nature of integration, focusing on maintaining good relationships. Young et al.
(2015) conducted a bibliometric analysis of articles published in the Journal of Business-to-
Business Marketing between 1993– 2014 using Leximancer. Four common underlying
conceptual topics were identified, and the research topics published in the journal were analyzed
(Donthu et al., 2022). A scient metric analysis of articles published in the Journal of Advertising
Research between 1996 and 2019 showed the outstanding contributions of practitioners to the
field and identified ten major research topics.
Style of communication in different capabilities such as interaction, accessibility, customer
engagement, customization, measurability, and dealing with large information sources, have
been reshaped by digital technologies (Deighton, 1996; Merisavo et al., 2007; Salehi, Mirzaei,
Aghaei, & Abyari, 2012; Edelman & Heller, 2015). Digital communication technology enables
delivery of real-time and personalized offerings and contents to an individual service user. This
has made marketers massively use digital marketing communication to communicate with their
clients (Holliman & Rowley, 2014). Establishing interactive and targeted communication are
the primary motives of marketers to use digital marketing communication (Merisavo et al.,
2007). Gay, Charlesworth, & Esen (2007) have pointed out that digital marketing
communication enables delivery of marketing messages with allure yet subtlety, and at the same
time, makes sure customer satisfaction is not compromised. Because it enables enhanced
customer experience with customization and personalization, digital medium of marketing
communication has undoubtedly become more popular than the traditional format.

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Figure 1
Study by Shwartz emphasize on developments regarding human papillomavirus (HPV)
vaccines that transform HPV vaccination in the United States while simultaneously raising
several new policy and ethical concerns. Policymakers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public
health community must now respond to the presence of competing vaccines that are similar but
distinct, particularly with respect to genital wart prevention and the benefits of vaccinating
males. Researcher reviewed the current status of HPV vaccine policy in the United States and
examine issues of public health ethics and policy central to ongoing and future HPV vaccination
programs (Schwartz, 2010). Study by Cavusgil & Calantone set forth that Marketing managers
continually struggle with how to maximize the effects of an integrated marketing
communications strategy. The growing number of available communication outlets, as well as
highly varying competitive landscapes, adds further complexity to this challenge. This
empirical study examines the differential impact within a pharmaceutical market therapeutic
category where both ‘‘push’’ and ‘‘pull’’ communication strategies operate on consumers and
gatekeepers alike, in an atmosphere of unrelenting product innovation and broad competition
(Cavusgil & Calantone, 2011). In the study of Sharma, it has been pointed out that Doctors and
pediatricians in India have called for an end to “unscientific and indiscriminate” marketing of
vaccines not included in the government- sponsored Expanded Programme of Immunization

5. V. Nagachitra and J. Kavitha
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(EPI) by drug companies. While vaccines for chicken pox, typhoid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and
influenza have been approved by the drug controller of India for marketing, none have been
included in the EPI, no guidelines have been issued for their use, and all are unaffordable for
poor people. Manufacturers are promoting these vaccines through schools, local residents’
association, and some medical practitioners by distributing alarmist literature about hepatitis B
virus infections and infections such as typhus (Sharma, 1999).
e-pharma marketing usually includes the following tools
• Websites (including thematic portals, medical portals, product cards)
• Databases (medical registers)
• e-mailing (enabling the application of viral marketing techniques)
• e-knowledge (e-learning, e-CME)
• Online PR (press media on the Internet, word of mouth marketing)
• e-communities (web 2.0, web 3.0)
• Advergaming
• Video-conferences
• SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Since it was decided that a survey was to be conducted, the next logical step was to design the
questionnaire. The designing of the questionnaire was very important as the data collected
depends on the type of questions asked, so the right questions had to be asked. Majority of the
questions were based on the operationalization of the variables that was being studied. It is
beneficial to use a previously validated questionnaire as it will help in saving both time and
resources (Boynton & Greenhalgh, 2004; Philipson & Oghazi 2013). The choice of whether to
have open-ended or closed-ended questions was then considered. Open-ended questions are
those questions that give the respondent the choice of the answer while closed-ended are
those that give the answers sothat the respondent chooses one (Oghazi et al. 2012; Penwarden,
2013).
4. DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis deals with selecting the most suitable statistical techniques, which are based
upon factors resembling measurement scale, method of data collection and the nature of the
study (i.e. quantitative vs qualitative). SPSS 22 data analysis method was used for this study
based upon the knowledge that SPSS is commonly used for quantitative studies. Once all the
data from the surveys that have been sent out to marketing managers have been collected, the
next step involved would be to analyze and asses the data. According to Pallant (2001), “SPSS
is an enormously powerful data analysis package that can handle very complex statistical
procedures”. A free trial statistical analysis program (SPSS) was downloaded by the authors to
be used in converting the raw data into numbers and figures that could be more easily read and
understood. This in term is descriptive statistics which can be used to transform raw datainto a
form that makes it easier to understand (Oghazi, 2014).

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Table 1 Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std.
Deviation
CF1 83 1 7 6.43 1.139
CF2 83 1 7 6.06 .954
CF3 83 3 7 5.82 .965
TC1 82 3 7 5.73 .969
TC2 83 2 7 5.65 .956
TC3 83 1 7 5.42 1.072
CBR1 83 2 7 5.52 1.063
CBR2 83 2 7 5.14 1.138
CBR3 83 3 7 5.60 .987
SYN1 83 2 7 5.29 1.153
SYN2 81 3 7 5.17 1.212
SYN3 83 2 7 5.13 1.386
CC1 82 2 7 5.15 1.248
CC2 82 3 7 5.41 1.054
CC3 83 1 7 5.13 1.359
IMC1 83 2 7 5.45 1.107
IMC2 81 2 7 5.12 1.053
IMC3 83 2 7 5.46 .928
IMC4 83 2 7 4.88 1.374
IMC5 81 2 7 5.58 1.160
Valid N
(listwise)
76
Hypothesis Testing
With the reliability and validity presented in the sections above, the hypotheses testing will be
now presented. The hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and the results are
presented in tables and. The results from table 5.4 shows the Adjusted R² and is 0.623 or 62.3%
as is evident in the table below. This reveals that 62.3% of the dependent variable (IMC) is
determined by all of the independent variables (CF, TC, CBR, SYN and CC).
Table 2 Adjusted R²
Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the
Estimate
1 .805a
.648 .623 .490
a. Predictors: (Constant), TC_Sum, SYN_Sum, CF_Sum, CBR_Sum, CC_Sum
Table 2 is used to determine whether the hypotheses that were presented in chapter 3 are
supported or rejected. The beta value in the table below shows how much each independent
variable is increased with every time the dependent variable increases with 1. This shows the
impact each independent variable has on the dependent variable. The significance is also
checkedto see if the value is lower than 0.1 in order to establish if the hypothesis is supported
but if the value is higher than 0.1, then the hypothesis is rejected.

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Table 3 Coefficients
Coefficientsa
Model
UnstandardizedCoefficients Standardized
Coefficients t Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
1 (Constant) 1.114 .559 1.993 .050
CBR_Sum .369 .110 .364 3.361 .001
SYN_Sum -.104 .065 -.149 -1.610 .112
CC_Sum .433 .087 .557 4.950 .000
CF_Sum .006 .094 .006 .065 .949
TC_Sum .072 .097 .064 .739 .462
a. a. Dependent Variable: IMC_Sum
H1 (CF): Starting with the first hypothesis which stated that “there is a positive relationship
between the utilization of customer feedback and the implementation of IMC”. Looking at the
results above, the beta value of the CF construct shows 0.006 which means with every 1 that is
increased by the IMC construct then CF increases with 0.006. The sig. or p-value for this
construct is 0.949, which is higher than the limit of 0.1, establishing that the first hypothesis is
rejected.
H2 (TC): The second hypothesis stated that “there is a positive relationship between the
utilization of direct marketing and the implementation of IMC”. The beta value for this
construct shows that with every 1 that IMC increases with, the TC construct goes up by 0.064.
With a p- value of 0.462, this hypothesis is also rejected.
H3 (CBR): The third hypothesis is “there is a positive relationship between a good customer-
brand relationship and the implementation of IMC”. The beta value for this construct shows
with every 1 that IMC increases with, this construct goes up with 0.364. This hypothesis is
supported with a p-value of <0.01
H4 (SYN): “There is a positive relationship between synergy in message planning and the
implementation of IMC” is the fifth hypothesis. This construct has a beta value of -0.149, which
means a negative beta value. This reveals that when IMC increases with 1 the SYN construct
decreases with its beta value. This hypothesis is also rejected with a p-value of 0.112 but it’s
nevertheless very close to being supported.
H5 (CC): The last hypothesis in this study stated that “There is a positive relationship between
the coordination of the communication channels and the implementation of IMC”. This
construct increased with 0.557 with every 1 that the IMC construct increased with and has
a p-value of <0.01. Therefore this hypothesis is also supported.
5. CONCLUSION
Even though IMC has been present for the last three decades, it is being constantly changed and
adjusted to fit the environments that it is being implemented into. This constant change, have
caused marketers to perceive IMC differently. Effective communication will increase the
chances of more successful promotion whilst ineffective communication will result in the
failure of promotion. How well a drug is communicated to medical practitioners can mean a
difference between its commercial success and failure. The future of pharma marketing is in
engagement, interactivity and user control. Marketers will improve their profiling of healthcare
professionals to deliver a more targeted and tailored experience.
A pharmaceutical product's market share is dependent on doctor's acceptance which is a
function of the level of promotional expenditure at the time of product introduction and the
inherent therapeutic quality of drug. A company obtaining a high market share in a given

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therapeutic class, leading to high profits, will be able to support high levels of promotional
expenditure to defend its market position and also support a large research and development
team. The pharmaceutical companies advantage lies in their ability to understand
communication needs of their brands by better understanding of Physicians and Customers
Behaviour. The pharmaceutical marketing environment is characterized by increasing
competition and the pharmaceutical firms in the product patent era have to restructure their
Marketing communication strategies to build in a market orientation to the business plan.
As marketers, it’s our imperative to understand how our customers will engage with each
media type, and then blend a strategic mix into the pharma company‟s communications
strategy.
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