Literacy Basics - Community Literacy of Ontario

The Marketing Continuum

Introduction to the Marketing Continuum

The marketing circle is a very useful tool for us, but our target markets are not interested in the circular and repetitive cycles of our marketing strategies. Our target markets are looking for ways for their wants and needs to be met. We would like our target market to see benefits to them as expressed in our marketing mix. If it is successful, our marketing will generate awareness, interest, desire, decision and a commitment to our programs. This progression from awareness to commitment is known as the marketing continuum. What this means is that our target markets begin with an awareness of our programs and our marketing directs them to where they commit to a marketing exchange with us.

Once we have our target market's attention, they are somewhere on a continuum between awareness and commitment. Good marketing keeps the target flowing through the steps, generating momentum to the point of buy-in or commitment. Poor or incomplete marketing is likely to cause a break in the continuum with the target not following through the process.

Much of the marketing that we have done in the past keeps us at the first or second stage in the marketing continuum, i.e. of awareness and interest. We even speak generally about “creating awareness” of our programs. Awareness is good – as long as we recognize that it is just the first in a series of connected stages.

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