Invisible communication: a challenge to established marketing communication
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of invisible communication and its implications in marketing communication. It defines invisible communication and proposes an analytic framework enabling an expanded view of marketing communication.
Design/methodology/approach
By explicitly adopting a customer‐oriented perspective, combined with insights from service marketing and relationship communication, the paper extends current models of marketing communication.
Findings
The paper identifies different types of invisible communication and presents new perspectives on marketing communication. The authors outline a framework for understanding how the company can/cannot control different forms of marketing communication and discuss the implications of this.
Research limitations/implications
The paper concentrates on a conceptual analysis, offering a number of practical illustrations. The conceptual development creates new research issues that should lead to a deeper understanding of customers' meaning creation, actions and reactions.
Practical implications
Invisible communication constitutes a managerial challenge as it is often unrecognized by the management. The paper points to the need to develop methods to reveal the existence and effects of invisible communication as well as to create guidelines for managerial response.
Originality/value
The customer‐based perspective and the focus on invisible communication provide a new approach to analysing and understanding marketing communication. The paper contributes to service marketing and marketing communication research by introducing conceptualisations of invisible communication that have an interest for both academic research and practitioners.
Keywords
Citation
Finne, Å. and Strandvik, T. (2012), "Invisible communication: a challenge to established marketing communication", European Business Review, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 120-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/09555341211203991
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited