Corporate Marketing

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nIntroduction

nCelebrities, billboards, logos, jingles and messages related to a corporation influence customers in their buying decisions. In addition, when customers do not pay serious attention to the marketing messages they are conscious of the products. Department of corporate marketing in every company produces outward appearances and messages. For instance, it manages implementation of advertising and mission statements (Paetzold 2010, p. 71). As an organization, attempts to become revolutionary and visionary it set marketing strategies that fits in the changing world. Additionally, the vision of the firm should reflect strategies in the marketing campaign. Besides, advanced marketing requires use of intuitive and artful technology (Barnett and Pollock 2012, p. 5). Through corporate marketing, the marketing department in every company should help other employees and customers its vision. Corporate marketing requires six critical aspects, which includes organizational identity, corporate reputation, corporate branding, corporate communication, corporate image and corporate identity. Each of these aspects has its own practices and roots depending on adherents (Kotler, Hessekiel and Lee 2012, p. 7). In this regard, a firm should employ integrated approach at corporate level.

nCorporate marketing

nCorporate marketing refers to the methods a firm or an organization entices potential customers. A team of corporate marketing has a crucial role of deciding appropriate means to reach the desired customers for the firm. Moreover, it determines the message strategies and types of advertising that appeal to customers. Poor marketing strategies do not attract customers hence leads to negative effects on a bottom line of the firm (Kumar 2004, p. 81). Corporate marketing has played a crucial role in many companies for a long period. In this respect, a corporate produces magazine inserts, email campaigns, coupons, newsletters, radio spots, contexts and sales that facilitate corporate marketing. Similarly, firm managers may use a wide range of areas such as graphic designs, corporate communication, research, copy writing, social media, branding and designs of websites in corporate marketing (Viardot 2004, p. 52). Research indicates that almost all successful corporations use a certain type of identity that it attempts to express to its customers.

nEffectiveness of Corporate Marketing

nCorporate marketing is effective to attract all the customers because it influences their thinking and perception. In this respect, it helps the customers to correlate the message with the company whether they are unconscious or not. Customers tend to develop an association of the product and the wording on the billboards, advertisements and postcards. The first stage in designing a corporate marketing campaign is to set clear objectives. Moreover, the firm needs to decide on the targeted customers (Michaluk 2007, p. 72). Consequently, it determines the type of messages that are attractive to targeted audiences. Most importantly, the firm needs to track its previous sales, determining the customers who purchased particular products and the kind of outlets sold most of these products. Furthermore, it should collect demographic data from social media such as the Facebook, and Twitter since it helps to produce products based on certain demographics such as religious, age, gender, geography and marital status. Similar, corporate should track the programme on television that the majority of people watch (Kitchen and Schultz 2001, p. 11). After setting clear objectives and the targeted population, a firm should think creatively about the message.

nThe department of corporate marketing should collect and discuss all kind of ideas and views. Most notably, ideas that conform to its objectives, meet budget allocation, produce excitement, and the team of corporate marketing should then execute target the right market. Considering the budget is a crucial factor in determining corporate marketing (Magiati 2006, p. 59). Although it is very important to produce ideas that are compelling and innovative, the firm must consider its financial strength to sustain these ideas. In this regard, the biggest part of corporate marketing involves “internal marketing.” The latter means that corporate marketing team should convince the senior managers in a firm to accept the ideas and allocate sustainable budgets for them.

nCorporate Marketing using Brands

nIn order to develop a successful corporate marketing, many firms develop strong brands. Companies that provide services rather than products have learnt the importance of developing corporate brands. The underlying reason for this idea is that corporate branding offers a sustainable competitive advantage (Coombs and Holladay 2012, p. 71). A successful brand should have a design, symbol or a name, which identifies company product as possessing sustainable competitive advantage such as Microsoft. A strong corporate brand provides market performances and high profits. In addition, a brand is an asset that produces sustainable competitive advantage (Hsu and Powers 2002, p. 73). However, if a firm fails to invest in brand, it value is likely to depreciate.

nBranding involves a marketing aspect that encompasses strategically integrating the vision, mission, and culture of the company into the products and services sales developing a human-like and personality features. In the process of advertising, it is very important for a frim to use the brand. Research by Doyle (2008) indicated that a brand is what remains in the customers heart and mind and drives them to keep coming back. Companies that provide services such as insurance use corporate marketing through appreciation of customers via service brands based on a wide range of factors such as customer and staffs. In such cases, a firm is able to charge premium prices, which produces higher margins. In addition, a company is able to expand the brand to new geographical areas, new markets and new products (Carroll 2013, p. 34). Furthermore, in corporate branding, a firm is able to provide more promotions and take advantage of intermediaries. In some instances, corporate branding in service industry facilitates easier communication with customers making repeat purchases easier (Kotler, Hessekiel and Lee 2012, p. 10). On the side of the customer or clients, they are able to save time because they do not need to assess the quality and it is quicker to process mentally. Similarly, they customers are assured of minimum risks in buying.

nIn small organization, corporate marketers are required to carry out a wide range of activities including graphic design, social media, copywriting, and press release. Nonetheless, in large organization, they have specialization permitting them to deal with one responsibility in a firm. Marketing managers are leaders in marketing departments and they ensure that development of creative messages and their implementations (Carroll 2013, p. 34). Besides, they conduct management and administrative responsibilities to ensure that assignments and projects are completed with budgetary allocation and on time. Furthermore, Market Research Analyst is responsible for data interpretation to determine effective strategies for corporate marketing. Therefore, they are required to use data from a wide range of sources such as trends in history, data aggregate services and purchasing history. Similarly, they use market indicators in order to offer guidance and predictions for a corporate marketing campaign (Boone 2013, p. 61).

nCorporate marketing is very important for both larger and smaller businesses. In this regard, the company should develop a brand that can assist in corporate marketing. Some of the important features in corporate marketing include, assisting in customer relations, establishing identity, trust, value, and sign of quality. Corporate marketing assist a company because it gives it a sign of identity (Balmer 2006, p. 9). For instance, a logo or a slogan turns to be the face of a company. In addition, one of its branding aspects can identify a firm with strong brand in case its name is not recognized. Besides, its customers are able to easily associate the brand hence they establish customer relationships. Consequently, a firm increases its sales. A strong corporate marketing campaign assists the business to become successful, polished and professional (Blythe 2006, p. 91). In this regard, the company will not only attract potential customers but also other companies to do business with them.

nOne of the most important achievements of marketing is to create trust among its customers. A brand assists business to speak more about a company and increase its value. Many customers only buy products from particular firms since they have trusted their brands. A powerful brand plays a crucial role in increasing trust among the users (Bearden, Netemeyer, and Haws 2011, p. 93). Subsequently, it produces great effects on the success of the firm both in the short and long term because more companies and consumers increase their trust and a likely to conduct more transactions with the firm.

nA certain corporate brand becomes a sign of quality if the company produces services and goods of superior quality. In addition, customers only begin to relate superior quality services and products with a brand if it became similar with high quality. Effective corporate marketing can assist to increase business value. In case the owner of the business decides to sell it in future, it could improve saleability and value. In the contemporary, business environment, there are many mergers and takeovers; hence, a strong brand fetches high prices (Boone 2013, p. 59). A corporate branding is very essential as compared to corporation logo and name. Branding enables the corporate marketing team to plan and to target a potential group of customers. Similarly, it helps to establish strategies for items for visual design such as colour, imagery and logo on the social media, websites and printed materials (Barksdale and Rutter 2001, p. 7).

nCorporate branding assists the marketing team and a firm in general to enhance its services. When dealing with employees of a particular firm, presence of a brand creates firms personality, values and story. In case a firm has an idea or a story of what is the preferences of a certain group, it can then be interpreted into its culture. Subsequently, a culture of a firm helps to offer services and establishing the customer experience. A corporate branding plays a fundamental role in creating awareness (Balmer, Illia, and González del Valle Brena 2013, p. 8). The visual and name expressions establish the identity of a certain brand. Therefore, customers are able to identify and distinguish it from other competitors brands (Allen, Kania, Yaeckel and Allen 2001, p. 91). Developing a brand experience establishes awareness and image in the minds of shareholders, employees, advertisers and customers. Other factors that contribute to the perception and awareness of a brand include word of mouth, packaging, client service and word of mouth. In particular, a more positive, clear and consistent experience of a brand produces robust image and success.

nCorporate branding enhances the market share. It is normally challenging to penetrate into new consumer segments and geographic markets because of high competition. However, corporate branding assists to the firm to increase its products footprint in new markets and eventually promoting its market shares (Balmer 2006, p. 9). Additionally, a known and established brand does not require high level of marketing in a new market for a firm to sell its services, and products. Through corporate branding, customers can choose products depending on their wants, desires and needs. Furthermore, this approach reinforces pricing strategy in a market. Oliver (2004) argues that a robust brand image tailored with quality, desired products may penetrate a highly competitive market and easily acquire market shares. Consequently, a firm increases its profits. Through corporate branding a firm needs long-term plan for marketing it products. In addition, it must focus on the future while on the same time address daily operations. For this reason, it increases its capacity to focus on developing a firm towards its vision and improving quality of products as well as utilizing employee energies. For companies that offer services such as banks, insurance and consultants they use their names in corporate marketing. In this respect, they provide generalized benefits of integrity, value and quality.

nConclusion

nCorporate marketing play a crucial role in successful business operations of a firm. It enables companies to produce products that are acceptable to its customers. In corporate marketing, marketers use the company name, logo, brand and slogan to influence the purchasing behaviours of its customers. In addition, a corporation should produce products and services that offer value to its customers. Furthermore, in corporate branding a firm is able to gain trust hence increasing its sales.

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nReferences

nAllen, C., Kania, D., Yaeckel, B. and Allen, C., 2001. One-to-one web marketing. New York: John Wiley.

nBalmer, J., 2006. Comprehending corporate marketing and the corporate marketing mix. Bradford: Bradford University, School of Management.

nBalmer, J., Illia, L. and González del Valle Brena, A., 2013. Corporate Marketing. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

nBarksdale, K. and Rutter, M., 2001. Marketing, sales, & support. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western Educational.

nBarnett, M. and Pollock, T., 2012. The Oxford handbook of corporate reputation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

nBearden, W., Netemeyer, R. and Haws, K., 2011. Handbook of marketing scales. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE.

nBlythe, J., 2006. Marketing. London: SAGE Publications.

nBoone, L., 2013. Contemporary marketing, 2015 update. [S.l.]: Cengage Learning.

nCarroll, C., 2013. The handbook of communication and corporate reputation. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

nCoombs, W. and Holladay, S., 2012. The handbook of crisis communication. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell.

nDoyle, P., 2008. Value-based marketing. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.

nHsu, C. and Powers, T., 2002. Marketing hospitality. New York: J. Wiley.

nKitchen, P. and Schultz, D., 2001. Raising the corporate umbrella ;Corporate communications in the twenty-first century. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

nKotler, P., Hessekiel, D. and Lee, N., 2012. Good works!. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

nKumar, N., 2004. Marketing as strategy. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.

nMagiati, N., 2006. Intercultural Communication and International Marketing: Corporate Advertising on the Internet. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.

nMichaluk, G., 2007. The marketing director’s role in business planning and corporate governance. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.

nOliver, S., 2004. A handbook of corporate communication and strategic public relations. London: Routledge.

nPaetzold, K., 2010. Corporate social responsibility (CSR). Hamburg: Diplomica-Verlag.

nViardot, E., 2004. Successful marketing strategy for high-tech firms. Boston: Artech House.