Unit 14.Steps inDevelopingEffective Communication
Unit 14. Steps in Developing Effective Communication
Marketers need to understand howcommunication works.Communication involvesthe nine elements shown in the figure on nextchart.Two of these elements are the maiorparties in a communication-the sender and thereceiver.Another two are the majorcommunication tools-the message and themedia.Four more are major communicationfunctionsencoding,decoding,response,andfeedback. The last element is noise in thesystem.Let's look at the definitions of these elements byusing a McDonald's television ad:
◼ Marketers need to understand how communication works. Communication involves the nine elements shown in the figure on next chart. Two of these elements are the major parties in a communication—the sender and the receiver. Another two are the major communication tools—the message and the media. Four more are major communication functions—encoding, decoding, response, and feedback. The last element is noise in the system. ◼ Let’s look at the definitions of these elements by using a McDonald’s television ad:
ElementsintheCommunicationProcess(SeeP.236Fig.14.1)MessageSenderEncodingDecodingReceiverMediaNoiseeedbackResponseSender'sfieldReceiver'sfieldofexperienceofexperience
3 Elements in the Communication Process ( See P. 236 Fig. 14.1)
Sender:The party sending the message toanotherparty--McDonald's.Encoding:Theprocessof putting thought intosymbolic form-McDonald's advertising agencyassembles words and illustrations into anadvertisement that will convey the intendedmessage.Message:The setof symbolsthatthe sendertransmits--the actual McDonald's advertisementMedia:The communication channels throughwhich the message moves fromsender toreceiver-in this case,television and the specifictelevision programs McDonald's selects.byfamilymembers while watchingthead
◼ Sender: The party sending the message to another party—-McDonald’s. ◼ Encoding: The process of putting thought into symbolic form—McDonald’s advertising agency assembles words and illustrations into an advertisement that will convey the intended message. ◼ Message: The set of symbols that the sender transmits—-the actual McDonald’s advertisement. ◼ Media: The communication channels through which the message moves from sender to receiver—in this case, television and the specific television programs McDonald’s selects. ◼ by family members while watching the ad
Decoding:Theprocess by which the receiverassigns meaning to the symbols encoded by thesender-a consumer watches the McDonald's asand interprets the words and illustrations itcontainsReceiver:The party receiving the message sentby another party-the consumer who watches theMcDonald'sadResponse:The reactions of the receiver afterbeing exposed to themessage-any of hundredsofpossibleresponses,suchasthe consumer likesMcDonald's better,is more likely to eat atMcDonald's next time he or she eats fast food,ordoes nothing
◼ Decoding: The process by which the receiver assigns meaning to the symbols encoded by the sender—a consumer watches the McDonald’s as and interprets the words and illustrations it contains. ◼ Receiver: The party receiving the message sent by another party—the consumer who watches the McDonald’s ad. ◼ Response: The reactions of the receiver after being exposed to the message—any of hundreds of possible responses, such as the consumer likes McDonald’s better, is more likely to eat at McDonald’s next time he or she eats fast food, or does nothing
Feedback:The part of the receiver's responsecommunicated back to the sender-McDonald'sresearch shows that consumers likeandremember the ad,or consumers write or callMcDonald's praising or criticizing the ad orMcDonald'sproducts.Noise: The unplanned static or distortionduring the communication process, which resultsin the receiver's getting a different message thanthe one the sender sent-the consumer has poorTVreceptionorisdistracted
◼ Feedback: The part of the receiver’s response communicated back to the sender—McDonald’s research shows that consumers like and remember the ad, or consumers write or call McDonald’s praising or criticizing the ad or McDonald’s products. ◼ Noise: The unplanned static or distortion during the communication process, which results in the receiver’s getting a different message than the one the sender sent—the consumer has poor TV reception or is distracted
This model pointsout several key factorsin goodcommunication. Senders need to know whataudiences they wish to reach and what responsesthey want. They must be good at encodingmessages that take into account how the targetaudience decodes them.They must sendmessages through media that reach targetaudiences,and they must develop feedbackchannels so that they can assess the audience'sresponse to the message.Thus,the marketing communicator must do thefollowing:identify the target audience; determinetheresponse sought; choose a message;choosethe media through which to send the message;select the message source and collectfeedback
◼ This model points out several key factors in good communication. Senders need to know what audiences they wish to reach and what responses they want. They must be good at encoding messages that take into account how the target audience decodes them. They must send messages through media that reach target audiences, and they must develop feedback channels so that they can assess the audience’s response to the message. ◼ Thus, the marketing communicator must do the following: identify the target audience; determine the response sought; choose a message; choose the media through which to send the message; select the message source; and collect feedback
IdentifyingtheTargetAudienceA marketingcommunicator startswith acleartarget audience in mind.The audience may bepotential buyers or current users,those whomake the buying decision or those who influenceit.The audience may be individuals, groups,special publics,orthe general public.Thetargetaudience will heavily affect the communicator'sdecisions on what will be said, how it will be saidwhen it will be said, where it will be said, andwho will sayit
Identifying the Target Audience ◼ A marketing communicator starts with a clear target audience in mind. The audience may be potential buyers or current users, those who make the buying decision or those who influence it. The audience may be individuals, groups, special publics, or the general public. The target audience will heavily affect the communicator’s decisions on what will be said, how it will be said, when it will be said, where it will be said, and who will say it
DeterminingtheResponseSoughtOnce the target audience has been defined,themarketing communicator must decide whatresponse is sought.Of course,in most cases,thefinal response is purchase.But purchase is theresult of a long process of consumer decisionmaking.The target audience may be in any of sixbuyer-readinessstages,thestages consumersnormally passthrough on theirway tomaking apurchase.The marketing communicator needs toknow where the target audience now stands andto what stage it needs to be moved.These stagesincludeawareness,knowledge,liking,preferenceconviction,orpurchase
Determining the Response Sought ◼ Once the target audience has been defined, the marketing communicator must decide what response is sought. Of course, in most cases, the final response is purchase. But purchase is the result of a long process of consumer decision making. The target audience may be in any of six buyer-readiness stages, the stages consumers normally pass through on their way to making a purchase. The marketing communicator needs to know where the target audience now stands and to what stage it needs to be moved. These stages include awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, or purchase
StepsinDevelopingEffectiveCommunicationStep 1. Identifying the Target AudienceStep 2. Determining the Cominunication ObjectiveBuyer Readiness StagesAwarenessKnowledgeLikingPreferenceConviction10Purchase
10 Step 1. Identifying the Target Audience Step 2. Determining the Communication Objectives Buyer Readiness Stages Purchase Conviction Preference Liking Knowledge Awareness Steps in Developing Effective Communication