Chapter 3; Communication, Perception, & Decision Making

Communication Process

The dynamic and continuous exchange of information and meaning between individuals or groups.

• Source → Encoding → Channel → Decoding → Receiver → feedback

Different Worlds Communication

• Sender experience: says I have a “face makeup” exam

• Receiver experience: thinks a missed make up exam

Moderate Commonality

Something is different, but can understand each other becuase of a shared knowledge of something.

• Ex: Waterboy movie → the 2 coaches spoke different languages, but were able to understand because of a shared knowledge of football.

High Commonality

Finishing each other’s sentences, or having the same thoughts/mannerisms.

• Ex: Step brothers, they are almost the same person.

Fields of Experience

The totality of an individual’s knowledge, background, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, values, and perceptions that they bring to a communication experience.

• Firms sometimes mistakenly view and market products as simply a bundle of attributes or characteristics.

Consumer’s Field of Experience

Consumers oftentimes see products as a set of possible outcomes, which can be functional, psychological, social, and/or symbolic.

Problem Recognition

The perceived difference between an ideal state and the actual state.

• 1st step in the decision making process

• When a discrepancy between these two states exists, consumers may be motivated to resolve it by engaging in decision making.

Decision Making Process

1. Problem Recognition

2. Information Search

3. Information Evaluation & Integration

4. Commitment/Action

5. Post Purchase Evaluation

Ideal State

The desired condition or state that a consumer aspires to be in or achieve.

• Example: Pants to be the right length, not super long.

Actual State

A consumer’s current feelings or perception of their present condition or state.

• Example: Pants are too long, and end up walking on the bottom of them and tripping, and just looking silly.

Perception

Refers to the way we sense, interpret, and comprehend stimuli.

• Examples of stimuli: advertisements, promotions, products

Perceptual Screens

Often subconscious filters that shield us from unwanted information & data in our environment.

• 2 types: Physiological and Psychological screens.

Physiological Screens

Screens that detect incoming information & data and measure their intensity using the 5 senses.

• Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.

  • Example: Playing radio on bluetooth speaker, and an ad playing buy you aren’t in the room and can’t hear it.

  • Example: A student sleeping during class, they are asleep so they can’t hear.

Psychological Screens

Screens that filter, evaluate, and personalize information & data according to subjective emotional standards.

• Example: I don’t like TV ads, so I’m not gonna watch TV.

Selective Perception

The process of focusing on some information or data, while at the same time ignoring others.

• Ex: A smoker actively looks away and filters out graphic health warnings printed on cigarette packs because the images cause emotional discomfort.

Mental Files

Stimuli that make it into awareness, and are deemed important and consistent with our memories, are stored in mental files in our mind.

• Memory

  • Examples: Autobiographic, experiences, information

Attitude

An acquired mental position regarding some idea or object.

• The positive or negative evaluations or feelings that we fold.

• Influenced by message factors and source factors.

Message Factors

In decision making and persuasion, message factors are elements of the message itself that influence its ability to persuade or convince an audience. 

• Content of message

Persuasion

Occurs when a change in attitudes (or beliefs, or behavioral intentions) takes place. Communication typically persuaes consumers in one of two ways.

1. Central Route

2. Peripheral Route

Cognition

Involves comprehending, processing, and understanding the stimulus.

• Awareness and Non-Awareness

Central Route to Persuasion

High ability and motivation to process message

• Attention is paid to message content.

• Involvement is high

• Person is convinced by the message rather than cues.

  • Ex: A car commercial highlights crash test safety ratings, fuel statistics, and warranty lengths.

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

Low ability and motivation to process messages, attention is paid to peripheral cues, and involvement is low.

• Ex: Buying a brand of running shoes because a famous athlete wears them in a commercial.

Source factors

Characteristics of the individual delivering the message that influence how convincing or persuasive the message is.

• Basically who delivers the message

Influencer Marketing

A form of marketing in which companies partner with individuals (who are projected to exhibit credibility, expertise, likeability, reach, and/or engagement with customers in the company or brand’s target audience), in order to capitalize on the individual’s influence to promote products or services.

• Ex: Spencer Barbosa partnering with Hollister for a collection.

Audience Overlap

Marketers select sources based on how the influencer’s followers are projected to overlap with the brand’s target audience, based on the following factors:

• Demographics, Behaviors, and Psychographics

  • Example: Sabrina Carpenter’s campaign with a hair/beauty company. Many of her followers also like beauty and hair.

Advertising Reach

A key metric used in marketing that measures the total number of unique individuals (or households) that will be exposed to a specific marketing communication at least once during a defined period of time.

• Reach only counts the exposure time.

Influencer engagement rate

A metric used in marketing to measure the level of interaction an influencer’s followers have with the influencer and/or their content.

• A way to assess how active and interested an influencer’s followers are.

  • As audience reach increases in size, engagement rate typically decreases, and vice versa.

Source credibility

Influencers who are viewed by consumers as credible are typically going to be perceived as more persuasive.

• Credibility is derived from influencer’s reputation and perceived objectivity.

  • Should be compatible with the brand’s identity.

Source Attractiveness

An influencer’s perceived attractiveness also impacts their ability to persuade target audience consumers.

• Determined by the source’s likeability and how similar/dissimilar they are to target audience consumers.