Integrated marketing communications (IMC) aims to deliver consistent messages across channels to build brand equity. IMC coordinates all communication tools, like advertising, sales promotions, public relations, direct marketing, social media, and mobile marketing. The goals are to create the right perceptions in customers' minds and build a strong brand image, as customers don't know the service experience before purchase. Factors like the market type and product lifecycle influence the optimal IMC mix. Word-of-mouth from employees, experts, and other customers is also a powerful communication channel for services.

1. INTEGRATED SERVICES
COMMUNICATION MIX
By: Komal Jangid

2. CONCEPT
• Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a process under which a
company integrates and coordinates all its communications channels to
deliver a clear and consistent message/Integrated marketing
communications (IMCs) emphasize the benefits of harnessing synergy
across multiple media to build brand equity of products and services.
• The main aim of IMC is to ensure two things, which are, firstly the
consistency of the message that they want to deliver and secondly the
complementary use of media.
• In the IMC process, all the marketing tools, approaches and resources
available within a company are used in a way that results in maximum
profits and minimum cost

3. OBJECTIVES OF IMC
There are basically two important objectives of integrated marketing communications.
• Creating Right Perceptions: Since the market is overexposed to stimulations, consumers often tend
to be selective in their exposure, attention and retention. They are not ready to struggle for assessment
of various services in order to develop a perception unless they have a high level of involvement.
Communicators should be capable of understanding the perceptual process of the audience and
develop a simple methodology to create the desired perceptions in the minds of the customers. They
need to select a positioning strategy that is capable of motivating the customers and providing a
competitive edge in the market.
• Building Brand Image: Brand image is particularly important to a service because consumers do not
know exactly what they are going to experience before the purchase. Therefore, brand image drives
customers to make a purchasing decision. Service companies are required to build a brand image and
continue to strengthen it with their performance and communicate their performance to the market.

4. Factors influencing IMC
Factors influencing IMC includes:
• The type of service market,
• buyer-readiness stage and
• the service product’s life-cycle stage.
The communication mix for the industrial market and the consumer
market is different. For example, personal selling is of prime importance
for the industrial market while advertising leads the mass consumer
market.

5. MAJORLY USED IMC TOOLS ARE:
1.Advertising: This tool of IMC refers to any paid form of non personal
promotions of products and services by a public figure and identified sponsor.
The various forms of media used are print, broadcast, network, electronic and
display. Advertising form of communication reached geographically dispersed
consumers.
2.Sales Promotions: Sales promotions are a variety of short-term incentive to
encourage trial or purchase of product or service. This usually includes
consumer promotions- such as distribution of free samples, coupons on
purchase of higher quantity, discounts and premiums or trade promotions,
focusing on retailers, such as display and merchandising allowances, volume
discounts, pay for performance incentives and incentives on salespersons.

6. 3. Personal Selling: This tool of marketing is done through face-to-face
interaction with consumers. The whole purpose of personal selling is
making presentations, answering questions and taking orders. Personal
selling helps in maintaining long term relations with the customer. The
main advantage is that the message can be customized as per the needs
of the customer.
4. Public Relations: PR is a two way communication process which is
directed towards improving the relationship between the organization
and the public. This method of communication monitors the feedback
of the customers and adjusts its message for providing maximum
benefits to them.

7. 5. Direct Marketing: This method of communication includes the usage
of mail, telephones, fax or internet to communicate with or respond
back to the customers or prospects. Companies usually have a database
of contact details of consumer through which they directly contact the
customers to send catalogues and other marketing material making it
easier for the consumer to purchase online.
6. Events and Experiences: These are the activities sponsored by the
company and the programs designed to create brand related
interactions with customers. Companies provide customers to get an
experience of using the product which eventually ends up leading to a
higher brand recall than their competitors. These events and
experiences leave the customers heart filled with an emotional touch
and memory that they carry along.

8. 7. Social Media Marketing: This tool of marketing is currently the
most common way to attract most audience in the digital era. This
basically refers to the process of promoting business or websites
through social media platforms. These platforms help companies to
get major attention of customers and interact with them.
8. Mobile Marketing: This form of marketing involves communicating
with the customer directly via their mobile devices, by sending simple
marketing messages. This method is cheaper than the traditional forms
of promotions and is a really streamlined version of online marketing.
Advertisements that we see on mobile applications are a common
example of mobile marketing.

9. WORD-OF-MOUTH COMMUNICATION
• Word-of-mouth communication is considered as one of the most powerful communication channels
in services marketing.
• Positive word-of-mouth communication has been recognized asa particularly valuable vehicle for
promoting a firm’s products and services. Consumers have absolute freedom to communicate each
other about a service. Therefore, word-of-mouth communication is not a controllable variable. The
following are the sources for generating word-of-mouth communication:
• Contact Employees
• Other Employees in the Service Outlet
• Co-customers
• Experienced Customers
• Experts/ Independent consultants
• Opinion Leaders
• General Public Discussions