Marketing Tactics

Marketing tactics come in many different forms, but they typically boil down to three basic categories: inform, persuade, elicit action.  A typical marketing campaign will consist of all three types of tactics to allow a “laddering” effect during the campaign.

When people make decisions, they often start with a consideration set of alternatives.  That is the set of alternatives that they already have in their heads based on past experiences or advertising messages that they’ve received.  When an event triggers them to take action, even if that action is simply to perform further research, they will undergo an evaluation process.  Finally, they will make a selection, although their selection may be do nothing.

The process is fairly universal, but can appear quite different based on the type of decision.  A low involvement decision, such as purchasing a soft drink, may be made very quickly with little consideration of the full set of alternatives.  A high involvement decision, such as purchasing a car or home, will typically be made with more in-depth evaluation and analysis of the alternatives.

The marketing campaign must be centered around the decision-making process of the consumer.  Simple, easy to understand, marketing tactics should be used for low involvement decisions.  For high involvement decisions, marketing tactics need to involve a deeper appreciation for the amount of information required by the consumer.

In the end, most consumer decisions are made based on emotion.  They may have done a great deal of research to come to a conclusion, but they will typically go with the choice that “feels right” or one that they “trust”.  The goal of a marketing plan should ultimately be focused on building consumer trust and minimizing the potential downside of the consumer’s choice.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org