Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is integration of all marketing tools, approaches, and resources within a company which maximizes impact on consumer’s mind and generates maximum profit at minimum cost.

Integrated Marketing Communication is more than the coordination of a company's outgoing message between different media and the consistency of the message throughout. It is an aggressive marketing plan that captures and uses an extensive amount of customer information in setting and tracking marketing strategy. Steps in an Integrated Marketing system include:

1. Customer Database
An essential element to implementing Integrated Marketing that helps to segment and analyze customer buying habits.

2. Strategies
Insight from analysis of customer data is used to shape marketing, sales, and communications strategies.

3. Tactics
Once the basic strategy is determined the appropriate marketing tactics can be specified which best targets the specific markets.

4. Evaluate Results
Customer responses and new information about buying habits are collected and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the strategy and tactics.

1. Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER
Understand what the consumer wants and needs. Times have changed and you can no longer sell whatever you can make. The product characteristics must now match what someone specifically wants to buy. And part of what the consumer is buying is the personal "buying experience".

2. Not PRICE, but COST
Understand the consumer's cost to satisfy the want or need. The product price may be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Often it's the cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost of conscience of what you eat, and the cost of guilt for not treating the kids.

3. Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE
As above, turn the standard logic around. Think convenience of the buying experience and then relate that to a delivery mechanism. Consider all possible definitions of "convenience" as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and needs. Convenience may include aspects of the physical or virtual location, access ease, transaction service time and hours of availability.

4. Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION
Communicate, communicate, communicate. Many mediums working together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication two-way. And be sure to include an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind. How many ways can a customer hear (or see) the same message through the course of the day, each message reinforcing the earlier images?