How Marketing Communication Affects Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example

and Section # of Marketing Communications Marketing Communications are all strategies, tacticsand activities involved in getting the desired message to the intended consumer. Any medium could be used to communicate the marketing message. Communication of any form consists of certain simple components. The sender encodes the message which with reference to marketing communications is to create an advertising display or a sales promotion. The message is then sent to the receiver who decodes it by comparing it to frame of reference. The feedback loop is activated when the receiver responds to the sender which informs the sender about whether the message was received and how it was perceived by the sender. However, usually this communication flow is disturbed by the presence of noise or distractions. This results in failed communication. All marketing communications are carried out keeping a certain objective in mind. These objectives can range from informing the consumer about the product to persuading the consumer to buy the product. (Michael, Gary, Soren and Margrate, 20) Marketing communication has been used to establish social control in many different areas. It has been especially useful in influencing public opinion for religious and political campaigns. However, before embarking on a communications journey; the marketing mix must be in place for a product. The marketing mix consists of 4Ps, namely product, place, price and promotion. Product refers to the essential feature of the product including packaging, place refers to distribution and where the product will be available while promotion is the element concerned with marketing communications. For a company to excel, its promotional effort must be in coordination with the marketing. Therefore the advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations must all convey the same message. As a child I was very fond of the movie E.T and the movie went on to become a super hit with audiences all over the world. Kraft foods utilized this opportunity to plan a three-sixty degree approach to marketing its products, teaming up with ET. E.T was featured on all Kraft Foods products across eight product categories, there were E.T related in package premiums in all Kraft foods, sweepstakes were conducted with prizes which included trips to Universal Studios, providing point of purchase stand alone displays to be used by retailers and developing of E.T related television advertisements linking E.T, the sweepstakes and Kraft Foods. Needless to say Kraft Foods became a favourite with E.T lovers all over the world. IMC however requires an understanding of the target audience, the use of a mix of promotional tools, coordination of all promotional tools and a carefully timed continuous flow of information. Companies which do not follow the IMC properly often end up confusing the consumer no end and this results in confused positioning of the brand. An example is of Burger King which insisted on using different taglines all the times which confused the consumer no end, thereby the fast-food joint had no clear positioning and gave no reason to the consumer to eat there. (Michael, Bruce and William, 28) Communications are concerned with products and brands. There is a significant difference between the two. In ancient times branding was known to be the act of burning a mark on the flesh of your sheep to claim ownership. A brand is a set of attributes both tangible and intangible that distinguish one product from another and create a distinct identity for a product. This is how people perceive the same milk with a different name, differently. Volvo and BMW are both essentially cars which have the same function. However to the consumer they are distinguished entities; while BMW is the drive machine, Volvo stands for safety and reliability. Also significant are the values and personality associated with a brand. Coca-Cola has values such as fun, music and friendship associated with it. While Marlboro is known to have a rugged, tough and masculine personality. Brand persona and values are developed keeping in mind the target market and type of brand. It is often built through consistent communications. Successful brands are those which are able to provide a compelling reason to their potential consumers to buy the brand and are able to distinguish themselves from others. Other than that they must continually innovate and provide consistent quality and service. Brands are important because they induce consumer loyalty and allow manufacturers to charge premium prices. Brands are sometimes extended to enhance brand equity and increase sales. The costs of introducing a brand extension is much lower than that of launching an entirely new brand. These extensions can be of many forms. There are line extensions such as Lux jojoba and Lux oil of cade. Brands can also be extended such that a new product category is created. An example is of Caterpillar shoes. Corporate branding has been a successful strategy for many brands. An example is of Nokia phones. Some companies prefer to launch entirely new brands as part of the multi branding strategy. An example is of Procter n Gamble which has around four shampoos with different positioning and target markets. A brand extension is also dual branding; which includes ingredient branding; Fanta Strawberry, co-branding; Citibank Visa Cars and endorsement; Nestle Kit Kat. This is the reason why the value of a brand extends way beyond its tangible assets. The remaining value is due to the brand's equity which for some brands like Coca-Cola is huge. Consumer Behaviour All consumers are different. The premise of consumer behaviour is to identify a pattern of behaviour and to try and understand the psyche of consumers who all think differently, act differently and perceive differently. We are concerned about consumer behaviour because without understanding our consumer we will not be able to tailor our marketing efforts to influence the consumer. In the ongoing process of consumption two or more organizations interact to give or receive something or value. As a marketer one should be concerned about three aspects of consumer behaviour. These include; pre-purchase behaviour, purchase behavior and preferences as well as post-purchase behaviour. (Patrick, Maggie, Pelsmacker and Joeri, 22) Consumers perform different roles and must be targeted in their individual capacities. They can act as influencers; those who influence what is to be bough at home, this could be anyone from husbands to kids at home. Secondly they can act as user i.e those for whom the product is intended and as purchaser; i.e those who actually buy the product. Other than that there are also gatekeepers who control the flow of information coming into the household. Consumer behaviour is important because it allows you to understand who your consumers are and what they need. Only then are you better able to satisfy your consumers. On basis of consumer data and analysis market segmentation can be done. This is the process of divining your market into subsets of consumers with common needs and wants and selecting a particular segment to target. (Leslie and Leon, 50) Segmentation can be done on the basis of various variables. These include geographic segmentation based on location, demographic segmentation based on demographic characteristics such as age, sex, marital status, income and occupation. Demographic segmentation helps locate a market. Psychological, psychographic, sociocultural, use related, usage related and benefit segmentation is also done to better divide consumers into distinct classes and groups. Segmentation however, is only valid when the segment is large enough to be profitable, its consumers can be reached through various marketing communications and the needs of the consumer within a segment are the same. Consumers behave differently in different situations. Many models have been designed to understand the ways in which a consumer reacts to the different messages communicated to him/her by the marketers. Consumer behaviour therefore is most important for the marketer because it is according to the likings and the disliking of the consumer the goods and services are designed. Consumers usually follow a generic model for decision making. Need for recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decisions and post purchase behaviour. Your need for a new car will lead to your search for new cars according to your need. You will then evaluate the alternatives that are based maybe on your purchasing power or your liking for the brand. After taking the decision, post purchase events such as frequents car breakdowns may influence you to purchase a reliable yet expensive car next time. Various factors influence the way in which the generic model works. These forces are broadly bifurcated into internal and external forces. Internal influences on consumer behavior encompass their personalities, lifestyles and motivations. As individuals, each consumer reacts in a different way. 'Optimizers' are consumers who will keep shopping and searching for products or services until they find the best price for the particular item. 'Satisfiers' are those who will find a product which is 'good enough'. Life values are believed to provide the desired motivation for buying. Consumer lifestyle can be termed as the way in which consumers use the products and services in a certain area to achieve their life values. Lifestyle therefore can be termed as a useful market segmentation tool. External forces are broadly categorized as group influences such as culture, reference groups and family: and environmental influences such as situations, time, locations etc. Consumers belonging to different cultures, different family backgrounds will react according to their fundamental cultural and family ethics. Culture describes the way a group of people have in common. It is therefore required to understand the prevailing culture in a society before devising a promotional strategy. Environmental factors are equally important. Everyday situations cause an interaction between various factors which end up influencing our behavior. You might not be as sensitive to price for an orange juice if you are making a quick stop at a store at night, as you might be when you are shopping for your groceries on a weekend. Studying consumer behaviour helps firms and organizations to understand the psychology of their target market; their psychology of thinking, planning, reasoning, their cognitive limitations and how these factors are influenced by the environmental and group factors. By understanding these factors, the marketer can effectively reach the customer by maneuvering their marketing strategies accordingly. For example, by realizing the fact that a variety of messages are floating in the environment to grasp our potential customers' attention, it is important to repeat advertisements as much as possible. We understand the individuality of customers; a customer will sometimes be persuaded by logical arguments, but sometimes emotional and symbolic appeals might work more efficiently. The basic applications of consumer behaviour are in the formulation of marketing strategies, public policy and social marketing. Development of a sound public policy is very important from a strategic point of you as it can make or break the goodwill of a company. For example, when the use of Accutance, a miracle acne drug introduced in the 1980's, during pregnancy resulted in severe birth defects, the FDA took a step of requiring the pictures of deformed babies on the medicine containers. Social marketing involves the communication of a certain idea across an audience rather then selling something. Finally, studying consumer behaviour will make us better decisions as consumers as well. Lastly, it's important that companies place consumers first and engage in ethical means to earn money. A company must act in a socially responsible and fulfill its duty to all its stakeholders. Earlier, there were no protection for consumers but now they are being offered protection through various laws and regulations which protect their interests. Works Cited 1. Etzel, Michael, Bruce.J. Walker and William J. Stanton. Marketing. Elm Street Publishing. 2. Evans, Martin, Luiz Moutinho, and Fred Van Raaj. Applied Consumer Behaviour. 1996. 3. Pelsmacker, Patrick , Maggie Geuens and Joeri Van Den Bergh. Marketing Communications a European Perspective. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall. 2004 4. Schiffman, Leon and Leslie Lazar Kanuk. Consumer Behaviour. Prentice Hall. 2004 5. Solomon, Michael, Gary Bamossy , Soren Askegaard, Margaret K. Hogg (Author) . Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall; 2006 6. Solomen, Michael. Consumer Behaviour. 7th. 2007 Read More