Marketing Moves
Management
Awareness to Action in 4 Steps
By Christina Drouin
Most would agree that the
task of leading people from lack of awareness to action is
a huge undertaking. Implementing a communications system,
based on the principles of the communications continuum,
can be an enormous assist. Using this system, a
communications office can advance the work of the school
in achieving a desired action - from an increase in
enrollment applications to breaking into a new market to
changing how the school is perceived in the community.
The system rests on the
foundational truth that attitudes and beliefs cause
action. Success in achieving an action the school desires
is inextricably tied to how successfully beliefs and
attitudes have been formed to predispose a constituent or
constituency to act. Actions caused by beliefs and
attitudes occur based on information that people
- Receive
- Understand, and
- Become convinced of
This process of moving
people from awareness to action is called the
communications continuum.
Applied understanding of
the power of the communications continuum to move
people from awareness to action is used in the
for-profit world every minute of every day to bring
consumers to desired purchase or lifestyle decisions.
Based on a 30-second spot on TV, for example, Mr. Wilson
may hear about a new product, or learn about a new health
risk. Later that week, he may read an ad for the new
product in a favorite magazine, or spot a full-length
story about the newly discovered health risk in a trusted
news source. Next, a friend buys the new product, likes it
and tells Mr. Wilson about it; or a neighbor who has tried
the new health advice, feels better and testifies to its
effectiveness.
I know. I
understand. I believe. I do.
Each of these steps
benchmarks a phase of the communications continuum
designed to bring about a desired action through the use
of specific communications tools, from general advertising
to testimonial and endorsement. We know that people don’t
just do what we want them to do because we want them to do
it!
First I must know.
Then I must understand. Finally, I must also believe,
in order for me to do. In our given example, the
likelihood of Mr. Wilson taking the desired action (buying
the product or changing an unhealthy habit) is increased
because he has moved through each of these communications
continuum steps.
In the case of a school
whose desired action may be to establish a new identity in
the community, each step in the communications continuum -
i.e. awareness, comprehension and conviction - leading up
to the desired action, attitude or behavior (in this case
a changed in perceived image) has at its disposal a myriad
of tools, from mass media advertising to group meetings,
from personal email to one-on-one conversation. In a
planned communications system, tools are appropriately
matched with the task based on where people are on the
continuum.
A savvy communications
office unleashes the power of the communications continuum
and 1) Identifies primary markets; 2) Targets market
segments within those markets; 3) Seeks to understand
their existing needs, perceptions and how they like to
receive information; and 4) Designs marketing programs
that deliver messages designed to create awareness,
understanding, conviction and action.
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