Ethics and Integrated Marketing Communication

 A question that has always puzzled my mind has been how does one define ethics? From my point of view, there are so many different interpretations of what defines ethics.  I would personally define an ethic as a value that is passed from generation to generation. Some might even say: ’Ethics are the actions we perform with no one around’’.  Ethics is a broad area in human knowledge and our actions are greatly shaped by the ethical code we adopt. Ethics are values that are instilled in our character and they become accustom to our human nature through habit and practice. We perform actions that resemble good ethics since it allows us to live a life of peace and purpose.

  In addition, Ethics go beyond just an individual though and also represent the values of a group. A company for instance, values good ethics through its communication with clients and partners.  A company must always be able to communicate the truth in order to develop a proper relationship with its stakeholders.  Through good communication, a trust can be built from various parties within the company and a code of ethics can be adopted. Sustainable businesses are founded on these principles of ethics and it is a method that should be followed by all companies.

I do not need to give examples about ethics and business during this post, since I have been using Mack Trucks as a role model for all subjects in the last two posts. However, it is evident in this a century a sustainable business must portray ethics in communication. If Mack Trucks had not developed a code of ethics in the way it conducts business, the company would not have been as successful as it is today.

There must be a major emphasis   in business communication that is related to communication ethics, which is known as  “Integrated Marketing Communication”. IMC has a vision, which is to build a stakeholder’s goodwill through the interconnection of a unified message by different medias. It is important to reach different types of stakeholders via different medias channels, and at the same time transmit the same message and content.

However, beyond just IMC, there are internal and external issues in every organization that must be addressed. Those issues can disorder the IMC and distort   ethics. The IMC must think as a work force and all departments in the company must   create and share information to work together around the same theme and aspire to attain the same goal. It is not good if each department starts to implement their own way of thinking or else the core message will never be understood.

An Organization must spread its information precisely and be careful at the same time of messages being duplicated. Sometimes duplication can lead to the    audience misunderstanding  the content and at the same time it can cause division between the clients and stakeholders. This will in turn affect the straight trust relation and business inside the company.

 Therefore, IMC is the key for a successful business communication, specially now days when we have so many channels and medias. The message must be adapted for each different type of channel and audience. A company has different types of stakeholders like: Employees; Costumers; Suppliers; Communities; Government; NGOs; Owners; Competitors.  Each kind of stakeholder is a segment that affects the organization directly or indirectly. The stakeholder segmentation serves to identify stakeholders groups of interests and manage these groups. In terms of communication, the segmentation helps to shape the message, find the right channel to transmit and set the tone of the message to each group of stakeholders.

As I have pointed out about IMC and stakeholder segmentation, the time has come to put those two things together and finish this post with Integrated Stakeholder Communication.  The two need become compatible and through a five-way method of working, a success can be had.

The first topic that I will address about the communication channels is that the organization has to find which is the best channel to send the message of each kind of stakeholder. After this communication the department must be aware about the stakeholders groups and what each message means in order to customize each segment.  Also Inside the company each department must work together on the same content. After those three actions, the organization must illustrate its values to gain stakeholders credibility and finish with a strong message.

 In closure, this post shows the importance of appealing to an audience when working in business. By the next post, you will come to see what Mack Trucks does as IMC and how they segment their stakeholders.  Furthermore I will bring new communication topics for debate and will engage you to learn the practices that must be taken in order to appeal to the stakeholders.