Design & Development the IMC Model for Chain Store

This study presents several dimensional conceptualizations of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and empirically develops its measurement instrument in chain store of Iran. These dimensions not only encompass important IMC activities identified in previous studies, but also include a newly identified dimension, relationship communications with existing customers. In this literature survey & focus group recognition the several constructs that effect the brand performance. Rigorous methodological guidelines were followed, including systematic steps of field interviews & Questionnaire, refinement, purification, and an empirical validation with a: large-scale survey with IMC practitioners and researchers in Iran Chain store. The objective of action research to Design & modify the IMC Model. The measurement instrument exhibits stable reliability and validity.


Introduction
In today's dynamic environment Companies need to change significantly to accommodate themselves for growth and survival, and they should have feasible mode.Lack of systematic integrated marketing communications (IMC) is one the main concerns and problems of organizations in today's competitive market.Marketing communications planning, is management process which creates reasonable balance between the objectives of marketing communications, resources and changing opportunities in market and focuses on the goal of creating or changing the corporate communication tools in an effective and integrated way in order to achieve communication harmony in line with encouraging and persuading policies to not to overload the minds of the customers, but to encourage people to buy the company's products with the lowest cost of communication.In line with the action research, most of the professionals agree that effective structures for integrated marketing communications such as market orientation (MO), brand orientation (BO), customer orientation (CO) and etc. result in improvement of brand performance, so today significant effects of these structures on marketing communication is emphasized, because by integrating communication tools we can increase the market share, customer share and brand performance, and in the view of many communications experts, the issue, considered as a key advantage and competence in market (Duncan, principles of IMC, 2004).Today's in marketing communications planning, integrated marketing communication approach otherwise (IMC), is used.Marketing communication considered as one of the key factors in today's companies success.In dynamic environments, due to high complexity of organizational internal and environmental phenomena and the importance of effective communications for maintaining customers, companies can no longer use their communication tools in an ineffective and independent way and still achieve their goals in marketing communication and brand performance field.Taking these notes into consideration lead to provide improvement program, strengthen brand and enhance the stability in company's marketing communications with customers which result in customer loyalty and satisfaction (Belch, Duncan, 2004-2005).By review of literature in marketing communications, we face with this problem and challenge that the era of having independent look at integrated communications of the company to the customers is emphasized; however this issue has some cons and some oppositions.From the view of con's perspective about the integrated and balance look at marketing communications, it can be considered as a competitive advantage.Meanwhile this view is criticized by oppositions because they believe that the view lead to reduction in effectiveness of communications goals and increase in communication costs.

So the research challenges and concerns can be indicated as follows:
Issue1: will the experts (cons and oppositions) doubt in the field of marketing communications elements and significant structures on marketing communication confirmed and appropriate response can be accessible, and what are the effective structures of communication model if the integrated marketing communication confirmed.(Issue 1: effective structures of integrated marketing communication identification and integrating them in the model.) Issue 2: The effectiveness of marketing communications at chain stores to be practically palpable what changes and adjustments in marketing communication model should be made in Iran?To design a balance and integrated model for customers and identifications of effective and important constructs on marketing communication, what modification and alterations should be associated with marketing.The important point of research is to identify significant and effective constructs (criteria and components) in designing and developing integrated marketing communication model based on chain stores in Iran.

The Research Importance and Necessity
The importance of IMC, effective constructs in improving marketing communication performance (M.C.P) and improving brand performance (B.P) of the study can be summarized as follows:

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Integration and coordination of all the tools, techniques and marketing mix mechanisms in the model based on stated constructs in the research to improve the brand performance in Iran.

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Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing communications in chain stores.

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Creating synergy in various elements of marketing communication mix.

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Avoiding wasting resources and communication budget through integrating the communication activities.

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Measuring transparency and preventing various advertisement messages overloads.

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Creating and strengthening the brand position and prestige of chain stores.

Research Objectives
The main purpose of the research is to design and develop the integrated marketing communication (IMC) model for Iran chain stores.Due the sharp fluctuation in the chain stores field and entry of foreign competitors such as Carrefour (Hyper star), GVC and etc., and internal such as Iranian, ZAMZAM, Sarfeh and etc., the share of domestic competitors had been reduced.And considering researches which have done, it shows that most of the chain stores have played a weak role in marketing communication and incentive-persuading policies.Thinking on this issue and research concerns (the first and second challenge issues) to achieve IMC model, the objectives can be summarized as follows:  Identifying significant constructs (criteria and components) on marketing communication success.

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Exploring the relationship between clear and hidden constructs with marketing communication to formulate and develop integrated marketing communication for Iran chain stores.

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Recognizing different parts of integrated marketing communication and significance impact of these dimensions in marketing communication of chain stores.

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Creating coordination and integration between the marketing communications constructs in order to have a better impact on the customers.

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Formulation and developing marketing communication model to improve and strengthening the brand performance in terms of results and findings of research.

Operational Constructs Definition
First of all, we provide operational definition of the research constructs and variables based on scientific concepts and experts view in marketing communication.

Brand Orientation (BO)
Brand orientation indicates and emphasize on functional or business unit (task) to create and protect from customers with loyal range and relationship between stakeholders (Keller 1998;Kapferer 1977).

Market Orientation (MO)
Market orientation has been advised as "functional element" of marketing communication concepts by organization.The index has been emphasized in three behavioral, cultural and competition stream by experts (Helfert & Pitter & Waiter 2002).

Customer Orientation (CO)
Customer orientation is to take customers proposals, complaints and etc. into consideration, so as to pay attention to their thought about the company and product, the emphasizes on after-sale service, regular and systematic assessment of customers to create highlight value in product and customer service field, and ultimately regularly measurement of customers satisfaction and fulfillment to create loyal customers for the company (Waiter; Pitter; Helfert).

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)
Integrated marketing communication is a concept of marketing communication planning in form of comprehensive communication plan, which evaluates the strategic roles of various communication tools such as advertising, public relations, direct marketing and combines these tools in order to make transparency, persistence and to maximize the effectiveness of marketing communications (AMA).

Brand Performance (BP)
The efficiency and effectiveness of integrated marketing communication (optimum and right combination of promotion tools such as advertising, public relations, sale spices, after-sale service, direct marketing and etc.) is effective on brand performance index and the final goal of the model is improving brand performance, so IMC model as a powerful advantage plays a role in the performance improvement.

Research Literature
IMC is a new innovative concept in marketing, and it has been proposed in management particularly marketing in short period of time, but literature in this filed shows that despite IMC aspects have been evoked in terms of concepts, principles and theories view, content models, processes, type of constructs and significant variables, only little work has been carried out, and literature monitor shows that little studies have been done in this field and there isn't any new and powerful work based on structural constructs extraction and providing model on the basis of studies significant constructs.About process models, researches which have been done in Iran were weak and only in form of descriptive and macro.In this section, the following table summarized the results of the carried out monitoring.The proposed basic framework and extraction of research conceptual model, by surveying the studies conducted in the world in marketing communication field which is indicated in the above table and extracting scientific relationships between effective structures on IMC and using conceptual modeling approach based on considering deep attention to the approaches, theories, models and researches in marketing communication field.
A conceptual and scientific model for integrated marketing communication can be extracted.In extracted conceptual and scientific model, addition to, identification of effective constructs on model, their primary and scientific relationship based on research scientific results and expert test of these constructs based on analytic network process (ANP), were used.

Methodology
The research was a descriptive, exploratory and development one and its main purpose was to create knowledge in the field of marketing communications so that lead the researcher into a fairly comprehensive model.
According to the research questions and objectives, the following methods are required to be used.

Techniques of Analysis and Data Collection Tools
In the first phase of the research, to identify the primary constructs of the model (criteria-components) library and literature review and focus group was used in order to extract the effective primary constructs of expert view.At this stage, the extracted constructs are classified and checklist called "structural identification of marketing communication" designed to assess the phase by marketing communication experts and chain stores industry specialists.
The main purpose of this stage is to extract the primary significant constructs and effective of the specialists and scientific expert view.Using multiple criteria decision-making methods and analytical network process (ANP) technique as the first stage the primary constructs identified and information extracted.Compatibility, significance and etc. tests for identifying effective structures on marketing communication and primary structures extraction with the lowest error have been done in this technique.(and by using this technique with ANP software.The effective structure on communications and the type of relationship between them based on scientific and library extracted data, group of experts view and primary scientific conceptual model, were identified based on conceptual model and for achieving foals and answering research questions, question are tool (for managers and marketing communication expert) was used.For surveying and examining the accurate relationship between the structures, in questionnaire and model, Factor analysis, significance testing, compatibility test, fit test, correlation and etc were used.For statistical analysis (descriptive, ranking, regression correlation, validity and reliability and etc.), SPSS software was used, structural equation software call Lisrel and the latest achievements of structural equation.Spls2 software for factor, confirmatory and exploratory analysis, primary fit modified final model, modified and adjusted fit of scientific model were used.Meanwhile model consistency with scientific method, in operational phase and field research.The validity and reliability of the model was confirmed, and eventually the modified version of IMC model in chain stones industry is extracted.

Validity and Reliability
In the research by reviewing marketing communication literature and technical articles in this field and also referring to the faculty supervisors and consultants, management, experts and marketing communication specialists in chain stores, and using their feedbacks, the validity of the designed questionnaire is enhanced.
In the research, by using compare test (2.583>1.815)and cronbach's alpha 0.87, the questionnaire reliability was confirmed and after modifying research data, reliability and validity of the model again measured by the SPLS2 software and composite reliability coefficients of all structures are higher than (p>%60), which indicates higher reliability of model structures.

Statistical Population and Sampling Method
The study statistical population included all the managers, Experts of Chain stores (ETKA, Sephah, Refah Shahrvand) marketing Communications specialists.In the research stratified random sampling method was used for selecting research samples and the number of under study individuals (Sepah, Refah, Shahrvand and ETKA) selected based on total number of marketing communication experts.(ETKA with 350 chain stores and 700 experts, Refah with 150 chain store and 100 experts, Shahrvand with 24 chain store and 50 experts, Sepah with 65 chain stores and 80 experts and other marketing communication specialists, in this field we are faced with a total population of 1000 individuals that approximately 350 questionnaires were collected that 303 questionnaires was used completely.

Results and Findings
At this section, first, the demographic characteristics of under study sample include gander, age, education and job ten are in chain store, is depicted in the following diagram and evaluating these demographic structure reflects efficient sample. www.ccsen

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In this sec componen for all of greater tha and compo level of Ba

Measurement Model and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of IMC Structures
In this section, the results of structural equation model and relations between variables in IMC structural equation model were analyzed.In structural equation model, for significance test of cited parameters in model, The T index was used.So the parameters ware higher (greater) than 2 were statistically significant in %99 level of confidence.(Bartler & Ylean, 1999).
It is needed to mention that the parameters that have values greater than 1/64 are statistically significant of the %95 level.According to the analytical results and reported T values for each standard parameter, the significance of each of than were surveyed.Considering t-statistics which for most of the indicators coefficients and understudy latent trait is greater than 2, confirmatory factor analysis results shows that measurement models which used in the present study are fit.And show that the indicators used to measure latent traits research has on acceptable compliance with factor structure and underlying theory.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.The conceptual and scientific model of the IMC based on literature monitoring

Table 1 .
Conducted research in the world with IMC model .P) from "Customer Orientation (C.O) path"?4.3 What is the impact value of Market Orientation and (M.O) on Marketing Communication Performance (M.C.P) from "Inter-Functional Coordination (I.C) path"? 5. What is the impact value of Brand Orientation (B.O) on Marketing Communication Performance (M.C. 7.1 What is the impact value of market segmentation (M.S) on Marketing Performance Objectives (M.P.O) in "direct path"?7.2 What is the impact value of market segmentation (M.S) on Marketing Performance Objectives (M.P.O) from "Customer Brand Network (C.B.N) path"?8. What is the impact value of Communication Budget (C.B) on Marketing Performance Objectives (M.P.O)? 9. What is the impact value of Marketing Performance Objectives (M.P.O) on Promotional Functional Integration (P.F.I) from "different paths"?9.1 What is the impact value of Marketing Performance Objectives (M.P.O) Promotional Functional Integration (P.F.I) in "direct path"?9.2 What is the impact value of Marketing Performance Objectives (M.P.O) on Promotional Functional Integration (P.F.I) from "various Media path"?10.What is the Impact value of Promotional Functional Integration (P.F.I) on Brand Performance (B.P)?

Table 3 .
Measurement model resultAs he above table shows, all of the studies structure have acceptable values of composite reliability (CR) and are rage variance extracted (AVE), this is also confirmed in measurement form of model structures in terms of structural equation.In other words, values greater than 2 for remaining path of model coefficients shows that most of the structures which were studied, have been evaluated with the question in a best way.Hence the results of each structure's question can be considered valid and analyzable, because first have exactly measured what the research considered and secondly all of the respondents had an identical mental conception of it.In this part of the model, the relationship between research structures should be analyzed and their causality must be surveyed.Although exploratory factor analysis, suggests a structure based on IMC structures values, but to ensure from the relevance of research collected data, the confirmatory factor analysis using one of the strongest structural software called spls2 was conducted.And by designing the conceptual model with Perlis software and under software routing for designing relationship between structure, the effectiveness path ways coefficients between model structures were calculated, and the following extracted results reflects the research questions examination with conceptual model paths:

Table 4 .
Path coefficients and significant structures depend on the model structure