It is necessary to take into account a set of aspects related to the audience, the desired effects on it, the message to be transmitted, the channels to be used, and the people or organizations that will present the message.
THE AUDIENCE
The company must precisely define the people who constitute its target audience, and who will be the recipients of its messages.
The target audience may be made up, among others, of potential consumers of the product, by consumers who have already purchased it, by people who make the purchase decision, or by those who influence it. In-depth knowledge of the audience is essential, since their characteristics and behaviors condition the communication process, especially focusing on:
• The creation of the message.
In order for the message to be interpreted as the sender had intended, and achieve the desired effects on the audience, we must choose the most convenient creative topics and arguments.
Decisions on the creative aspects of the message will be all the more timely the better the recipients of the communication are known: their age, their gender, their economic level, their lifestyle, the degree of interest they have shown so far in the product , the words that are familiar to them, the topics they like to deal with, the image they have of themselves, etc.
• The choice of communication channels.
It is also important to know what communication channels the audience is usually exposed to, and at what times and situations they do so. In this way, those who perform frequently will be chosen.
THE EFFECTS THAT MUST BE CAUSED
Once the target audience of the message has been identified, it is necessary to specify the effect that is intended to be provoked in it. And although one of the most desirable objectives for companies is the purchase of the product, it must be taken into account that these acts are usually the result of a decision process, sometimes long and complex.
In the field of marketing, it has been accepted that communication activities make people go through several successive stages, following a learning process that culminates in the adoption of a purchasing behavior, or in its case, an idea promoted by a non-business organization. This process would basically consist of three phases:
• Cognitive phase.
In this first phase, the target audience would go from being unaware of the company’s product to knowing about its existence and its characteristics.
• Affective phase.
In this part of the process, the target audience would form a positive attitude towards the product thanks to the communication activities undertaken by the company.
• Behavior phase.
In this last phase, the audience would end up adopting the good, service or idea.
Among the models that have been developed to explain the effects of communication on the audience, the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) model stands out. According to him, communication activities should help consumers to adopt a favorable behavior through four successive phases: capturing their attention, fostering their interest, arousing desire for the product and achieving the purchase or consumption action. SEE FIGURE: F3.AIDA
Although consumers do not always follow the sequence of phases that is contemplated, models such as AIDA help to evaluate the situation in which the target public is in relation to the product, and according to it, determine which phase of the process it is desirable that the audience passes, which may constitute the objective of the marketing-oriented communication program.