With today’s ever-increasing competition to attract customers, businesses are faced with more decisions than ever before. Should we spend our marketing budget on advertising or public relations? Should we concentrate on internal communications or external marketing? How much emphasis should we place on the Internet for sales and branding? What is the most effective way to reach our customers?

There are no easy answers, but in today’s complex market, one factor can increase a company’s chances of successfully reaching its customers: communication channel integration. Integrating communication channels simply means applying a uniform set of rules (branding, message continuity, customer service standards, etc.) when using different channels (means of reaching customers).

Most businesses now work through a variety of channels. Advertising messages are conveyed through television, radio, outdoor or print. Businesses with stores or service centers often use Internet sites to showcase products or reinforce brand recognition. News about the business is communicated through internal communications and external public relations.

Use of multiple channels means that customers are exposed to a business on many different fronts. To ensure success, a business must be aware of these multiple exposures and be prepared to offer consistency from channel to channel. It must integrate branding and marketing efforts so that potential customers recognize the business no matter where they see it or hear about it.

Channel integration can be as simple as consistent logo usage through every channel or as complicated as unifying customer service policies for actions such as returning merchandise. Integration is necessary because history shows that when a new method of communication enters the picture, it doesn’t replace a current method. It is merely added to the mix. For example, television didn’t replace radio. It merely added another channel. The Internet, though once prophesied as a replacement for print communications, has become yet another method of communication.

Some businesses haven’t begun to integrate their marketing or business practices through all channels. For instance, while businesses recognize the importance of customer service in retail or service outlets, one survey revealed that $1.6 billion was lost last year because of inadequate customer service on the Internet.

So how can companies successfully communicate, no matter what channels their customers employ? As a regular part of developing marketing and communication plans, MillerWhite asks businesses to answer a series of questions about their customers and the channels where they get their information. The answers are then used to develop strategies and tactics for communication with customers/potential customers.

• Know your customers.

What type of customer does your company serve?
Who are your customers by name?
What service/product do you provide for each type of customer?

• Pinpoint your target market.

What is the demographic make-up of your target market; potential targets?
Where will growth come from?
Where are the best opportunities for increased market share?
What are the best ways to reach the target?

• Define an ideal customer experience.

Where do your customers come into contact with your products/services?
On the Internet, in a retail outlet, by phone?
How should customers be treated when they come to your business for products/services?
Is this how they actually are treated?

• Know how customers get information about your company.

Focusing on the customer experience, how did customers and potential customers learn about your company? Internet, broadcast media, word of mouth, print advertising, news article?

As you answer these questions, you should begin to develop a clear picture of how your customers view your company and how you can make optimum use of customer and potential customer contacts.

Today the options for communicating messages to customers are limitless. Businesses must consider all the options carefully and use any internal or external expertise available to them to evaluate their possible success. An integrated marketing company has the tools and resources to help businesses get the most from multi-channel marketing and simplify the process into manageable tasks.

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