But true integrated marketing requires a much bolder step: redefining the term "marketing" itself. You must accept that marketing is not simply a series of planned activities designed to create a receptive selling environment. It is a PROCESS – an ongoing series of controlled and uncontrolled events and interactions between you and your customers or prospects.

Face it. No matter how clever the TV ad, or how dazzling the website, your carefully planned message will ring hollow if it conflicts with what customers actually experience. Consider these examples. Which one creates a stronger impression?

	The beautifully designed ad and brochure touting a company’s "commitment to fast, personal service."
	Your personal experience when you call the company to place an order, have to weave your way through a complex automated system, and then end up on hold for ten minutes.

True integrated marketing acknowledges that your relationship with your customers, as well as your ability to gain and retain their business, is an ongoing process. A process that requires you to reinforce your relationship at every contact point along the way.

Establishing an integrated marketing process
Developing an integrated marketing process begins with analyzing when, where, how, and why customers and prospects come in contact with your product, service, or company.

What are the elements of your traditional marketing communications program? How do people receive the information? What are the key messages? Are they consistent? Consider all your marketing vehicles, from websites to editorial press coverage to personal selling.

Next, look beyond the traditional marketing domain, investigating what happens at other points of contact. Consider:

	What happens when people call tech support or customer service with a question or problem? How many times does the phone ring before it’s answered? Does a real person answer or is it an automated system? How long are people on hold? Is their problem resolved on the spot or do they have to call back again and again?
	What is the experience of actually using the product or service? How well does it mesh with expectations set by initial marketing efforts? Does it really work like it says it will? Go beyond the actual product and think about things like packaging, directions or instructions, and other items that affect a user’s experience.
	What do stores or product showrooms look like? Do they mesh with marketing claims? Are they falling down on basics (i.e., clean, well lit, and organized)?
	How do salespeople act before, during, and after product purchases?
	What do customers say about you – both privately and in public places like online forums?

Armed with this information, you can illustrate the various points of contact, creating a "marketing road map" of your current relationship with customers and prospects. This map forms the foundation of your integrated marketing effort.

Leveraging efforts for 1+1=3 So how do you pull your contact points together to create one truly integrated marketing process? 1. Develop a clear, executable marketing strategy. Know your audience. Analyze your competition. Identify what sets you apart. Establish a clear game plan for leveraging that competitive advantage. And most importantly, keep it simple. Everyone in your organization should be able to explain your strategy in his or her own words. 2. Remove internal roadblocks that inhibit your strategy’s effectiveness. Success starts at the top. Senior management has to believe in and visibly support the integrated marketing process. Along the way, you’ll also need the help of managers and team members throughout the organization, from accounting to product development to customer service to the manufacturing floor. Remember all those points of contact you identified earlier?

3. Execute consistently at all points in the process.
Consistent marketing materials and a strong visual voice are good places to start your integrated marketing efforts. From there, you’ll need to examine each point of contact to ensure that business operations, company culture, and your products and services reinforce your strategy and key messages. For example, if you’ve identified friendly, personal service as a primary differentiator, make sure a real person answers the phone when customers call. And ideally, make sure they answer it in three rings or less.

4. Evaluate and adjust.
Because this is an ongoing process driven by the way customers interact with you, creating a continuous feedback loop is critical. Establish feedback mechanisms for as many points of contact as possible. Use both direct and indirect methods. For example, you can survey customers about your products, but you may also want to observe them actually interacting with it. Use this feedback to adjust and improve your marketing efforts.

Establishing an integrated marketing process takes time (not to mention a lot of dedication and hard work!), but it can be done. And the results are definitely worth it. Take Southwest Airlines for example. Over the years, Southwest has focused on a specific niche – no-frills shorter runs. They’ve established a clear corporate personality, right down to the highly publicized actions of their "wacky" CEO. They know who they are and whom they serve – and everyone at Southwest works to reinforce those ideals. They are also one of the only airlines to remain profitable in these turbulent times. Pretty convincing evidence that integrated marketing can, and does, work!

For a free 1-hour consultation on how to better integrate your company's marketing efforts, contact us by e-mail at info@2harmony.com or call us at 708.344.1684.