Perceptions that consumers have for the different marketing messages

Marketing
This paper discusses about the various perceptions that consumers have for the different marketing messages that are floating around. Consumers apply selective processes while making the decision to but any product. The three selective processes discusses in this paper are the selective exposure, selective retention and selective perception process.
Selective Exposure
The selective exposure process focuses on individuals to agree with those medium of communication that is in alignment with their views and opinions. Consumers in this selective process only go out for things that are of interest to them and oppose those things that they are against about (Baldwin et al 2004). An example can be the fluctuations of the share prices. A drop in the share prices would affect the consumers and they may apply the selective exposure process.
Selective Retention
The selective retention process observes that consumers tend to retain those marketing messages that are of interest to them and also are favoring their opinions as well. The marketing messages that are against the opinion of the consumers do not tend to retain for long in the minds of consumers (Baldwin et al 2004). The products advertised to consumers such as mobile phones for youngsters may be a highly attractive product and they may observe keenly the advertising done for mobile phones.
Selective Perception
The selective perception theory states that consumers interpret facts that they are interested in. In other words, consumers comprehend the situation the way they want to see it as. They hear what they believe in rather than what the message is actually trying to state (Baldwin et al 2004). Therefore, in this case for different consumers the same message may have different worth and meaning to them.
For example, consumers that like to watch a lot of television may only see the advantageous side of watching television and may ignore the disadvantages that watching too much television has on humans. They may be highly attracted towards the latest technological advancements in television and may show interest in buying it.
The Selective Process That Affects Me
The selective retention process affects me the most because the things that are of interest to me attract me the most in the marketing and advertising messages of that organization. Fashion related products attract me a lot and the advertising messages related to fashion attract me highly. I retain the messages for a long time in future and in most of the cases I usually go and buy the products. All marketing messages related to fashion are followed up by me to a very large extent.
Conclusion
Consumer buying behavior is important for all organizations to study as the selective processes used by consumers to buy products and services determine the success and profitability level of any organization. The three selective processes discussed in this paper tend to affect the consumer buying decisions strongly and therefore the marketing messages need to be appropriate for the target market of the organization so that consumers absorb the message in the right way and buy the products.

Reference
Baldwin, J. R., Perry, S. D., & Moffitt, M. A. (2004). Communication theories for everyday life.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.