Marketing communication: principles and practice

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Effect?
How?
What?
Who?
Figure 4.11
The classic marketing questions

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Table 4.3
Who does what in the marketing encounter?
Marketer’s question
Marketer’s action
Consumer’s action
What should we offer?
Market research, analysis 
Enquiries, complaints, 
of complaints, analysis of 
choice-making, selection, 
enquiries, review of 
criticism, word-of-mouth 
competitive offers, audit of 
celebration, etc.
competences, and so on
Who should we make the 
Market segmentation, 
Purchase and use
offer to?
advertising, selling
Who is using our product 
Observation, trials, customer 
and in what way does this 
surveys, EPOS data analysis, 
satisfy their needs?
mystery shopper, etc.
What do our customers 
Quality improvement, new 
Consumption, word-of-
think of our product?
product development, 
mouth evaluation
refined advertising design, 
and so on
BOX 4.5
BUY MORE STUFF!
Ask the non-specialist ‘what is the essence of marketing?’ and he/she will almost
invariably equate this to mean persuasive advertising that aims to get people to buy
more of a certain product brand. Yet, research shows, persuasive communication is
more likely to reinforce existing opinions than to change them. People generally read
and listen to what interests them, therefore they have considerable information and
fixed opinions. Those most likely to attend to a message are those most difficult to
change. Those who can be converted do not look or listen.