Communications forms an integral part of the overall customer service strategy and must ensure consistency of message to all stakeholders. The level and the effectiveness of the customer service provided will have a direct impact on the company’s market share, costs and profitability. These can be applied to any given marketing function such as creating brand awareness, motivating staff or facilitating a promotional campaign.
Any organization can communicate through the proper use of a branding. Brand personality can be viewed as a specialized product, service, person or place augmented in that the consumer perceives relevant, unique, sustainable added-values in order to match their needs and wants. Brands communicate through the use of designs, color, and typography. A brand is not just a name; the brand is a multi-functional concept. Branding is of primary importance to the organization, as it provides the organization and its product portfolio with an identity, something that people can associate with. Reaching businesses or consumers with brand messages widely and consistently enough to enable recognition and association with the right kind of images by creating brand awareness. The five main types of brand personalities are: excitement, sincerity, ruggedness, competence and sophistication. Brands need to be seen in all the right places and to project their personality in order to be instantly recognized by the public.
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Figure 2. 1: Brand Personality Categorizes
When implementing a marketing strategy, it is necessary to think about your niche products or services and who your customers are. Kellogg’s is benefiting from using a dual marketing concept by not only having the classical well-known product personality “ Corn Flakes” but by adding a wide and differentiated niche of products targeted to specific group of customers. Kellogg’s is providing a wide range of products on the market which differ from one marketplace to another, each has its own personality and target marketing. Although, the overall brand personality is still presented in the original Corn Flakes.
Figure 2. 2: Banding Processhttp://legacy. businesscasestudies. co. uk/company_images/6/267/11756958741. jpg
A simple definition of communication can be viewed as all means of symbolic or verbal communication that people use to make contact and share information. It is a two-way process that can best expressed as a communication cycle. Messages are sent by the communicator and received by the other party who sends back some form of confirmation that the message has been received and understood (‘ feedback’). To achieve that, we must consider and apply the correct communication “ 6C’s” which are: Correct, Clear, Concise, Complete, Courteous and Consistent. In addition, we need to reduce the communication obstacles “ Noise” that might affect both the sender and receiver of the message like difficulty in self-expression, rationalizes information and emotional state. Different communication channels were used externally and internally to deliver the message such as written communication, face to face meeting, internet, social media, television and radio advertising.
From the above case study, we can notice that Kellogg’s is following a specific communication plan to deliver the right message to their targeted audience which will support the “ Breakfast Clubs” by conducting different advertising campaigns. Kellogg’s also focused their communication plan for both internal and external stakeholders that involve formal and informal methods. The main internal stakeholders are the employees and top managers. The external stakeholders are schools, media, the public and the Members of parliament “ MP’s”. The core objective of Kellogg’s camping is to display the importance of the breakfast for people at all ages particularly for the younger generation. Moreover, public awareness will motivate more people and consumers to purchase Kellogg’s products which will rise the funding for the breakfast clubs.
Business exists to produce goods and provide services that society needs and wants, at profit and they can’t take additional responsibilities unless they perform these tasks successfully. At the same time, business depends for its survival and long-term relationships on the society to provide the required resources which it needs to operate profitably.
If Kellogg’s consumers demand unhealthy food full of sweet and fatty food with high level of sugar, then they are responsible to meet that demand. But this will ensure route to profitability and short-term shareholder wealth. Even if people want to eat unhealthy food now, in a few years they will demand more healthy options. Kellogg’s responded to this trend by making more healthy products and options available now. Such initiatives will reflect well on company and positive publicity as a champion of healthy eating that will attract new customers which will boost the sales. Therefore, Kellogg’s is not only selling healthy foods but also actively promote support for healthy eating by sponsoring the breakfast clubs in schools. Kellogg’s company felt that they have responsibilities not only to encourage young children to consume healthy food, but also by assisting the parents to understand the importance of the healthy breakfast. This was demonstrated by studying and analyzing the family’s values and attitudes through showing the great benefits of eating the health food on the early morning which will positively impact on children behavior, attendance and ability to concentrate in morning lessons. In addition, early morning breakfast not only help people to live longer, happier lives but it also reduce the amount that parents spend on health care and reduce the difficulties caused by behavioral problem.
Advertising is another way of communication which can be defined as non-personal promotions paid for by an identified sponsor. This is a cost effective way to inform large number of consumers about a brand and products. The main objective of advertising is to persuade customers about the brand or product merits, encourage buying and as a reminder to encourage repurchasing. There are five major advertising appeals usually used by companies which are comparative, humor, rational, sex, and fear.
Fear appeals aim to create worry in the consumer on the basis of fear, so that the consumer is convinced to resolve this fear by purchasing the product or service. The major advantage of using a fear appeal is that it can work well by increases a viewer’s interest in an advertisement and raises the persuasiveness. The drawbacks are that it may not be appropriate for all products and that too high of a level of fear may be unfavorable. In Germany, BMW used the fear appeal strategy in their advertising to increase the sells for the winter tiers by displaying the major car accident pictures that occurred during the winter season. BMW used the mobile marketing to send messages and photos for the customers whose mobile numbers are stored in their database along with recommendations for appropriate winter tiers types. During the first year, BMW winter tires sales level increased by 30%. In order for BMW to promote this campaign is by encouraging their dealers located in cold areas to follow the same strategy. Also, they need to start the advertising in TV and internet to illustrate the importance of using winter tires that fit on snow.
The key functions of communication are exchanging information, initiating action, establishing and maintaining and developing relationships with others. In most social and family contexts, this is taken for granted and is designed to establish and maintain rapport, or the sense of relationship. Business communication is more constrained by time, by the formality of organizational structures and the roles of individuals, and by the size of the network within which communication takes place.
