Managing The Commercial Communications Process (Week 17)
The Production Process
The Product-Process Matrix was first introduced by Robert Hayes and Steven Wheelwright in the Harvard Business Review in 1979. It helps organizations identify the type of production approach they should use for a product, based on the volumes of the product being produced, and the amount of customization it needs. Taken from MindTools.com, the production process is shown in the figure below.An example of the process in relation to "Sarah's Bike Shop" is outlined below.
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| The Production Process in relation to Sarah's Bike Shop |
Sarah's products are very well made and of high quality, and business starts to improve as more customers place orders for her custom bikes. But Sarah doesn't change her process. She continues to build and sell one bike at a time, and her reputation suffers because there's such a long waiting list. This means that she's moved to the 3a square. She still builds bikes as if there's a low-volume demand – although, in reality, she now has a high-volume business.
If Sarah doesn't change her process soon, she is at high risk of going completely out of business, or at least lose potentially high volumes of customers who don't want to wait for a bike. However, if she looks at the Product-Process Matrix and analyses her situation successfully, she'll realize that she needs to hire staff and set up an assembly line to handle the higher volume of orders. Based on her increasing demand, she really needs to be in the 3c square.
1a – Job Shop/Low Volume, Low Standardization
"Job shops carry
out small, unique production. Each item or task is done by hand, one at a time.
There's very little, or no, standardization.
Example: Sarah creates custom-made products
from start to finish.
- Benefits – Flexibility, uniqueness, quality.
- Disadvantages – Not cost-effective, not efficient."
2b – Batch/Multiple Products, Low Volume
"Batch production
occurs when parts of a project or product are processed together to increase
efficiency. This is still a lower-volume process, but it can handle more than
the job shop.
Example: In Sarah's bike shop, she could
attach the wheels onto 10 bikes that will all be built to the same
specification. Then she can attach the pedals, brakes, and so on.
- Benefits – Increased efficiency for each step due to repetition.
- Disadvantages – Potential for confusing flow as half-completed projects or products begin to pile up."
3c – Connected Line Flow/Few Major Products,
High Volume
"When volume
continues to increase, an assembly line is set up. Each worker has a specific
role, or task, to complete.
Example: Sarah sets up a production line to
assemble bikes. One person attaches wheels to each frame as it passes, then it
goes to someone else to add pedals, and so on. The production line is stopped
and adjusted periodically so that a different model can be made.
- Benefits – Very efficient, easy-to-maintain standards.
- Disadvantages – Little flexibility, less ability to customize products."
4d – Continuous Flow/High Volume, High
Standardization
"When volume is
extremely high and the range of products is extremely small, continuous flow is
set up. Continuous flow means that production never stops. This approach is
used primarily in factories.
Example: operates 24 hours per day
- Benefits – Low cost to operate, ability to handle very large volumes.
- Disadvantages – No flexibility, very limited product/project range, expensive to set up."
How can you use
the Product-Process Matrix in your own company?
- "Look at the tasks you regularly do during your workday. Do you currently use a "job shop" approach for any, where you should really be using a batch or assembly line process?"
- "If any tasks or projects could be standardized, write a procedure and create a plan to delegate the project to a person or team that could create it more efficiently. Remember, look at the volume and frequency to determine what kind of process (batch or assembly line) might be appropriate to complete it more efficiently.
- It's sometimes useful to analyze in the opposite direction. That is, perhaps some standardized "assembly line" procedures should be handled instead with more of a "job shop" approach."
- "For instance, imagine that you work in a customer service department. Most consumer complaints are handled automatically by "autoresponder" emails, which are sent to customers based on keywords found in the initial email. However, customers often become frustrated because these "autoresponses" don't answer their questions. In this case, the customer service department may become more effective if it decreases efficiency and handles complaints one at a time."
Integrated Communications
As defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, integrated marketing communications "... recognises the value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion and combines them to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact."
An approach to achieving the objectives of
a marketing campaign,
through a well coordinated use of different promotional methods that
are intended to reinforce each other.
It is essential for
organizations to promote their brands well to consumers, clients, the media and
other key stakeholders, not only to outshine competitors but also survive in
the long run.
Integrated marketing communication refers to integrating all the methods
of the 7 P’s (Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People, Packaging and
Positioning) to promote a particular product or service amongst the target
market. All aspects of marketing communications need to work together in
harmony for increased sales and maximum cost effectiveness. There are various
components to IMC and these are outlined below.
- The Foundation - As the name suggests, the foundation stage of the process involves detailed analysis of the product/service and key business messages as well as target market. It is essential for agencies to understand the brand, its offerings and end-users. You need to know the needs, attitudes and expectations of the target customers. It’s also helpful to keep a close watch on competitor’s activities.
- The Corporate Culture - The features of products and services in a given organisation also ought to be in line with the work culture of the brand. Every business has their own vision and mission statement and it’s important for the marketing, advertising or PR agency to keep these factors in mind.
- Brand Focus - Brand Focus represents the corporate identity of the brand.
- Consumer Experience – Agencies also need to focus on consumer experience which refers to what the customers feel about the product. A consumer is likely to pick up a product which has good packaging and looks attractive or has a positive and glowing review in the media or public eye. Products need to meet and exceed customer expectations.
- Communication Tools - Communication tools include various modes of promoting a particular brand such as advertising, direct selling, promoting through social media such as Facebook, Twitter etc.
- Promotional Tools - Brands are promoted through various promotional tools such as trade promotions, personal selling and so on. Organizations need to strengthen their relationship with customers and external clients.
- Integration Tools – Overall, organisations need to keep a regular track on customer feedbacks and reviews. You need to have specific software like customer relationship management (CRM) which helps in measuring the effectiveness of various integrated marketing communications tools.
Most
larger organisations hire Marketing, Advertising and/or PR agencies to
contribute to and develop integrated marketing campaigns. Others tend to stick
to in-house marketing strategies. Some examples of typical agency tasks are
shown in the following list;
- Liaising and networking with a range of stakeholders, e.g. customers, suppliers, partner organisations, journalists, key media correspondents etc.
- Communicating with target audiences and managing customer relationships (this can be done through social media, email marketing etc.)
- Sourcing advertising and PR opportunities and placing adverts/press releases in the press (local, regional, national and specialist publications) or through broadcast media via radio/television (depending on the organisation and the campaign)
- Managing the production of marketing materials, including leaflets, posters, flyers, newsletters, e-newsletters etc.
- Arranging for the effective distribution of marketing materials
- Organising any relevant photo shoots or press conferences, events, seminars, exhibitions, product launches etc
- Maintaining and updating customer databases
- Sourcing and securing sponsorship (depending on the organisation and the campaign)
- Conducting appropriate market research such as customer questionnaires and focus groups
- Contributing to and developing marketing plans and strategies
- Managing budgets
- Evaluating marketing campaigns
- Monitoring competitor activity
When researching further into IMC, I found an extremely interesting article
on the key advantages and disadvantages of the business tool. It also covers
the “golden rules” of implementing the process as well as some background
theory. To read more, please visit: http://www.multimediamarketing.com/mkc/marketingcommunications/
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