These days, businesses have a lot going on behind the scenes. For many organizations, this behind-the-scenes activity can become a major part of their brand image. This is especially true as customers become more and more aware of their role in society and how it relates to their personal values. For these customers, finding brands that align with their values can sometimes become a priority.
Holistic marketing can show them your brand’s values—and how your company works together to follow them.
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What is holistic marketing?
Holistic marketing presents all parts of your business as a unified whole. This creates the image that each part and division of your business work together with shared goals to create a shared purpose. Holistic marketing helps customers and clients understand that, by supporting any part of your business, they support all parts—and any causes or values your business stands for.
For example, imagine you build your brand image around a green initiative. You can build each arm of the business around reducing waste and lowering your carbon footprint. Holistic marketing would help show customers how each part of the business works together to help protect the environment.
What are the components of holistic marketing?
There are four primary components to holistic marketing. Each component focuses on different audiences, strategies, and aspects of a business. Much like the businesses that use holistic marketing, these components work together to create a unified strategy. The primary components of holistic marketing are:
Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing focuses on the relationship your business has with your customers. It uses what you know about your customers and their habits to create an emotional bond. This helps you build a strong connection with your customers, helping your products and services become an integral part of their daily lives.
Internal marketing
Internal marketing helps align your employees with your company’s values and goals. This can include internal training, posters, or materials that help your employees understand how the company’s goals relate to them—and their role in helping the company reach those goals. In this way, it helps employees across all divisions become active participants in the entire business.
Integrated marketing
Integrated marketing focuses on bringing all external marketing together under a strong, unified brand image. Using integrated marketing, you can make sure that whether a customer sees your brand’s banner advertisements, watches a video ad, views your brand’s social media, or encounters any other ad aimed at them, they receive the same message and tone. Each form of advertising they see or hear can work together to bring a full and recognizable image of your brand, helping them understand who you are, what you stand for, and how you can help them.
Performance marketing
Performance marketing is a perfect term, because it describes your brand’s social performance. This marketing helps show how each division of your company serves the greater whole in displaying your brand’s ethical and social values. It shows the role your brand plays in society—and how you deal with the responsibility that comes with that role.
How can holistic marketing benefit your business?
Holistic marketing can have several benefits for a business. It can create a relationship between you and your customers that benefits you both—which can create even more benefits. Some of the most important benefits of holistic marketing include:
Increases efficiency
Because holistic marketing targets the entire company, it can help increase efficiency. By viewing each aspect of the larger picture, you can understand the processes of each department. This can help you streamline processes and group them together under the most appropriate department. You can also see if separate departments perform similar duties unnecessarily, which can help you reduce redundancy.
In short, with a full view of your business, you can find opportunities to reduce spending and increase productivity.
Drives business growth
Holistic marketing can drive business growth in two major ways. For one, it can help potential customers with similar values find your business and convert them into paying customers. But it can also help attract potential employees by showing job seekers how working for you can help them build toward their own personal values. In this way, holistic marketing radiates outward and invites all comers, whether internal or external.
Creates an impact
Holistic marketing is beneficial in more ways than one. First, it can build an impactful and personal relationship between you, your customers, and even your employees. This can benefit everyone in a deep and meaningful way.
Second, it can create a societal impact. By marketing the brand’s social values, it can help keep those values at the forefront of your mind. Having these constant reminders can help you make sure that your brand fulfills your company values daily.
Third, it helps educate customers about your values. By marketing your brand’s green initiative, you can help your customers learn new ways of going green in their own lives. This could create a pay-it-forward chain of positivity that can have a lasting impact on your life, the lives of your employees and customers, and on society.
