Communication is the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver via a medium or channel of transmission.

4 basic components and a fifth-FEEDBACK

Formal or informal communication source Consumers often rely on informal Word-of-mouth communication tends to be highly persuasive Therefore marketers should encourage detailed positive word of mouth about their products and services among consumers.

Receiver is the customer types-intermediary & unintended Intermediary-wholesalers, distributors and retailers and relevant professionals like architects and doctors Unintended-everyone who is exposed to the message-not specifically targeted-public, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, employees, bankers and the local community.

Sender

Message

Medium

Receiver

Feedback

Impersonal or Interpersonal Impersonal-mass medium Interpersonal-formal eg: salesperson and customer and informal between 2 or more people, face to face, telephone, mail or online Mass media-print, broadcast or electronic Electronic is becoming popular

Verbal (spoken or written) or nonverbal (photograph, illustration or symbol) or a combination of the two. Verbal message can contain more specific or service information than a nonverbal message. Verbal when combined with nonverbal provides more information Nonverbal-interpersonal channels, impersonal channels Eg: symbols and logos by marketers

Important component of both interpersonal and impersonal communication. Feedback must be prompt Generally it is easier to obtain feedback in interpersonal than impersonal communication. Eg: A good salesman is alert to any form of facial expression(frown, smile, bored look) or body movements(head nodding or shaking.)

1. Message initiator (Source)-the initiator decides whom to send and what meaning it should convey. Sources are marketing or public realtions or spokespersons A. credibility of the source-perceived honesty and objectivity. When the source is well respected and highly thought of by the intended audience message is much more likely to be believed.

Credibility is also dependent on perceived intentions. Eg: if a personal gain is perceived then the customer maybe hesitant to make a purchase. B. Credibility of informal sources-major reason why friends, family have a strong influence on a receivers behavior is they are perceived as nothing to gain from a product transaction that they recommend.

Informal communication sources called opinion leaders often do profit psychologically, if not tangibly by providing product information to others. Eg: A person may obtain a great deal of ego satisfaction by providing solicited as well as unsolicited information and advice to friends.

Not for profit sources generally have more credibility than for profit sources. Formal sources that are perceived to be neutral eg; newspapers, consumer reports have greater credibility than commercial sources because of the perception that they are more objective in their product assessments. That is why publicity is so valuable to a manufacturer.

When commercial sources are profit oriented customers judge their credibility on such factors as 1.past performance, 2.reputation, 3.kind and quality of service they are known to render, 4.quality and image of products they manufacture, 5.image and attractiveness of the spokesperson used, 6.type of retail outlets which they sell, and their 7.position in the community (social responsibility or EEO)

Person male/female who appears in advertisements have a major influence. Eg: increasing use of celebrities to promote products. Many studies have investigated the relationship between the effectiveness of the message and the spokesperson or the endorser employed. Here are some key findings

1.The effectiveness of the spokesperson is related to the message itself. 2.The synergy between the endorser and the type of product or service advertised 3. Endorsers who have demographic characteristics (eg social class and ethnicity) similar to those of the target audience are viewed as more credible and persuasive than those that do not.

4. endorsers credibility is not a substitute for corporate credibility. 5. Marketers who use celebrities to give testimonials or endorse products must be sure that the specific wording of the endorsement lies within the recognized competence of the spokesperson.

Reputation of the retailer who sells the product has a major influence on message credibility. Eg: products sold by well known quality stores Reputation of the medium that carries the advertisement also enhances the credibility of the advertiser. Eg: However there is no single answer as to which medium has the most credibility

The Sleeper Effect: The persuasive effects of high credibility sources do not endure over time. Although a high credibility source is initially more influential than a low credibility source, research suggests that both positive and negative credibility effects tend to disappear after 6 weeks or so. Consumers forgot the source of the message faster than they forgot the message itself

A no of factors affect decoding and comprehension of persuasive messages including the 1.receivers personal characteristics, 2.involvement with the product or product category and congruency of the message with the medium and 3. receivers mood.

Personal characteristics described in earlier chapters affects accuracy with which the message is decoded. A persons demographics such as (age, gender, marital status), socio cultural memberships (social class, race, religion) and lifestyle affect how a message is interpreted.

A persons involvement level plays a key role in how much attention is paid to the message and how carefully it is decoded. Thus target audiences level of involvement is an important consideration in the design and content of persuasive communication. One study discovered a relationship between involvement level and style and context of ad.

Consumers with low involvement with the product prefer messages placed within a congruent context.(eg: humorous ad within a humorous tv series) while persons involved with a product preferred messages that contrasted the style of ad and the context within which it was placed.(eg: a humorous ad within a tv documentary)

Studies show how mood has an impact on message comprehension and effectiveness. In one study subjects mood were manipulated by showing humorous ads (generating a positive mood) and informational ads (generating a neutral mood) Study found that a positive mood enhanced the learning of brand names and the product categories to which they belong

Consumers mood is also influenced by the content of the ad and by the context in which the advertising message appears (such as accompanying tv program or adjacent newspaper story) , these in turn affect consumers evaluation and recall of the message. Eg: consumers with low familiarity with a service preferred ads based on story appeals rather than lists of attributes and that such appeals work better when the receivers are in a happy mood while decoding the message.

Selective exposure to messages: Consumers selectively perceive advertising messages and tend to ignore advertisements that have no special interest or relevance to them. Furthermore technology provides consumers with increasingly sophisticated means to control their exposure to media.

Eg: Competing advertising messages or distracting thoughts. Eg: Strategies used by marketers to overcome psychological noise 1.Repeated exposure to an advertising message (repetition or redundancy) 2. Copywriters often use contrast to break through the psychological noise and advertising clutter

3. Broadcasters and Marketers use teasers to overcome noise. For eg: quizzes at the beginning of a commercial break are designed to engage viewers sticking to the channel in order to find out at the end of the break whether their answers were right 4. Marketers place ads in specialized media where there is less psychological noise. Eg: studies show ads placed within the context of computer and video games and in movie theatres are recalled better than similar ads placed in more general media.

The most effective way to ensure that a promotional message is received and decoded appropriately by target audience is through effective positioning and USP Advertisements for products that are perceived to provide a better value than competitive products are more likely to be received in their intended ways than other promotional messages within the advertising clutter.

Must be prompt and accurate Interpersonal-easy-salesman can tailor the sales pitch to the expressed needs and observed reactions of each prospect Feedback is important in impersonal (mass) communication too. Because of high costs advertising space, and time in mass media, feedback is even more important.

Unlike interpersonal, feedback in mass communications is rarely direct. It is usually inferred. Senders infer how persuasive their messages are from the resulting action or inaction of the targeted audience. Another type of feedback that companies seek from mass audiences is the degree of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a product purchase eg; 24 hour hotlines

In evaluating the impact of advertising marketers must measure the persuasion effects (i.e. was the message received, understood and interpreted correctly?) and the sales effect(did sales increase) of their advertising messages. Advertisers gauge the persuasion effects of their messages by conducting audience research to find out which media are read, which tv programs are viewed and which ads are remembered by their target audiences.

Communications Strategy: In developing the strategy the sponsor must establish the primary communication objectives like Eg: creating awareness of a service, promoting sales of a product, encouraging or discouraging certain practices, attracting retail patronage, reducing postpurchase dissonance, creating goodwill or a favorable image or any combination of these.

An essential component of a communications strategy is selecting the appropriate audience which is made up of individuals. As all individuals have their own traits, characteristics, interests, needs, experience and knowledge it is essential for the sender to segment the audience into groups that are homogeneous in terms of relevant characteristics. Eg: segmentation

It is also an essential component of a communications plan. It calls for the placement of ads in the specific media, viewed or heard by each targeted audience. To accomplish this, advertisers develop, through research, a consumer profile of their target customers that includes the specific media they read or watch.

Media organizations regularly research their own audiences in order to develop a descriptive audience profile. A cost effective media choice is one that closely matches the advertisers consumer profile to a mediums audience profile. Before selecting specific advertisers must select general media categories that will enhance the message they want to convey.

Which media categories advertisers must select depends on the product or service to be advertised, market segments to be reached and the marketers advertising objectives. Rather than select one, many use a multimedia campaign strategy with one primary category carrying the major portion of the campaign and other categories providing supplemental support.

Thought, idea, image, attitude or other information that the sender wishes to convey to the audience which must be accurately perceived and interpreted. Different messages appeal to different types of buyers. Righteous buyer-who looks to recommendations from independent sources such as Consumer Reports

Social buyer-who relies on the recommendations of friends, celebrities Pragmatic buyer-who looks for the best value for money, though not necessarily the least expensive Nonverbal stimuli such as photographs or illustrations tend to reinforce verbal message arguments.

Resonance advertising: resonance is defined as wordplay, used to create a double meaning used in combination with a relevant picture. Message framing: 1.Positive message framing-stress on the benefits to be gained by using a specific product 2.Negative message framing-benefits to be lost by not using the product

Research says appropriate message framing depends on the consumers attitudes and characteristics as well as the product itself. Positively framed messages are more persuasive in low involvement situations Negatively framed messages more persuasive in high involvement situations.

Good points v/ bad points Products are only ones of their kind v/s acknowledge competing products
If the audience is friendly i.e. it will use the advertisers product, if it initially favors the communicators position, or if it is not likely to hear an opposing argument then a one sided (supportive) message that stresses only favorable information is most effective.

However if the audience is critical or unfriendly if it uses competitive products, if it is well educated, or if it is likely to hear opposing claims, then a 2 sided (refutational) message is likely to be more effective. 2 sided messages tend to be more credible than one sided because they acknowledge that the advertised brand has shortcomings.

Some marketers stress only positive factors and pretend that competition does not exist. However when competition does exist and when it is likely to be vocal such advertisers tend to lose credibility with the consumer.