Dealers
CHAPTER 3 COMMUNICATIONS
3.4 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Basic communication requires a sender (a source of the communication), a message and a receiver (or destination).
This basic model of communication (Figure 3.2) could be for a person sending a message to another person without paying attention to the response.
By expanding on this basic model, we will be able to understand the process of communication better. Lasswell developed his 5-W model,which states that communication must deal with five basic questions: Who? Says what? In what way? To whom? With what effect? This is depicted in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.2 Basic Model ofCommunication (Source: Koekemoer 1998:34)
Figure 3.3 Lasswell's 5-W Communication Model (Source: Koekemoer 1998:34)
According to Koekemoer, (2004:41) the basis of this model is a message flow whereby the communication, starting with the source, is formulated into a message through a medium or channel to receivers constituting a target audience.The impact of this message is measured in terms of feedback in which the receiver's reaction to the message is communicated back to the source. The medium, message and source are selected based on the characteristics of the receiver or target audience. The receivers or target audience are an uncontrollable variable since the marketer cannot control their actions.
Lasswell's 5-W Communication Model (Figure 3.3) examines the sender'sability to successfully encode the message. This depends on the knowledge, past experiences, feelings, emotions and attitudes of the sender and receiver, which motivates them to act. This knowledge helps to encode an effective appeal or message, which is transmitted one-on-one or via mass media to the receivers who will decode the message and respond to it in the intended way (Koekemoer, 2004:42):'
This model involves:
• Encoding - the sender (source) encodes a message hoping that the message decoded by the receiver will be what is intended to be communicated. The requirements for good encoding are knowledge, past experiences, feelings oremotions and attitudes.
• The intended message/the encoded message - the communicator's objective is to get the receiver to respond in a particular manner. This intended message should be the direct cause of the desired results. For e.g. if your service provider's objective is to increase awareness, then the message should increase the receiver's familiarity with the brand, service, benefits,etc.The communicator may achieve effective expression of the intended message by the careful selection of symbols. This process of encoding the message is the process of selecting the right symbols to represent the message idea. These symbols, when seen, heard or felt, should convey the intended message. Written or spoken words play a major role in transmitting ideas. For e.g. an articulate salesperson can take a highly
abstract product and express it in a concrete way. Visual symbols such as colour,size, shape and texture become necessary when the spoken or written word is not adequate for communication. This isespecially necessary when the message is a mood or feeling.The use of sound can be to the communicator's advantage.Catchy jingles and sound effects contribute to a fuller expression of the message.The message, once encoded, can be presented in a variety of ways. Messages can be classified according to their appeal and 'tone of voice'. Appeals can be emotional or rational. Emotional appeals are usually either negative or positive, for e.g. the consequences you will suffer for not doing something like insuring your cellular phone. Rational appeals can be simple or complex. A simple appeal could be a 25% discount while a complex appeal could include a list of reasons for buying a particular cellular phone. Tone of voice can be light-hearted, humorous or serious. The combination of tone and appeal reflects the decision process we want to influence.
• Message transmission happens through a medium or channel - the medium of communication the sender chooses is the means of communication. This can be in the form of verbal or non-verbal communication. Verbal will be spoken or written,if spoken it will be a presentation,meeting, telephone message,recording or a video. Non-verbal will be a picture, a poster without words, a graphic design without words, a chart or a film without words.
The channel of communication can be formal or less formal. It is the route or direction in which the message will travel. The channel is also described as the method of transmission. The channel and medium can be treated as a spoken message (the voice, the radio, the television or the telephone). The channel for a written message is paper, a telegram, SMS or a fax.The channel is also referred to as vision orsound.
Noise can confuse the message or compete against communication.Noise refers to any interference or disturbance for e.g. literal noise like loud talking, coughing, telephone ringing.
• The receiver - the receiver is the target of the communication efforts. The receiver must be able to decode the message, must want to attend the message,interpret the message, and retain the message and act on it.
• Response - by capturing the receiver'sattention and communicating relevant information, the communicator has created a good opportunity to influence behaviour Le. by getting the receiver to accept the image of the service provider, changing the attitude of the receiver towards the service provider or convincing the receiver to buy the service provider's products more often.