Holistic Marketing – Meaning, Concepts, and Importance

“The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” — Aristotle

A human will always be greater than the sum of eyes, nose, legs, hands, etc. Holistic marketing revolves around this philosophy of holism where the business and its parts are considered as one interconnected entity and where all its activities are directed towards one specified goal.

What is Holistic Marketing?

Holistic marketing is a business marketing philosophy which considers business and all its parts as one single entity and gives a shared purpose to every activity and person related to that business.

A business is just like a human body: it has different parts, but it’s only able to function properly when all those parts work together towards the same objective. Holistic marketing concept enforces this interrelatedness and believes that a broad and integrated perspective is essential to attain best results.

This philosophy has the following features:

A Common Goal

Holistic marketing concept believes that the business and all its parts should focus towards one single goal which is a great customer experience.

Aligned Activities

All of the services, processes, communication and other business activities should be directed towards that common goal.

Integrated Activities

All activities should be designed and integrated in such a way so as to create a unified, consistent and seamless customer experience.

Components of Holistic Marketing

Holistic marketing focuses on marketing strategies designed to market the brand to every person related to it, be it employees, existing customers or potential customers, and communicating it in a unified manner while keeping in mind the societal responsibility of the business.

Relationship Marketing

The relationship marketing aspect of holistic marketing philosophy focuses on a long-term customer relationship and engagement rather than short-term goals like customer acquisition and individual sales. This strategy focuses on targeting marketing activities on existing customers to create a strong, emotional, and everlasting customer connections. These connections further help the business in getting repeated sales, free word of mouth marketing and more leads.

Integrated Marketing

Integrated marketing is an approach to create a unified and seamless experience for the consumer to interact with the brand by designing and directing all communication (advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations, and digital marketing) in such a way so that all work together as a unified force and centres around a strong and focused brand image.

Internal Marketing

There are two types of customers to every business: internal and external. While focusing on external customers should be a top priority for every business, internal customers should not be left unnoticed as these internal customers (employees) play a vital role in marketing the brand and products to the external customers of the business.

Internal Marketing treats employees and staffs as internal customers who must be convinced of a company’s vision and worth just as aggressively as external customers. It also involves crafting processes which make them understand their role in the marketing process.

Socially responsible marketing

The socially responsible marketing aspect of the holistic marketing concept involves a broader concern of the society at large. It requires the business to follow certain business ethics and focuses on partnerships with philanthropic and community organisations. A business is considered as a part of the society and is required to repay the same.

Socially responsible marketing encourage a positive impact on company’s stakeholders.

Why is Holistic Marketing important?

Brand Building

According to a study, intangible assets made up 84% of the S&P 500 market value in 2015 as compared to 1975 where they made up only 17% of the S&P 500 market value.

The customers’ mindset is changing. They believe in buying a brand and not the product alone. Holistic marketing empowers the company to build a brand among all its stakeholders.

Consistency

Consistency is important to stay in the market for long. Since holistic marketing concept involves marketing the brand to all the stakeholders and through unified communication strategies, consistency is maintained.

Efficiency

When every aspect of the business is taken care of, it becomes easier to reduce (and even eliminate) repetition, become more efficient, and save company’s time and money. The efficiency can also be seen in tapping opportunities and spotting potential threats.

Effectiveness

Holistic marketing philosophy, by focusing on the big picture, creates a synergy that effectively reinforces the brand message, brand image, and positions the brand uniquely in the minds of the customers.

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