Marketing Management Assignment help on : Marketing communication strategy for IT professionals
Introduction to marketing and communication
Marketing and communication go hand-in-hand. An appropriate method to reach the final consumer needs to be chosen so that the end-user can be aware about the availability of the product in the market. A single marketing strategy cannot be applied to all. Many marketers think that if they are able to put up an advertisement on the television then it will reach all the end-users but that is not true. Television is an effective medium of advertising and there is no doubt about it but this medium doesn’t reach all the end-users. First and foremost, the marketer needs to identify the medium through which the consumers can be reached so that the consumers are aware about the availability of the product. Apart from the medium of communication, the marketers should understand the problems and happiness of each group. Understanding the problems and happiness will help the marketer to gain a better understanding about the group. All product that the marketer is willing to sell should be personalized for specific consumer tribe rather than trying to sell it to everyone. IT professionals are completely different than that of the other consumers. These consumers are different because their way of thinking about a product or service is different than that of the other consumers. One thing that makes these consumers different than that of other consumers is their dependency on the internet. These consumers find themselves to be lame in the absence of computer and internet. Throughout the day, they work on the internet and when they are back home, they prefer to be on the computer for refreshment. It can be said that these professionals breathe and live internet. The only way to catch the attention of these consumers is the internet. The marketer who is willing to reach this consumer tribe should plan an online marketing strategy so that the IT professionals are aware about the availability of the product.
How IT professionals are different and how were they formed?
Many people tend to think that IT professionals are just like every second person on planet earth but that it’s not true because IT professional’s life starts with the computer and it ends there. If the term “IT professional” needs to be defined then it can be simply said that these are people who are associated with computer. A few decades ago, it was realized that the computer is going to be the future so the computer was invented. Today, a computer isn’t just about typing the content. With computer many professions have been attached. An organization cannot be complete with one set of professionals; similarly, a computer cannot be complete with one set of professionals. IT professionals start with the hardware administrator who produces computer and continues to software developers who develop software for the computer, network administrators who manages the internet and other networking issues in the computer, web developers who develop websites, the web designers who design the website, security professionals who secure the network and all others that one can think of. It can be clearly said that all the professions in the world today rotate around the world of computers. IT professionals are unique as they think about coding and other computer issues at all point of time. This consumer tribe of IT professionals is formed by people who have a keen interest to achieve something in the field of computers. IT professionals are more introvert by nature and hence, they don’t interact much with people around. If they are facing some problem then they prefer to find a solution on the internet rather than that of communicating their problem with someone close. They don’t like to spend much on shopping as they prefer to save money so that they can invest the same on the computer. Other professionals love to shop for clothes and other things that can make their lifestyle more luxurious, but that is not the case with IT professionals. Apart from IT technologies, these professionals are interested in technologies like that of electronics and electrical. They don’t do any research on other technologies but yes, they do like to own things that uses new technology. If 10 IT professionals are seen to be working in the same place then the observer will notice that the communication is very less. They prefer to concentrate on work while working. These professionals like communication by the way of IM (Instant messaging) rather than that of having a face-to-face conversation. IT professionals keep their communication very low even with their seniors and reporting authority. They just discuss things that are related to their work rather than that of discussing personal issues as well. Talking about refreshment, it has been noticed that they prefer to play computer games so that they can relax themselves from the stressful schedule that they are going through. People around may find it really weird that these professionals work on computer throughout the day and they come back to the computer even for refreshment. Overall, it can be said that these professionals try to get all the things done via computer and internet only. It’s difficult for them to believe that there exists life beyond computers as well (UniversityOfMoratuwa, 2007).
IT professionals weren’t formed with any motto in mind but they just got attached to the workings of computers. Initially, when computers came into existence, there weren’t any professionals who were willing to work on the computer but soon later, people realized that this is the future. Professionals also realized that lot many things can be done with the computer apart from storing data and hence, came the existence of internet. Once the internet came into existence, the number of IT professionals increased because the work of web development, web designing, graphic designing and SEO came into the picture. This group of professionals is not formed overnight, they took their time to develop. These groups of consumers are present all over the world and all the professionals in the world are committed to their computers.
Communication to IT professionals
Various methods of communication have been used by these professionals to communicate with one another. If an IT professional has to communicate with that of another then they find no difficulty in doing that but they find it difficult to convey their thoughts to a non-IT professional. Email is one of the most commonly used modes of communication. This is one place where they can write all that they want and drop it to the person whom they are willing to communicate with. IT professionals are always accessible to their mails and hence, a quick reply to any mail can be expected at all point of time. These professionals even prefer to manage their personal relationships by way of email communications rather than that of any other means (CardiffUniversity). If a person wants to be in constant touch with an IT professional then instant messaging is a simple and easiest way. These consumers be online on various IMs like that of Yahoo chat, Gtalk and others. If a person pings them in their chat then they will immediately respond. Many people may think that SMS (Short Messaging Service) is the quickest way to reach anyone but in case of IT professionals, it is instant messaging and not SMS. These consumers have a code of communication in IM thus, making it easy for others to understand what the person on the other end is willing to express. For example, if a person writes any text in capital then it means that they are shouting. People who fight on IM, use capital letters completely rather than that of the regular font. These professionals change their status on the IM at regular intervals so the people who are added to their IM will know about their current status. They put statuses like that of busy, in a meeting, available, do not disturb and all the other things that they want their friends to know about (CardiffUniversity). Social networking sites are considered to be the best mode of interaction among IT professionals. IT professionals are a part of all the social networking sites that one can think about. They prefer to express their emotions and preferences on the social networking sites. If a software engineer comes across a bug in the software then he will for sure upload this on the social networking site so that he can find a solution. His friends who are in the same profession will also try to help him out in solving the bug. These things may be just out of the world for regular people. If an IT professional is having some problem with the coding or anything else then they prefer to take online help rather than that of meeting people in person. These consumers are a part of many forums that help them to understand their profession in a better manner. These professionals love to read the newsletters. If an IT professional is interested in anything then they will subscribe to the newsletters so that they can be updated with the things that are happening in that particular forum. For example, an IT security professional will be a part of forums that discuss about CCNA, CCNP, CCSP, CCIE and others. Apart from the professional discussion forums, they also prefer to communicate with people online for personal or emotional help. If an IT professional has lost their partner then rather than communicating about this problem with people around, they communicate and find relaxation online. Most of the IT professionals have their own blogs, they communicate their love, happiness, sadness, achievements and failures over there. Having a blog is a must for every IT professional (DeveloperShed, 2004)
For many people, Skype is a renowned method of communication now, but IT professionals have been using it for years. IT professional, too, communicate on calls but rather than the regular telephone, they prefer to use Skype. On Skype, they even do video calling. They believe that this is the best mode of communication rather than using a telephone or mobile. Usage of Skype on the computer may be a very common thing today but IT professionals have Skype even on their mobile so rather than making calls from mobile, they use Skype at all possible places. This is a face-to-face communication method for IT professionals.
Sources of marketing communication message
The marketing communication message needs to be decided so that the intended consumer tribe gets the message. Few of the sources of marketing communication are as follows: –
- Planned marketing communication – In this type of marketing communication, the thing that needs to be communicated and the thing that needs to be hidden is planned in advance. Once the message is planned, it is delivered accordingly to the target market. This message is, generally, designed as per the market needs.
- Product message – In this method of communication, the details about the product is given to the end user. The important features of the product are identified and the message is designed in such a way that the end user will know about the features that are actually useful to them.
- Service message – Service message gives factual information about the product and its usage. The information basically includes facts like how to use the products and the limitations of the products. This allows the customer to understand the product in a better way.
- Unplanned communication – This kind of communication is not planned by the marketing team. If a person purchases the product and if he is satisfied with the results then he will recommend the same to his friends. Similarly, the product can be in the news for the better results that it has provided or for the problem that it has created.
- Absence of communication – This is a mistake and this mistake is done by many organizations. The organization doesn’t communicate anything about the product thus, leaving them blank, without any information (Finne, G 2009).
The marketer who is willing to reach the IT professionals should try and understand the best source of the message so that the message is effectively delivered to the target market. In case of IT professionals, planned marketing communication, product message and service message are a must so that the these consumers are aware about the product that they are willing to purchase. These consumers are such that they like to have a lot of information regarding the product or service that they are willing to purchase. They have internet access at all point of time and they try to gather information from the company’s website and other related websites.
Methods of marketing to reach the IT professionals
There are various methods that can be used to reach the IT professionals. Before choosing the method, the marketer should understand the effectiveness. SEO marketing is considered to be the best method to reach these consumers. If a software is being launched in the market then excessive content development about the software should be done so that it surfaces on the first page of various search engines like that of Google, Yahoo and others. Once the IT professional finds this software at the top then they will go for more searching about the product on the internet (TechLineInfo 2011).
Online display advertising is another effective way to reach the IT professionals. The marketers should identify the websites that are visited the most by these consumers. Accordingly, the marketer can place a display advertisement which will state the major features of the product. The display of the banner should be very attractive so that the end-user feels motivated to click on it and once, the professional will click on it then it should be automatically redirected to the official website. The marketer can place advertisements on all the possible websites. Apart from the regular online banners, the marketer can also put pop-ups. Pop-ups are considered to be more attractive and attention catching than that of the regular banners. Pop-ups will display on the screen after a certain point of time when the visitor will visit any particular website. If an organization has planned for an offline campaign then the marketer can do an online marketing about the campaign so that the consumers will be aware about the campaign (ZielTraffic).
Affiliate marketing is also an effective way to market about the product to the IT professionals. Affiliate marketing means placing a website link of a product, which needs to be advertised, on some other website. If a person visits a website and clicks on the link then the product company will pay the website. Many marketers find this to be an expensive deal because the marketer thinks that paying for every click will be expensive but it is not because this will lead to more revenue generation (Gustavo, 2011).
Integrated marketing communication to reach the IT professionals
There are various modes by which the IT professionals can be reached. The marketing professional needs to understand that all the methods of integrated marketing communication may not be suitable for this tribe. Integrated marketing communication states that the marketer should just market the product and leave the rest to the consumer as there won’t be any surety that they will achieve the results or not. Integrated marketing communication needs to be analyzed so that the marketing message can reach the target market more effectively. The marketer can drop a direct email to the end-user and this is one of the most effective methods of reaching the IT professionals. These consumers are available online 24*7 and hence, they can read the emails at all point of time. The subject line of the email should be attractive so that the consumer will actually feel motivated to open the email. The marketer needs to remember one thing that there are other plenty of marketers who will be dropping direct emails to the consumer so the marketer should take his time to draft a perfect email that can attract the attention of the reader. Another way to reach the end-user would be to send them a direct sms (short messaging service) regarding the promotional event that the organization is planning to organize. The SMS should be short and at the same time, it should be attractive as well. SMS is something that cannot be avoided and hence, the consumer will, for sure, get to know about the event that is being organized but the consumer will prefer to come only when he thinks that he will get something that will be loved by him (Jensen 2012).
Considerations for a marketer
If a marketer is willing to produce anything for IT professionals then it should be such that it can reduce their stress. These consumers face a lot of stress due to the colleagues and seniors. Struggle for power or career betterment creates stress in them so the marketer can organize events wherein they can be helped to deal with such colleagues and seniors of their’s so that they can work peacefully rather than that of concentrating on such things. If the marketer realizes that there is a merger or takeover of some IT firm then the IT professionals will be stressed for sure because of the layoff and other new things that take place in the organization. The marketer can help these consumers with advice that can help them to grow and the marketer can also introduce products that can allow them to relax. Career development is one thing that causes a lot of stress in the IT professionals. The opportunities for IT professionals are available in plenty but they look for stability and growth in their current organization. The marketers can organize seminars that will allow the professionals to gain confidence about themselves so that they can be productive to their current organization or else they can look for an opportunity in another organization (Sethi, K, Q, 2004).
Not only the stress, the IT professionals face health issues that are different than that of the other professionals. These consumers face a lot of heart diseases because these professionals don’t communicate their problems to anyone and apart from that, they smoke a lot to deal with their regular stress in life. They also face carpal tunnel syndrome because the movement of the hands is limited to the keyboard area only. They don’t go out much in open space and hence, they don’t gain the Vitamin D required for the body. As a marketer, they should identify these problems and communicate these things with the consumers so that they know that the marketer cares for them rather than that of just selling their products. (Crisp360Editors, 2011).
Conclusion
Marketers should understand the IT professionals completely so that they can sell their product to them. The marketers should organize events and conferences wherein the problems of these consumers are sorted. Doing this will allow the consumers to build a trust about the product that the organization is willing to sell. The marketer should try to reach these consumers by way of email, SMS, blogs, pop-ups and online banners so that the professionals are aware about the availability of the product. It can be said that every second website which the IT professionals use should have advertisements of product that needs to be sold so that they don’t miss the advertisement at any cost. These consumers need to be convinced about the product rather than that of pushing the product to them because pushing will lead to the purchase of the product only once and not repeatedly.
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