The Communication Process: Phd.C. Bahman Huseynli
The Communication Process: Phd.C. Bahman Huseynli
The Communication Process: Phd.C. Bahman Huseynli
THE COMMUNICATION
4 PROCESS
Communication has been variously defined as the passing of information, the exchange of ideas, or the process
of establishing a commonness or oneness of thought between a sender and a receiver. These definitions
suggest that for communication to occur, there must be some common thinking between two parties and
information must be passed from one person to another (or from one group to another). The communication
process is often very complex. Success depends on such factors as the nature of the message, the audience’s
interpretation of it, and the environment in which it is received. The receiver’s perception of the source and
the medium used to transmit the message may also affect the ability to communicate, as do many other
factors. Words, pictures, sounds, and colors may have different meanings to different audiences, and people’s
perceptions and interpretations of them vary.
Marketers must understand the meanings that words and symbols take on and how they influence consumers’
interpretation of products and messages.
Language is one of the major barriers to effective communication; there are different languages in different
countries, different languages or dialects within a single country, and subtler problems of linguistic nuance and
vernacular.
BASIC MODEL OF COMMUNICATION
Over the years, a basic model of the various elements of the communication process has evolved.
Two elements represent the major participants in the communication process, the sender and the
receiver. Another two are the major communication tools, message and channel. Four others are
the major communication functions and processes: encoding, decoding, response, and feedback.
The last element, noise, refers to any extraneous factors in the system that can interfere with the
process and work against effective communication.
A Model of the Communication Process
Source Encoding
The sender, or source, of a communication is the
person or organization that has information to
share with another person or group of people.
The source may be an individual (say, a
salesperson or hired spokesperson, such as a
celebrity, who appears in a company’s
advertisements) or a nonpersonal entity (such as
the corporation or organization itself). For
example, the source of many ads is the company,
since no specific spokesperson or source is
shown. However, many companies use a
spokesperson to appear in their ads and to
deliver their advertising messages. In some
cases, a popular spokesperson can play a very
important role in attracting attention to a
company’s advertising and delivering the
message, as well as influencing how well it is
received by the target audience.
Source Encoding
The communication process begins when the source
selects words, symbols, pictures, and the like to
represent the message that will be delivered to the
receiver(s). This process, known as encoding, involves
putting thoughts, ideas, or information into a symbolic
form. The sender’s goal is to encode the message in such
a way that it will be understood by the receiver. This
means using words, signs, or symbols that are familiar to
the target audience. Many symbols have universal
meaning, such as the familiar circle with a line through it
to denote no parking, no smoking, and so forth. Many
companies also have highly recognizable symbols—such
as McDonald’s golden arches, Nike’s swoosh, or the Coca-
Cola trademark—that are known to consumers around
the world. Marketers must pay very close attention to
the symbols associated with their company or brand such
as logos as they often become a shorthand way for
consumers to identify them.
Message
The encoding process leads to development of a
message that contains the information or meaning the
source hopes to convey. The message may be verbal or
nonverbal, oral or written, or symbolic. Messages must
be put into a transmittable form that is appropriate for
the channel of communication being used. In
advertising, this may range from simply writing some
words or copy that will be read as a radio message to
producing an expensive television commercial. For
many products, it is not the actual words of the
message that determine its communication
effectiveness but rather the impression or image the ad
creates.
Marketers must make decisions regarding the content
of the messages they send to consumers as well as the
structure and design of these messages. Content refers
to the information and/or meaning contained in the
message while structure and design refer to the way the
message is put together in order to deliver the
information or intended meaning.
Channel
The channel is the method by which the communication travels from the source or sender to the receiver. At the
broadest level, channels of communication are of two types, nonpersonal and personal. Nonpersonal channels
of communication are those that carry a message without direct, interpersonal contact between the sender and
receiver. Nonpersonal channels are generally referred to as the mass media or mass communications, since the
message they contain is directed to more than one person and is often sent to many individuals at one time. For
example, a TV commercial broadcast on a prime-time show may be seen by 10 million people in a given evening
while a print ad appearing in a popular magazine may be seen by millions of readers over the course of a week
or month.
Many companies work hard to generate positive word-of-mouth discussion for their companies or brands using
various buzz marketing techniques.
Channel
Nonpersonal channels of communication consist of two
major types, print and broadcast. Print media include
newspapers, magazines, direct mail, and billboards;
broadcast media include radio and television. The Internet
has characteristics of both nonpersonal as well as personal
forms of communication. Personal channels involve direct
communication between two or more persons and can
occur through interpersonal contact (face-to-face) or via
other methods such as e-mail or through social media.
Salespeople serve as personal channels of communication
when they deliver a selling message or presentation to a
buyer or potential customer. A major advantage of personal
channels of communication is that the message or
presentation can be tailored to the individual or audience
and the sender receives direct feedback from them.
Members of one’s social networks such as friends,
neighbors, associates, co-workers, or family members are
also personal channels of communication. They often
represent word-of-mouth (WOM) influence that involves
informal communication among consumers about products
and services and is a very powerful source of information.
Viral Marketing
The “Crash the Super Bowl” contest as well as the “Like a Girl”
campaign discussed at the beginning of the chapter are
excellent examples of the use of viral marketing, which refers
to the act of propagating marketing-relevant messages through
the help and cooperation of individual consumers. Many
marketers along with their advertising and/or digital agencies
now use a variety of tools and techniques to generate viral
buzz about their brands, many of which take advantage of the
emergence and growth of online communities and social
media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram,
Snapchat, and YouTube. However, successful viral marketing
can be very difficult to achieve as the outcomes are affected by
many factors that are often beyond a marketer’s control
Researchers have identified three major factors that affect the
success of a viral marketing program, including message
characteristics, individual sender or receiver characteristics,
and social network characteristics. Message characteristics
relate to the content and creative design of a viral message
and include factors such as whether the information is
entertaining, engaging, novel, humorous, and/or informative.
Integrating Word of Mouth with IMC
While viral techniques have become a popular
way to generate buzz about a brand, research
conducded by the Keller Fay Group—a market
research company that focuses on word-of-
mouth marketing—has shown that some 90
percent of conversations about products,
services, and brands take place offline. Face-to-
face interaction accounts for the vast majority
of word of-mouth communications (75 percent)
about a brand while phone conversations rank
second (15 percent). Only 10 percent of word of
mouth takes place through online channels such
as e-mail/instant messages, blogs, and chat
rooms. Their research also shows that nearly
half the word-of-mouth conversations included
references to the various IMC tools used for a
brand, including print and television ads,
websites, and other marketing tools such as
point-of-sale displays and promotions.
Receiver/Decoding
The receiver is the person(s) with whom the
sender shares thoughts or information.
Generally, receivers are the consumers in the
target market or audience who read, hear,
and/or see the marketer’s message and decode
it. Decoding is the process of transforming the
sender’s message back into thought. This
process is heavily influenced by the receiver’s
frame of reference or field of experience, which
refers to the experiences, perceptions,
attitudes, and values he or she brings to the
communication situation.
For effective communication to occur, the
message decoding process of the receiver must
match the encoding of the sender. Simply put,
this means the receiver understands and
correctly interprets what the source is trying to
communicate.
Noise
Throughout the communication process, the
message is subject to extraneous factors that can
distort or interfere with its reception. This
unplanned distortion or interference is known as
noise. Errors or problems that occur in the
encoding of the message, distortion in a radio or
television signal, and distractions at the point of
reception are examples of noise. When you are
watching an ad on TV or listening to a radio
commercial and a problem occurs in the signal
transmission, it will obviously interfere with your
reception, lessening the impact of the commercial.
Over the past decade a new type of noise has
become prevalent in the television viewing
environment which is the distraction of technology
such as laptops, tablets, and mobile
phones/smartphones. Many people now multitask
while watching television: They may be online
surfing the Internet, using apps, participating in
social media, or texting.
Response/Feedback
The receiver’s set of reactions after seeing, hearing, or
reading the message is known as a response. Receivers’
responses can range from nonobservable actions such as
storing information in memory to immediate action such
as clicking through an online ad to go to a marketer’s
landing page or website or dialing a toll-free number to
order a product advertised on television. Marketers are
very interested in feedback, that part of the receiver’s
response that is communicated back to the sender.
Feedback, which may take a variety of forms, closes the
loop in the communications flow and lets the sender
monitor how the intended message is being decoded and
received.
For example, in a personal-selling situation, customers
may pose questions, comments, or objections or indicate
their reactions through nonverbal responses such as
gestures and frowns. The salesperson has the advantage
of receiving instant feedback through the customer’s
reactions. But this is generally not the case when mass
media are used.
ANALYZING THE RECEIVER
To communicate effectively with their customers, marketers must understand who the target
audience is, what (if anything) it knows or feels about the company’s product or service, and how to
communicate with the audience to influence its decision-making process. Marketers must also know
how the market is likely to respond to various sources of communication or different types of
messages. Before they make decisions regarding source, message, and channel variables,
promotional planners must understand the potential effects associated with each of these factors.
This section focuses on the receiver of the marketing communication. It examines how the audience
is identified and the process it may go through in responding to a promotional message.
Identifying the Target Audience
The marketing communication process really begins with identifying the audience that will be the focus of the
firm’s advertising and promotional efforts. The target audience may consist of individuals, groups, niche markets,
market segments, or a general public or mass audience. Marketers approach each of these audiences differently.
The target market may consist of individuals who have specific needs and for whom the communication must be
specifically tailored. This often requires personto-person communication and is generally accomplished through
personal selling. Other forms of communication, such as advertising, may be used to attract the audience’s
attention to the firm, but the detailed message is carried by a salesperson who can respond to the specific
needs of the individual customer. Life insurance, financial services, and real estate are examples of products and
services promoted this way.
A second level of audience aggregation is represented by the group. Marketers often must communicate with a
group of people who make or influence the purchase decision..
Marketers look for customers who have similar needs and wants and thus represent some type of market
segment that can be reached with the same basic communication strategy. Very small, well-defined groups of
customers are often referred to as market niches. They can usually be reached through personal-selling efforts
or highly targeted media such as direct mail. The next level of audience aggregation is market segments, broader
classes of buyers who have similar needs and can be reached with similar messages.
THE RESPONSE PROCESS
Perhaps the most important aspect of
developing effective integrated marketing
communications programs involves
understanding the response process the
receiver may go through in moving toward a
specific behavior (like purchasing a product)
and how the promotional efforts of the
marketer influence consumer responses. In
many instances, the marketer’s only
objective may be to create awareness of the
company or brand name, which may trigger
interest in the product. In other situations,
the marketer may want to convey detailed
information to change consumers’
knowledge of and attitudes toward the
company/brand and ultimately change their
behavior.
Traditional Response Hierarchy Models
A number of models have been developed to depict the stages a
consumer may pass through in moving from a state of not being
aware of a company, product, or brand to actual purchase behavior.
The four of the best-known response hierarchy models. While these
response models may appear similar, they were developed for
different reasons.
The AIDA model was developed to represent the stages a
salesperson must take a customer through in the personal-selling
process. This model depicts the buyer as passing successively
through attention, interest, desire, and action. The salesperson must
first get the customer’s attention and then arouse some interest in
the company’s product or service. Strong levels of interest should
create desire to own or use the product. The action stage in the AIDA
model involves getting the customer to make a purchase
commitment and closing the sale. To the marketer, this is the most
important stage in the selling process, but it can also be the most
difficult. Companies train their sales reps in closing techniques to
help them complete the selling process. More detailed models of the
personal-selling process have been developed over the years that go
beyond the basic steps of the AIDA model and focus on approaches
such as “solution selling” and “insight selling.”
Models of the Response Process
Their hierarchy of effects model shows the process by which advertising
works; it assumes a consumer passes through a series of steps in sequential
order from initial awareness of a product or service to actual purchase. A basic
premise of this model is that advertising effects occur over a period of time.
Advertising communication may not lead to immediate behavioral response or
purchase; rather, a series of effects must occur, with each step fulfilled before
the consumer can move to the next stage in the hierarchy.
The innovation adoption model evolved from work on the diffusion of
innovations. This model represents the stages a consumer passes through in
adopting a new product or service. Like the other models, it says potential
adopters must be moved through a series of steps before taking some action
(in this case, deciding to adopt a new product). The steps preceding adoption
are awareness, interest, evaluation, and trial.
The final hierarchy model shown in Figure 5–3 is the information processing
model of advertising effects, developed by social psychologist William
McGuire.38 This model assumes the receiver in a persuasive communication
situation like advertising is an information processor or problem solver.
McGuire suggests that the series of steps a receiver goes through in being
persuaded constitutes a response hierarchy. The stages of this model are
similar to the hierarchy of effects sequence; attention and comprehension are
similar to awareness and knowledge, and yielding is synonymous with liking.
Implications of the Traditional Hierarchy Models
Methods of Obtaining Feedback
The hierarchy models of communication in the Response Hierarchy
response are useful to promotional
planners from several perspectives. First,
they delineate the series of steps potential
purchasers must be taken through to move
them from unawareness of a product or
service to readiness to purchase it. Second,
potential buyers may be at different stages
in the hierarchy, so the advertiser will face
different sets of communication problems.
For example, a company introducing an
innovative product like the Microsoft
Surface tablet may use media advertising to
make people aware of the product along
with its features and benefits.
Evaluating Traditional Response Hierarchy Models
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