MODULE 1 UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Consumer behaviour can be defined as "The behavior that consumers display in searching

for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs" (Leon G. Schiffman and Leslie Lazar Kanuk, "Consumer Behaviour" 2007) Consumer behaviour focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money,effort) on consumption related items. That includes what they buy, why they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use it, how they evaluate it after the purchase, the impact of such evaluations on future purchases and how they dispose of it. So in Consumer Behaviour we not only learn what is the behaviour of the consumer when he buys it but also before the consumption, during the consumption and after the consumption. Nature and chaeracterstics of indian consumer India has the youngest population profile among the numerically significant countries there are a lot of young people, in different income segments and locations, who are influencing their parents' spending, or spending their own money. On the other hand, many farmers have unquestionably grown beyond rural in the broadly understood sense. Are we even comprehending, let alone capitalising, on the power of the consumer of tomorrow as well as some consumers of today, who remain an after-thought for many marketers? The Indian consumption patterns are slowly converging with the impact of globalisation. The Indian consumer is now spending more on consumer durables, apparel, entertainment, vacations and lifestyle and other related activities. Entertainment, clothing and restaurant dining are categories that have been witnessing a maximum rise in consumer spending since 2002. The rate of growth of spending on discretionary items (unlike basic necessities like food) has been growing at an average of 9 per cent per year over the past five years. A nation of savers, India, has now altered into a nation of spenders. Difference between customers and consumers Every customer is a consumer but not every consumer a customer. Customer is one who

is brand loyal, who has made a custom to purchase a particular company's product/services. thus customer is a sub set of consumer. One that consumes, especially one that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing. A consumer is an end user. A customer: One that buys goods or services. A customer can in turn resell to a consumer Why We Study CB? Diverse Reasons As Consumers As Marketers & future Marketers As Students of Human Behavior Marketing Concept is based on the premise that a marketer should make what it can sell, instead of trying to sell what it has made mplementing the Marketing Concept Consumer Research Segmentation Targeting Positioning Nature and characteristics of Indian consumer The Indian consumption patterns are slowly converging with global norms. The Indian consumer is now spending more on consumer durables, apparel, entertainment, vacations and lifestyle related activities. Entertainment, clothing and restaurant dining are categories that have been witnessing a maximum rise in consumer spending since 2002. The rate of growth of spending on discretionary items (unlike basic necessities like food) has been growing at an average of 9 per cent per year over the past five years. A nation of savers, India, has now altered into a nation of spenders.

Consumer reseatrch process 1)requirement will be convertwed into a specfic question in order to collect the necessary data needed to solve it. 2)setting up hypothesis which forms the research hypothesis. 3)collect secondary data 4)analysing secondary data information. 5) take a decision related to the primary research method to bne adopted. UNIT 2 : INDIVIDUAL DETERMENENT OF CB CONSUMER MOTIVATION AND PERCEPTION. MOTIVATION:is the driving force within individuals that impels them to action refers to the processes that lead people to behave as they do (occurs when a need is aroused that the consume wishes to satisfy) refers to an activated state within a person that leads to goal-oriented behavior; consists of drives, urges, wishes, or desires that initiate the sequence of events leading to a behavior what gets you going...and what keeps you going OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you should be able to: Describe the nature of motives and their role in influencing consumer behaviour State the basic categories of motives Motivation theories Nature of consumer involvement and its market implications Theory of Motivation There are numerous theories of motivation, and many of them offer useful insights for the marketing manager. This section describes Maslows motive hierarchy approach to understanding consumer motivation. Abraham Maslow organized five major types of human needs into a hierarchy. The need hierarchy illustrates maslows conception of people satisfying their needs in a specified order, from bottom to top. The need, in ascending order are; physiological needs (Food, Water, Sex and Shelter), Safety needs (Protection against threat and deprivation), Belongingness needs (Friendship, Affection, Affiliation and Love), Esteem needs (Independence, Achievement, recognition, Self respect, Accomplishment and Freedom), Self-Actualization (Realizing ones full potential or Self Fulfillment).

Maslows hierarchy of needs approach is based on four premises All human acquire a similar set of motives through genetic endowment and social interaction. Some motive are more basic or critical than others The more basic motives must be satisfied to a minimum level before other motives are activated As the basic motive become satisfied, more advanced motives come into play. Marketing Strategy and Maslows Motive Hierarchy i. PHYSIOLOGICAL: Food, water, sleeps, and, to an extent, sex, are physiological motives. Product Health foods, medicines, sports drinks, low-cholesterol foods, and exercise equipment. ii. SAFETY: Seeking physical safety and security, stability, familiar surroundings, and so forth are manifestations of safety needs. Product: Smoke detectors, preventive medicines, insurance, retirement investments, seat belts, burglar alarms, and sunscreen. iii. BELONGINGNESS: Belongingness motives are reflected in a desire for love, friendship, affiliation, and group acceptance. Products: Personal grooming, foods, entertainment, clothing, and many others. iv. ESTEEM: Desires for, superiority, self-respect, and prestige are examples of esteem needs. The needs relate to the individuals feelings of usefulness and accomplishment. Products Clothing, furniture, liquors, hobbies, stores, and cars amongst others. v. SELF-ACTUALIZATION: This involves the desire for self- fulfillment, to become all that one is capable of becoming. products: Education, hobbies, sports, some vacations, museums. HOW TO MEASURE MOTIVATION: We all know in the meantime that motivation is the most important success factor. This is underlined by the formula of Mullins which show the connection between Motivation and Performance:performance = Ability x Motivation. Out of the importance of motivation, the question comes up how we can measure motivation.I think we cant measure in the way physicians are doing. But in an organization we see clear signs for demotivation: Increased sick leave High increasing turnover Negative development seen in an Employee satisfaction survey

This indirect, but still measurable signs of demotivation. Without recognizing this demotivation level will increase continuously. Therefore managers should start to find out objective reasons for this demotivation. To support that investigations there are some different theories which can be used and which look to the different drivers of motivation: Drivers of Motivation As described by Mullins (1993) we know three drivers for motivation: Needs Values Goals 1. Analysis of Needs Based on Maslows hierarchy of needs we have to find out the motivation level. If people are working in a very low level, they are influenced mainly by existential fear due to the fact their salary is too low to cover their living costs. Therefore they need to earn additional payment through either overtime and/or bonus agreements. In such a case managers often oversee that bonus payments are no motivator, in contrary demotivation will be driven trough existential fear. Conclusion: A high level according to Maslows hierarchy of needs is a basis for any action in connection with motivation 2. Analysis of Values Investigating motivation in terms of Value can be done trough two different theories. In the Equity Theory Model (J.S. Adams) a person evaluates his/her own efforts and outcome vs. the effort and outcome of others and In the Expectancy Theory Model (Vroom Victor) a person evaluates his/her outcomes against his/her own effort. 2.1Analysis using Equity Theory The Equity Theory Model can be applied to compare two organizations, companies, business units, etc. which are doing similar activities.

An example for an inequity between two sales organizations with the following subjective outcome: With more effort they receive less money With more daily work they achieve less revenue With better PI`s (Performance Indicators) they get less bonus payment In such an investigation demotivation could be in both organizations because their impression is only subjective. Conclusion: Managers please dont oversee that competing within a company is not always a motivation factor. Bad managed competing groups could be demotivated both! 2.2 Analysis using Expectancy Theory Expectancy Theory can be applied wherever people exercise effort and expect a reward for it. It focuses on 1. the link between effort & performance (expectancy) 2. the link between performance & outcome (instrumentality) and 3. the value that the outcome has for the person (valence). In personal discussions managers have to find out the main mistakes in all three areas: Mistakes in the area of Expectancy: The amount of energy/effort that can be expended could be limited. Employee could spend a lot of energy/effort for a tasks that do not lead to increased performance in terms of revenue, service level and cost management. Mistakes in the area of Instrumentality: instrumentality could be very low because the revenue targets that are linked to bonus are set so high that they are almost unachievable Mistakes in the area of Valence: Valence could be low because the only offered outcome is the bonus-money. As the basic salary is low the bonus, even if it is won can only cover needs that are very low on Maslows pyramid.

Conclusion: Managers should try to ensure that efforts of the people should lead direct to highest outcome. Try to understand the valence of a certain outcome. Sometimes promotion or recognition has more value for the employees than bonus payment. 3. Analyses of Goals Very often wrong Goal setting, in most cases in connection with PRP is the reason for demotivation. Therefore I try to question the goal setting itself using the Goal Setting Theory Figure 4 (Mullins, 1993) but also performance related payment (PRP) per se. 3.1 Goal setting theory Goal Setting Theory analysing a typical sales organization Goal setting theory mentions three ways of motivation through goal setting: Setting challenging, but realistic goals: Setting clearly understood goals: Supply complete, timely and accurate feedback: 3.2Performance Related Payment (PRP) In connection with PRP (performance related payment) you find the idea to use this system as a: Steering instrument Motivation factor Control instrument As published by Kohn, 1993 and very clear formulated from Reinhard K. Sprenger[1] in Mythos Motivation, 1993 we see that PRP is not a motivator, especially in our case where the variable income is seen as a part of necessary income (Maslow Theory pyramid of needs) Rewards are a covert form of punishment Rewards disrupt teamwork (because PRP is necessary for their family, they make everything to achieve at least a small variable income) PRP discourages risk taking

To further underline the meaningless of PRP, Jeffrey Pfeffer [2] published The Six Dangerous Myths about compensation. In point 5 and 6 he states: People want to have fun. Companies that ignore this fact pay the price in a lack of loyalty and commitment Individual incentive pay undermines performance of both the individual and the organization Conclusion: Managers dont hesitate to involve your employees in goal setting. Dont overestimate bonus systems. As motivation is essential for achieving high performance in all areas, e.g. sales, service, etc. above mentioned theories should support managers to analyse their organization and to take the right decisions.

Needs are the essence of the marketing concept. Marketers do not create needs but can make consumers aware of needs. Goals. The sought-after results of motivated behavior Generic goals are general categories of goals that consumers see as a way to fulfill their needs Product-specific goals are specifically branded products or services that consumers select as their goals Typers of needs Innate Needs Physiological (or biogenic) needs That are considered primary needs or motives. Acquired Needs Learned in response to our culture or environment. Are generally psychological and considered secondary needs

UNIT 3 : CONSUMER PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDE: OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you should be able to: Describe meaning and theories of personality and their potential for understanding consumers. State how consumer personality are measured Describe the nature of self concept and brand personality What Is Personality? The (enduring) inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how a person responds to his/her environment Inner characteristics: specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors, mannerisms that distinguish one individual from other individuals Likely to influence product choices, response to marketers promotional efforts, and when/where/how they consume particular products/services A persons unique psychological makeup and how it consistently influences the way a person responds to his/her environment The Nature of Personality Personality reflects individual differences No 2 individuals are exactly alike; many individuals may be similar in a single personality characteristic but not in others of human motivation Enables marketers to categorize customers into different groups on the basis of one or several traits Personality is consistent and enduring Essential to explain/predict consumer behavior Trait theory in terms of personality Marketers cannot change consumers personalities to conform to their products but can attempt to appeal to the relevant traits (those influencing consumer responses) inherent Freudian Theory in their target market/consumers Consumption behavior varies due to personality was built on the premise that psychological, socio-cultural, environmental, unconscious needs or drives, especially sexual situational factors [Personality is only 1 of a and other biological drives, are at the heart of combination of factors that influence behavior]

Theories of Personality Freudian theory Unconscious needs or drives are at the heart of human motivation Neo-Freudian personality theory Social relationships are fundamental to the formation and development of personality Trait theory in terms of personality Quantitative approach to personality as a set of psychological traits nNeo Freudian Theory in their target market/consumers Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theory of personality was built on the premise that unconscious needs or drives, especially sexual and other biological drives, are at the heart of human motivation and personality Human personality results from a dynamic struggle between inner physiological drives (e.g.hunger, sex, aggression) and social pressures to follow laws, rules and moral codes. Id Warehouse of primitive or instinctual needs for which individual seeks immediate satisfaction Entirely oriented toward immediate gratification The party animal of the mind Operates according to the pleasure principle SuperegoIndividuals internal expression of societys moral and ethical codes of conduct Counterweight of the idThe persons conscience EgoIndividuals conscious control that balances the demands of the id and superego System that mediates between the id and the superego Referee in the fight between temptation and virtue Balances opposing forces according to the reality principle Freudian Theory and Consumer Behavior Consumer researchers using Freuds personality theory see consumer purchases and/or consumption situations as a reflection and extension of the consumers own personality A person channels his/her unacceptable desire into acceptable outlets by using products that signify these underlying desires. This is the connection between symbolism and motivaton: The product stands for or represents a consumers true goal. By acquiring the product, the person is able to vicariously experience the forbidden fruit. Neo-Freudian Personality Theory We seek goals to overcome feelings of inferiority We continually attempt to establish relationships with others to reduce tensions Karen Horney was interested in child-parent relationships and desires to conquer feelings of anxiety. Proposed three personality groups Compliant move toward others, they desire to be loved, wanted, and appreciated Aggressive move against others, competes with

thers Detached move away from others, desires independence, self-sufficiency, andF reedom from obligations Trait Theory Personality theory with a focus on psychological characteristics Primarily a quantitative/empirical approach with the use of personality tests Trait - any distinguishing, relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from another Personality is linked to how consumers make their choices or to consumption of a broad product category - not a specific brand

Personality Measurement It should be clear from the above discussion that personality is not a concept that has a single characteristic. Instead, it is multidimensional in nature, with many interacting elements. Therefore, rather than focusing solely on only one aspect of the complex whole, methods designed to assess the aggregate personality have to account in some way for this variety. Four general approaches to measurement that have had popularity and can accommodate the multidimensional nature of personality are rating methods, situational tests, projective techniques, and inventory schemes. Rating Methods: Typically, the rating method involves one or more evaluators assessing predetermined personality characteristics of a subject on a number of standardized rating scales. In some cases, the basis of the evaluation is a somewhat informal interview with the subject. In other cases, observation of the subjects behavior is used in place of an interview. This observation may be accomplished in a setting designed for the purpose, or it may take place in a portion of the subjects everyday environment such as a home or shopping setting. Of course, the type of scale employed for evaluation, the personality characteristics chosen for study, and the skills of evaluators can all have an influence on final results. Situational Tests: With this technique, a situation is devised that closely resembles a typical real-life situation. Usually, several people are allowed to interact with each other in a group setting. A topic or scenario is provided to them as a focus of discussion, and the behaviors of the subjects are observed and measured. This may take the form of

tabulating the frequency of occurrence for specific activities (such as aggression, submissiveness) or rating the intensity of certain behaviors on standard scales. A special form of situation technique is the stress test which places an individual in a pressure-type situation; his methods of acting in the situation are assessed to reveal aspect of his personality. Projective Techniques: The objective behind development of most projective methods is to uncover the basic organization of an individuals personality, as well as his underlying conflict and motives. Typically, the individual is presented with an ambiguous individual image and is asked to explain it or relate any meaning it has to him. The assumption is that because the stimulus itself is ambiguous. The individual is actually projecting his own interpretations onto it, and in the process he reveals aspect of his own personality. Inventory Schemes: A potential limitation of rating methods, situational tests and projective techniques is subjective scoring. That is, the measurement of an individuals personality is largely dependent upon the evaluators subjective interpretation of the information obtained. In addition, these methods require a considerable amount of time and effort to set up, administer, and evaluate. The personality inventory is designed to minimize these potential problems by exposing subjects to a large number of standardized questions with pre-specified answers options from which they can select. Usually, the inventory is in written form, and a subject responds to the instrument much in the same way as he would to an objective test. Strategies for Changing Attitudes and Intentions Some strategies for influencing changes in consumers attitudes toward certain behaviors have already been identified. Various change strategies are discussed collectively below. Although many factors can influence the consumers choice among these alternatives, one fundamental consideration should be the degree of involvement that consumers are experiencing with the product. Low-Involvement Strategies: Under low-involvement conditions consumers are not likely to make brand choices on the basis of attitudes established through developing clearly formulated beliefs about the product or service. In essence, their interest is to low to spend time thinking about products and evaluating them in a rational and deliberative fashion. Consequently, on potential low-involvement strategy may be to change consumers attitudes by using peripheral cues to encourage favorable reactions toward advertisements used to promote the brands. Such cues might involve use of pictures, color, attractive spokespeople or characters, creative placement of advertisement components, and music in broadcast advertisements. Some of the low involvement strategies include to: Link the

product or service to an involving issue; Link the product to a presently involving personal situation; Develop high- involvement advertisements; Change the importance of product benefits; and Reveal or introduce important product characteristics. High-Involvement Strategies: Potentially, a variety of strategies are available for changing consumer attitudes under high-involvement conditions. Before implementing such strategies, however, the marketer must be clear on whether the attempt is to change consumer attitudes about the brand, or whether it is to change attitudes about behaving toward the brand. As consumer attitudes about behaving toward brand are more closely related to their intensions to purchase. Changes in behavioral intentions are related to changes in attitudes toward the behavior and changes in subjective norms about the behavior. All of these, in turn, are functions of their components. These relationships suggest the following potential strategies; Change existing beliefs about the consequences of behavior; Change consumers evaluation of the consequences of particular action.; Introduce new belief/evaluation combinations; Change existing normative; Change motivations to comply with subjective norms; and Introduce new normative components. 1.0 INTRODUCTION This unit explains two of the fundamental methods by which consumers are able to adapt to their environment, which is learning and memory. Consumers experience everyday life, and most try to learn from these experiences. Often, knowledge is one outcome of that learning, and this knowledge in turn influences memory and future perception, and experiences. OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you should be able to: Define learning and memory Describe method of learning and its implication in understanding consumer behaviour. State basic features and theories of learning. 3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 Learning Defined Learning can be viewed as a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience. Because not all learning theorists agree on how learning takes place, it is difficult to come up with a generally accepted definition of learning. From a marketing perspective, however, consumer learning can be thought of as the process by which

individuals acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experience that they apply to future related behavior. Several points in this definition are worth noting. Consumer learning is a process; that is, it continually evolves and changes as a result of newly acquired knowledge (which may be gained from reading, from discussions, from observation, from thinking) or from actual experience. Both newly acquired knowledge and personal experience serve as feedback to the individual and provide the basis for future behavior in similar situations. 3.2 Elements of Learning Despite their different viewpoints, learning theorists in general agree that in order for learning to occur, certain basic elements must be present. The elements included in most learning theories are motivation, cues, response, and reinforcement. Motivation: The concept of motivation is important to learning theory. Remember, motivation is based on needs and goals. Motivation acts as a spur to learning. The degree of relevance, or involvement, determines the consumers level of motivation to search for knowledge or information about a product or service. Uncovering consumer motives is one of the prime tasks of marketers, who then try to teach motivated consumer segments why and how their products will fulfill the consumers needs. Cues: If motives serve to stimulate learning, cues are the stimuli that direct these motives. In the marketplace, price, styling, packaging, advertising, and store displays all serve as cues to help consumers fulfill their needs in product-specific ways. Cues serve to direct consumer drives when they are consistent with consumer expectations. Marketers must be careful to provide cues that do not upset those expectations. Response: How individuals react to a drive or cue-how they behave- constitutes their response. Learning can occur even when responses are not overt. Reinforcement: Reinforcement increases the likelihood that a specific response will occur in the future as the result of particular cues or stimuli. Theory of Leaning Two behavioral learning theories, briefly discussed here, are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Both take a behaviorist approach to learning. They treat human memory processes as a black box-process that is not really necessary to understand. Under the behaviorist approach, consumers operate on the environment (e.g. people do

things). In turn, consumers experience consequences from the environment (e.g. rewards, punishments, and pairings of stimuli). These consequences determine the probabilities of future behavioral responses. Classical Conditioning Theory Classical conditioning is a specific procedure that creates a learning environment, but other learning processes may operate simultaneously with this procedure. Classical conditioning became well known from the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov is most famous for his experiments with dogs. When he administered meat powder to dogs, they would naturally salivate. Every time that he administered the powder, he would sound a bell. Through repetition, the dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell with the coming of food. Eventually, the dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell, even when the meat powder was not present. The temporal contiguity principle states that stronger associations are learned when events occur close together in time as apposed to far apart in time.Classical learning research helped generate early understanding of stimulus generalization. Stimulus generalization refers to the tendency of stimuli that are similar to evoke similar responses. That is, consumers make a leap of sorts. They make a judgment that one stimulus is similar enough to another that it warrant a similar response. Marketers use stimulus generalization to devise branding and product strategies. These strategies include family branding, band extensions, licensing, and look-alike packaging. Operant Conditioning Theory Operant condition, also called instrumental conditioning, occurs as consumers shape their behaviors to respond to rewards and punishments in the marketplace. Under operant conditioning, the frequency of occurrence of a behavior is modified by the consequences of the behavior. That is, the frequency of behavior is conditioned by the extent of reinforcement associated with that behavior. Responses are made deliberately, as opposed to the involuntary responses illustrated by classical conditioning. Under operant conditioning, consumers satisfaction with purchases serves to reinforce future behavioral responses, specifically, repeat purchases. The stream of associations that occur during consumption (e.g. imagery, daydreams, and emotions) may also serve as important reward mechanisms. Operant conditioning involves several importances for understanding of consumer behavior, including shaping, reinforcement, and punishment schedules.

Memory Defined Memory is the total accumulation of prior learning experiences. It consist of two interrelated components; Short-term and long-term memory. These are not distinct physiological entities. Instead, short- term memory is that portion of total memory that is currently activated or in use. In fact, it often referred to as working memory. Short-term Memory: Short-term memory has a limited capacity to store information and sensations. In fact, it is not used for storage in the usual sense of that term. Individuals use short-term memory to hold information while they analyze and interpret it. They may then transfer it to another system (write or type it), place it in long-term memory or both. Thus, short-term memory is closely analogous to what we normally call thinking. It is an active, dynamic process, not a static structure. Two basic types of information processing activities occur in short-term memory elaborative activities and maintenance rehearsal. Long-Term Memory: Long-term memory is viewed as an unlimited storage. It can store numerous types of information such as concepts, decision rules, processes, affective (emotional) states, and so forth. Marketers are particularly interested in semantic memory, which is the basic knowledge and feelings we have about a concept. It represents our understanding of an object or event at its simplest level. Repetition: Repetition increases the strength and speed of learning. The given. memory process effects of

repetition are directly related to the importance of the information and the reinforcement

Communication The link between the individual and society The tool that marketers use to persuade consumers to act in a desired way Today, the media and communication models that have been used for decades are undergoing fundamental changes The transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver (or channel) of transmission Components of Communication The transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver (or channel) of transmission An essential component is feedback, which alerts the

sender as to whether the intended message was, in fact, received The Sender The initiator of the communication... ... and can be a: Formal source: might be the organization communicating the message informal source: might be a parent or friend who gives product information or advice Informal word-ofmouth communication tends to be highly persuasive The Receiver The targeted prospect or a customer There are also intermediary audiences for a message such as: Wholesalers, distributors, and retailers who receive trade There are also unintended audiences which include everyone who is exposed to the message, whether or not they are specifically targeted by the source The Medium The channel/way the message is communicated The Medium The channel/way the message is communicated Can be an impersonal communications channel e.g. a mass medium like a newspaper of TV program an interpersonal communications channel an informal conversation between two friends a formal conversation between a salesperson & a customer Mass media are generally classified as: Print (newspapers, magazines, billboards) Broadcast (radio, television) Electronic (Internet) The Medium New modes of interactive communication that permit the audiences of mass media to provide direct feedback are beginning to blur the distinction between interpersonal & impersonal communication Direct marketers (often called database marketers) also seek individual responses from ads they have placed in all the mass media

Broadcast, print, online as well as from direct mail The Message Can be a verbal message, spoken or written, and usually can contain more specific product information than a nonverbal message Can be a non-verbal message in the form of symbolic communication Non-verbal communication takes place in interpersonal channels as well as in impersonal channels Feedback An essential component of both interpersonal and impersonal communications Prompt feedback permits the sender to: reinforce change modify the message to ensure that it is understood in the intended way Generally, it is easier to obtain feedback (both verbal and non-verbal) from interpersonal communications than impersonal communications The Communications Process The Message Initiator (the Source) The Sender The Receiver The Medium The Message The Target Audience (the Receivers) Feedback - the Receivers Response In general, a companys marketing communications are designed to make the consumer: aware of the product give the product a symbolic meaning show how it can solve the consumers problem better than a competitive product/service The Message Initiator (Source) The sponsor (initiator) must encode the message in such a way that its meaning is interpreted by the target audience in precisely the intended way Encoding can be done through words, pictures, symbols, spokespersons, and special channels

Publicity is usually the result of public relations efforts and tends to be more believable because its commercial origins and intent are not readily apparent The credibility of the source affects the decoding of the message The perceived honesty and objectivity of the source contributes to his/her credibility If the source is well-respected and highly thought of by the intended audience, the message is much more likely to be believed, and vice versa Credibility is build on several factors, foremost of which are the intentions of the source If the receiver perceives any type of personal gain for the message sponsor as a result of the proposed action or advice, the message itself becomes suspect