by Killeen Gonzalez

Created on: June 26, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

Crafting a marketing message is one of the most important tasks of any business owner. For it is the marketing message that helps to position the business in the minds of consumers and serves as a catalyst for consumer consumption. Therefore it is best to fully understand your target market as well as the differences between types of marketing messages.

Although all marketing messages essentially have three basic elements (object, symbol, interpretation) there are a lot of variables that need to be considered in its creation. One such variable is whether or not the message should be delivered either verbally or visually.

When deciding whether to go verbal or visual, business owners should keep in mind that messages that contain identical information when presented in either visual or verbal form can elicit very different reactions in the same consumer.

Without stating the obvious, here are two differences between verbal and visual messages that should be considered when crafting your marketing message.

First, visual ads typically cause the consumer to have a stronger memory of the message as well as a better retrieval of the message over time. In comparison, verbal ads tend to be harder for consumers to remember, especially over time. However, recall on verbal messages can be improved by increasing the consumers exposure to the ad. This of course requires heavier ad expenditures, which some businesses may not be able to handle.

Secondly, verbal messages as opposed to visual ones require more effort on the part of the consumer. With verbal ads the consumer has to be actively involved with listening to the message. Whereas visual messages are as the old adage says worth a thousand words.

Often the best message medium to use is a carefully crafted combination of both visual and verbal. Generally the more senses involved in the marketing message, the more chance you have at the consumer remembering it.

In conclusion, constructing a marketing message is an important task that requires many variables to be considered including whether or not the message should be delivered to the consumer visually or verbally. When deciding which form of delivery to use business owners should remember more than the obvious differences between the two mediums. They should also consider a combination of mediums to make their message more memorable. For more information on this topic or others related to business success consult your local marketing professional.

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