Page 142 - Marketing the Basics 2nd

134 Marketing: the Basics
The third stage is liking, which entails creating positive messages to promote the product. This is where the emotional part of the marketing kicks in. In some cases, especially with low involvement goods, consumers may largely skip the knowledge stage and go straight to liking. Many Coca-Cola ads are simply getting us to feel a warm positive glow about Coke so when we pitch up at the supermarket we feel subconsciously drawn toward Coke, because we a have a positive emotional response to it.
Preference is the fourth stage. Think of the iconic Coke ads at Christmastime which generally consist of attractive people singing beautiful music about living together in harmony – an admirable sentiment – but we are not sure what that has to do with product advantages of Coke over arch-rival Pepsi.
At this point, the marketer explains to consumers why their product should be at the top of their list. If consumers agree with the self-assessment, they move to the fifth stage, conviction.
Finally, other promotional offers such as rebates, free upgrades or similar tools can be employed to nudge the reluctant buyer to make a purchase. You often will see this on ads on television selling music or books where they will throw in another product free if you buy now, now, now! In marketing parlance this is a call for action in the moment. If you buy today you will also receive a free Ginsu knife set. Marketers realize that for many if you do not take action in store you will probably not come back. That is why salespeople in an electronics or white goods (e.g. kitchen appliances) store work so hard to get you to buy right now, if you don’t, they view you as a lost sale as you walk out the door. Of course, you may well honestly only want to see what is on offer at the competitor’s store down the road and may well come back in a few minutes, however experienced salespeople are mainly right, you will generally not return.
DESIGN THE MESSAGE
The next step is to design a message that garnishes the desired response. For a message to be effective, it must grab the audience’s attention, hold their interest long enough to listen to the offering, then stimulate a desire to take action – this sequence is known as AIDA.