Understanding the consumer mindset - Tips for advertising

Advertising works at the exact instant it is experienced. Advertisers must understand how consumers relate to the advertising in terms of their interest in purchasing the product at the moment they see the ad. Most people fall into three stages of interest in any product or service at any given time.

Passive stage: most people are not in the market for most products most of the time. Their attitudes are passive, and it is likely that they will not notice the advertising. At best, advertisers can hope to generate enough interest in their brand so that the consumer will consider their product when it is time to make a purchase.

Acquisition stage: at this stage people have decided they need a product, and begin to collect information pertinent to their purchase decision. When consumers are in this phase, they are receptive to product facts and brand information. The amount of time consumers spend in this stage depends on the size and importance of the purchase, i.e. automobiles and toothpaste.

Decision stage: consumers now enter the decision stage when they will decide on their final choice and make the purchase. In this stage, they are extremely susceptible to price and value-related information, which is very often communicated at point of sale, or by point-of-sale extensions.

Effective marketing must account for each stage of the purchasing cycle, allocating resources to maximize the potential impact of the advertising on target customers as they move through the stages.

In terms of the advertising component, a strategic decision must be made as to which stage of the purchase each aspect of an overall campaign should target. This can be determined by addressing the following three questions concerning the target audience for the specific piece of advertising - as opposed to the broader target for the product.

Question 1:

Is the advertising directed at people who are actually not interested in the category, product or brand (passive stage), but who will, at some time in the future, be actively seeking out product information? In this case, the advertising should do nothing more than persuade the audience that it would make sense to consider brand x (awareness advertising). Although awareness advertising is essential, it is generally not a predictor of product sales.

Question 2:

Is the advertising directed at people who have decided they need a product (acquisition stage), and are now trying to learn which brand would be best? This advertising should focus on specific product advantages, differences and benefits.

Question 3:

Is the advertising directed toward people who know what they want, are aware of the advantages and benefits of the product, and are now looking for a trigger to help them make their final choices (decision stage)? Here the advertiser must close the sale by convincing the target customer that this is the time and place to make a commitment.

Research should be directed towards understanding the purchasing process: what the "passive stage" audience finds interesting about the category that the brand can latch on to; what "acquisition stage" consumers really want to learn that only the brand can tell them; and what are the added-value triggers that will close the sale for "decision stage" consumers.