18 February 2012 - 11:25Situation Anlysis Is The First Step Of Integrated Marketing Communications

by Bob Grant

Integrated marketing is an effective way to bring all forms of communication together into one concise campaign. Advertising, sales, direct marketing, Internet marketing,  etc. all work together in a cohesive approach for a united goal.

A very important first step of any integrated marketing strategy is situation analysis. Situation analysis researches the potential of the industry, the company’s current sales, best customers, worst customers, and most profitable products and services.

Situation analysis takes into account the market environment and any foreseeable trends in the market such as size and potential for growth to which the company is positioning themselves. Budgets, strategies, objectives are all part of the evaluation process.

As much as information allows, evaluating the competition is also very important. Research how competitors brand themselves. What are their unique selling propositions? What marketing communication tools do your competitors use to generate leads and communicate with customers?  Finding out a competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and what their market shares and sales trends are will help you position your company more effectively, and  help solidify your company’s position in the market.

Situation analysis must include a marketing communication audit.  What marketing strategies and tactics do you currently use to generate sales leads, and communicate with customers? How are you measuring the results of those strategies and are they effective? What is the persona of your best customer and best prospect? Have you done an in-house workshop with your sales people to create and evaluate customer personas?

Once you have completed your situation analysis, and evaluated your company’s strengths and weaknesses, then you can begin to develop your integrated marketing communication plan.