Response Hierarchy Models – Advertising response

Response Hierarchy Models explain the advertising response process of consumers.

Response Hierarchy Models provide clarity pertaining to the response that is elicited from a customer at different stages of his journey right from lack of awareness to purchasing the product.

There are five Response Hierarchy Models that substantiate the behaviour of consumers across three stages of awareness namely; Cognitive Stage, Affective Stage and Behavioural Stage. 

The five response hierarchy models are:

• AIDA Model
• Hierarchy of Effects Model
• Innovation Adoption Model
• Information Processing Model
• Operational Model

Five Response Hierarchy Models

 

(1) AIDA Model – The AIDA Model is one of the moat established models among the Response Hierarchy Models. The expansion of AIDA is Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. Organizations use AIDA Model to elicit the required response from targeted customers through Advertisements. AIDA Model can be effectively used to stimulate different emotions of customers.

• Attention: The model substantiates that attracting the attention of the customer acts as the first point in the response eliciting process from customers.

• Interest: Raising the interest levels of consumers once they are attracted towards a product or service is the next logical step in eliciting response from them

• Desire: Convincing the customers to buy the products or services being advertised is the next step. It is during this phase that a customer feel convinced that the products or services being advertised will be useful for them and shows a desire to buy the product.

• Action: Taking the final purchase decision and buying the product that is being advertised is the final step in the process of customer response.

As per the AIDA Model, attracting the attention of customers takes place in the Cognitive Stage. Kindling the interest of customers and making them realize their desire to go in for the product which happens in the Affective Stage and the action of buying the products and services happens in the third stage which is termed as Behavioural Stage.

 

(2) Hierarchy of Effects Model – Hierarchy of Effects Model which was formulated by Gary A Steiner and Robert J Lavidge substantiates consumer behaviour through a six step process. According to the Hierarchy of Effects Model, every customer passes through six phases before the final purchase is made. The six phases that a customer travels through as per Hierarchy of Effects Model are Awareness, knowledge, Liking, Preference, Conviction and Purchase.

• Awareness is the stage at which customers become aware about the product and start to understand about the brands that sell the product and the different models available.

• Knowledge is the second stage of the process in which the customers gain more knowledge about the product or brand. In order to ensure that their brand is visible to prospective customers, advertisers must carry our all possible efforts to highlight the positive aspects of their product.

• Liking is the third phase where customers tend to develop a liking for the product. This liking must be aroused by advertisers by highlighting the appropriate emotional appeals related to the product.

• Preference is the phase where a customer is clear about the product, model and brand choices he wants to go in for. It is the responsibility of advertisers to make constantly reinforce the positive aspects of their brand in the minds of the customers.

• Conviction is the phase at which the consumers have made up their mind to go in for a particular brand and product. It is the responsibility of the advertisers to guide customers towards making a choice of brand, product and store etc.

• Purchase is the final stage as per the Hierarchy of Effects Model at which the customer purchases the product.

The three stages under which the above six phases fall are as follows.

• Cognitive Stage – This is where the thinking process happens. The first two steps of Awareness and Knowledge falls under this stage.
• Affective Stage – This is the stage where the customer evaluates the product. Liking and Conviction phases fall under this stage.
• Conative Stage – Also known as Behavioural Stage, the action of purchasing the product happens during this stage.

 

(3) Innovation Adoption Model – Innovation Adoption Model takes into consideration the various phases that a customer goes through to accept innovation in products and services. It is a simple model which substantiates that customers accept new innovative products and services by passing through five stages namely Awareness, Interest, Evaluation, Trial and Adoption.

• Awareness is the phase at which the customers becomes aware about the new product introduced in the market

• Interest is the phase at which information about the new product spreads in the market and kindles the interest of customers to know more about the product.

• Evaluation is the phase at which customers evaluate the new product or service to have an in depth understanding about it

• Trial is the phase at which customers try the product in order to take a final decision about purchasing the product

• Adoption is the final phase at which the customers accept the product and its features and finally buy it.

 

(4) Information Processing Model – This model, like the other response hierarchy models substantiates that consumers go through a series of phases before making the final purchase decision. It emphasizes on six phases namely Presentation, Attention, Comprehension, Yielding, Retention and Behaviour.

• Presentation is the first phase at which a customer becomes aware about a need and looks for a product that can satisfy the need

• Attention is the second phase at which a product grabs the attention of the customer

• Comprehension is the phase at which the consumer compares and evaluates different products and brands to select the product that meets his/her requirements

• Yielding is the phase at which the customer settles down for a specific brand and its product that they have selected at after in depth research

• Retention is the phase at which the customer remembers key factors and attributes about specific brands and their products that they want to purchase

• Behaviour is final phase at which the customer finally purchases the product he/she selected

 

(5) Operational Model – This is a simple model that works on the basis of three activities namely Cognitive Activity, Affective Activity and Conative Activity and involves three stages that are Non-evaluative thinking, Evaluative thinking and Action.

• Non-Evaluative Thinking falls under the Cognitive Activity. This is the stage where the consumer gets exposed to different brands and various models of product they wish to buy.

• Evaluative Thinking phase falls under the Affective Activity Stage in which the customer evaluates different products and compares the same with similar ones for making a choice among various alternatives available

• Action is the phase in which the customer takes the final decision to purchase the product and buys it for consumption. This phase falls under the Conative Activity, also referred to as Behavioural stage.