Page 465 - Foundations of Marketing

432 Part 6 | Promotion Decisions

many sources and may affect any or all parts of the communication process. Noise sometimes
arises within the communications channel itself. Radio or television transmission difficulties,
poor or slow Internet connections, and laryngitis are sources of noise. Noise also occurs when
a source uses signs or symbols that are unfamiliar to the receiver or have a meaning different
from the one intended. Noise may also originate in the receiver; a receiver may be unaware of
a coded message when perceptual processes block it out.
The receiver’s response to a decoded message is feedback to the source. The source usu-
ally expects and normally receives feedback, although perhaps not immediately. During feed-
back, the receiver or audience provides the original source with a response to the message.
Feedback is coded, sent through a communications channel, and decoded by the receiver, the
source of the original communication. Thus, communication is a circular process, as indicated
in Figure 15.1 .
During face-to-face communication, such
as personal selling sales promotions, verbal
and nonverbal feedback can be immediate.
How U.S. Consumers Discuss Products
Instant feedback lets communicators adjust
messages quickly to improve the effective-
Methods of Discussion
Snapshot Social Networking Sites 22% 35% 50% 58% back that a customer does not understand a
ness of their communications. For example,
when a salesperson realizes through feed-
84%
In-Person Conversations
E-Mail
sales presentation, the salesperson adapts the
Mobile Phone
presentation to make it more meaningful to
the customer. This is why face-to-face com-
munication is the most adaptive and flexible,
Instant Messaging
telephone communications. In interpersonal
Online Product Reviews
17%

communication, feedback occurs through
Personal Blog 14% especially compared to digital, web-based, or
talking, touching, smiling, nodding, eye
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 movements, and other body movements and
Percentage of U.S. Consumers postures.
When mass communication like advertis-
Source: EMarketer; Word of Mouth Association ing is used, feedback is often slow and dif-
ficult to recognize. Also, it may be several
months or even years before the effects of this promotion will be known. Some relevant and
timely feedback can occur in the form of sales increases, inquiries about products, or changes in
attitude or brand awareness levels.
Each communication channel has a limit on the volume of information it can handle effec-
tively. This limit, called channel capacity , is determined by the least efficient component of
feedback The receiver’s the communication process. Consider communications that depend on speech. An individual
response to a decoded message source can speak only so fast, and there is a limit to how much an individual receiver can take
channel capacity The limit in through listening. Beyond that point, additional messages cannot be decoded; thus, mean-
on the volume of information ing cannot be shared. Although a radio announcer can read several hundred words a minute,
a communication channel can a one-minute advertising message should not exceed 150 words, because most announcers
handle effectively cannot articulate words into understandable messages at a rate beyond 150 words per minute.

LO 3 . Understand the role and THE ROLE AND OBJECTIVES
objectives of promotion.
OF PROMOTION

Promotion is communication that builds and maintains favorable relationships by informing
promotion Communication to
build and maintain relationships and persuading one or more audiences to view an organization positively and accept its prod-
by informing and persuading ucts. Toward this end, many organizations spend considerable resources on promotion to build
one or more audiences and enhance relationships with current and potential customers as well as other stakeholders.

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