In an age when consumers are bombarded with billions of dollars worth of marketing campaigns, holistic marketing is a concept that is gaining popularity with people who need to break through the marketing clutter. The basic idea behind holistic marketing is that by taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, we can gain a better understanding of how to formulate the most effective strategy and tactics.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Fuel tanks, engines, control thrusters, star trackers, and an orbital rendezvous light. When placed together in a pile, they amount to a heap of expensive parts. When they are assembled according to a specific set of detailed schematics, however, you get the Space Shuttle.
Without a central plan, marketing collateral is just a heap of paper, pictures, words, code, and bandwidth. Only by unifying your marketing materials with a comprehensive strategy can you produce something more valuable than the individual components.
There are two basic steps to holistic marketing.
Whether you are starting a marketing strategy for a new business or reexamining a current campaign, there are two key things you must do to develop holistic marketing plan: prioritize and coordinate.
Prioritization
Every good marketing campaign revolves around one compelling core story, a message that engages and motivates your target audience. Find the one key message you want to prioritize, and make that the seed from which all of your marketing efforts will sprout.
To determine your message, take some time to examine your business from the ground up. Why do you do what you do? What makes your company special? Get your core story straight – and stick to it. Not having a central message can make your marketing appear fragmented and confuse customers.
Coordination
Once you have decided upon your message, it’s time to coordinate your strategy. This requires selecting the print and Internet marketing tools that are the right fit for your audience and your business goals and creatively incorporating your core story throughout each and every medium.
However, holistic marketing looks beyond print and digital media. Marketing should be part of all aspects of your company, including your front-line brand ambassadors: your employees. Every employee – from the head of the marketing department to the fresh face in R&D – should know your core story and reflect it in every interaction with your company’s target market.
Moving forward…
As your company and your market evolves, it is natural for your marketing strategy to change over time. By always keeping an eye on the bigger picture when modifying or adding to your strategy, you can maintain the solid foundation you so carefully built and ensure lasting success.