What Holistic marketing is… ?

According to the Business Dictionary, holistic marketing is...

"a marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company’s commercial activities.”

Philip Kotler, an American marketing professor and consultant on the other hand defines holistic marketing as a concept that it...

“based on the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognize their breadth and interdependencies. Holistic marketing recognizes that ‘everything matters’ with marketing and that a broad, integrated perspective is necessary to attain the best solution.”

For instance, in an automobile, there are several different parts.

The engine, the wheels, the brakes, the exhaust system, the electrical system, the steering wheel, you name it.

In order for the automobile to function as it should, not only should each of these parts be working, but they should all be able to work in concert with each other.

The car won’t work very well if the steering wheel works independent from the wheels or any other part.

Holistic marketing uses a similar approach, such that all aspects of the business work together as an interconnected entity with a common goal.

COMPONENTS OF HOLISTIC MARKETING:-

• Integrated Marketing:

Most companies put a lot of resources on external marketing, but only few of them place any focus on internal marketing.

External marketing is the standard form of marketing that is geared towards customers. Internal marketing, on the other hand, is geared towards the company’s employees.

But why should a business market itself to its employees?

The simple answer is because the employees play a crucial role in marketing the organization and its products to the external customers.

The internal marketing approach requires that the organization’s employees be treated as internal customers who need to be convinced of the organization’s vision and mission.

Internal marketing also involves ensuring that the internal employees are aware of the role they play in the marketing process, even if they are not in the marketing department. Internal marketing also requires the organization to ensure the satisfaction of its employees, since employee satisfaction has a very major influence on customer satisfaction.

Under the internal marketing approach, the organization should hire the right employees, train and motivate them, and inculcate business values in them so that they can provide the highest quality of service to customers.

Employees’ should have full information not only about the organization’s vision and mission, but also about the organization’s products and service.

Without this information, they will do a poor job convincing customers to purchase the organization’s products and services.

Finally, internal marketing is also about ensuring that there is coordination and harmony among all the various marketing functions within the business.

For marketing to be effective, there should be no conflicts between the marketing department and other departments, or within the marketing department itself, since this would negatively affect external marketing as well.