An integrated marketing and communication (IMC) plan involves the use of various marketing and communication strategies in a well-coordinated manner for the sole purpose of developing a consistent brand message (Young, 2014). According to Percy (2008), all the marketing and communication processes should reinforce one another. Determining the target market is the first step to creating a successful integrated marketing and communication plan because different audiences prefer different communication mediums (Shin, 2013). Other important aspects of a good integrated marketing and communication plan include clearly defined objectives, a budget and a system of evaluating the goals (Smith, Pulford, & Berry, 1999). Some of the benefits of a good IMC include an accelerated process of recouping the investment made and short break-even cycle (Governing.com, 2015). For Nozzle Car Wash, the following would be the key aspects of the IMC: push and pull strategies, messaging, communication channels, a budget and key performance indicators.
Push and Pull Strategies
A fruitful and robust marketing strategy would be vital for Nozzles Carwash to be successful. The marketing strategy would assist the company in its objective of gaining significant market share of the car wash business within Howard County in the first year of operation. The marketing plan would incorporate both push and pull strategies to ensure that the message offered reaches a big audience (Ying, 2014). A push strategy refers to using all means possible to make sure that potential customers are aware of the brand and this would be achieved by creating a good experience for them at the business premises and outside the premises. The strategy would be effective for a car wash because similar strategies have worked well in the industry (Atchison, 2013).
A pull strategy, on the other hand, would have the role of motivating the potential clients to seek the company’s services, and that would require the services to have high visibility (Academy Professionals, 2016). As such, it is important to use a broad range of both personal and non-personal communication channels to ensure an optimum return from the marketing strategy. It is expected that the push strategies will have the biggest impact because the company is new, and that calls for aggressiveness in seeking clients.
Messaging
The manner in which the company packages its message to the target market has a profound effect on the response it receives (Bellis, 2014). The marketing strategies should clearly communicate to the existing and potential clients why the company exists. The messages should, therefore, be well crafted to highlight the unique benefits of Nozzles Carwash over competitors. It should also define the target market and the mandate of the company. All efforts should be made to ensure the messages are as conspicuous and definite as possible (Autowash.com, 2012).
Communication Channels
For the marketing strategy to be successful, the communication channels used should convince existing and potential clients that the carwash offers the best services within the Howard County area. The company intends to use a mix of both personal and non-personal channels to attract customers (DeVault, 2016). The company will also make use of both traditional and new media channels. It is expected that the combination of all these methods would lead to improved sales and offer the business an opportunity to learn its customers. The channels to be used include:
Advertising
It will be the primary channel of the pull strategy. The company will seek to use advertising avenues that suit its target audience in Howard. For that reason, Nozzles Carwash will buy up advertising space in the online publication Howardweekly.com, which has a wide readership among the residents of the area. The online publication has a friendly pricing policy that suits the company since it is a start-up. It would assist the company in reaching the lower age of the target market (15-35 years). That age is often glued to the publication owing to its vast collection of current and entertainment news (Ross, 2011). The company will also use paid up advertisements on Howard FM, a local radio station that has a huge audience especially among the elderly. Outdoor advertising plays a crucial role in creating brand visibility and for that reason Nozzles Carwash would use posters located at strategic points within the area where human traffic is high.
Sales Promotion
Sales promotion would play a crucial role in attracting new clients and helping the carwash claw market share from the more established competitors like Plaza Hand Carwash. The promotions would involve a 10% discount during the first three months of operation. During the first quarter, the company will also give the clients a free promotional t-shirt branded with the company's logo. Furthermore, a loyalty points system would be created to attract repeat customers after accumulating a certain number of points. They would be rewarded by a variety of gifts that include either a free carwash or other merchandise such as wine, chocolates, branded key holders and water bottles.
Events and Experience
As alluded to earlier in the company's situational analysis, the company will have a café at the business premises with free Wi-Fi for clients as they wait for their cars to be cleaned. The café will have a free video game corner for the clients in addition to selling soft drinks. The video game corner will also be freely accessible to loyal customers as determined by their loyalty points. The goal of creating such an experience is to attract more people to the café, which increases the probability that they will have their cars cleaned at the carwash as they have some fun.
Word of Mouth
Members of the Howard community area are tightly knit and for that reason, the word of mouth would play a crucial role in attracting more clients. Clients would be encouraged to refer at least one new customer to the business and in return, they would get additional loyalty points. Each employee would also be invited to refer at least five new clients every month and in return, there would be a monetary bonus based on the number of customers referred. In many cases, car wash businesses are marketed through the word of mouth (Brandongaille.com, 2013).
Direct Marketing
It is an important tool in Nozzle’s marketing strategy. It would involve the use text messaging and social media. The company would strive to obtain a database of potential clients within the Howard area to make this effort successful. Existing and new customers would also be requested to submit their phone numbers after which they could be send regular alerts to remind them to bring their cars for cleaning depending on the interval they feel comfortable. That is informed by the fact in the situational analysis most of the potential clients took their cars for cleaning on a regular basis.
Direct Sales
While it will not be a major part of the marketing strategy, it will nonetheless be used to create awareness of the brand. Subject to getting approval from the local authorities, the company will conduct mobile car wash services from time to time. From research, the Howard community is religious, and is mainly made of Christians though there are few Muslims. On some few occasions, the company will visit such churches and mosques on their worship days and offer its services to the clients at discounted rates. Such a strategy would be required for creating brand visibility and increase the firm’s revenue (Xu, 2012).
Costs, Budget and Revenue Projections
The cost structure has been influenced by its pricing policy, which has taken into consideration the pricing of competitors (McKechnie, Devlin, Ennew & Smith, 2012). As the company commences operations, the cost outlay will be relatively higher owing to the need for increasing marketing to wrestle market share from the primary competitor. The major costs that the company expects to incur are marketing and labor.
The cost structure as outlined below is based on the cost incurred per car cleaned.
Budget
Item Cost ($)
Total 50000
Revenue projections
The revenue projections for Nozzles Carwash limited are shown in the table and will be evaluated on a quarterly basis.
Quarter Revenue ($)
The rationale for the revenue projections has been informed by the situational analysis of the company. While most start-ups break even in their second year of operations, Nozzle Carwash Company is uniquely placed to break even in the 3rd quarter of its first year of operations. That is because of the few competitors in the target market as well as its robust marketing and pricing strategy that will draw clients to the business. Furthermore, it is located in a strategic area that acts as the nerve center of Howard. The population of cars in the area was also considered in making the projections.
Key performance indicators (KPI)
Key Performance Indicators are quantifiable measures that evaluate the quality of the company's performance which in turn help it to formulate goals and objectives (Lorrette, 2014). In coming up with the company's Key Performance Indicators, a few steps were taken into consideration.
The first step involved identifying the results expected after a defined period, which in the company's case is one year. Some of the performance indicators include revenue and profit, which is subdivided quarterly. Secondly, there is a need to establish the prerequisites for the firm to achieve its goal and remain sustainable in the long-term. That includes a clear idea of the number of employees needed, the number of new customers to be added per month and the amount of working capital required. Thirdly, systems would be put in place to identify the progress regularly and the adjustments needed. The last step involved determining the frequency within which the Key Performance Indicators would be reviewed.
(i). Profits
The company does not expect to make any considerable profits within the first two quarters of operation. This is due to the relatively high costs of marketing that the business will face as it wrestles clients from the competitor. Towards the third quarter, as the volume of business progress, the marketing costs as a proportion of the total costs will significantly reduce leading to profit. The company expects to close its first year of business with a net profit of $20000.
(ii). Number of customers added
The company plans to add at least one hundred customers every month for the first quarter and after that a 50% increase month on month.
(iii) Return on investments
With a net profit of $20000, the company's rate of return will be approximately $1.40 for every $1 invested.
Conclusively, a good integrated marketing and communications plan is like a roadmap that guides the marketing direction taken by an organization (The Marketing Mix, 2015). Keeping the message consistent across all the communication channels is crucial because an inconsistent brand message would sabotage the objectives of IMC (Lautenslager, 2014). A good IMC differentiates an organization from the completion (Inc.com, 2012). It is hoped that the measures put in place will market the car wash business, gain a competitive advantage over rival firms and lead to the sustainable success of the firm. Both traditional and new media communication channels would be applied, and it is expected that all the investments would yield returns for the company.
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