example of a case study

example of a case study

The Impact of Social Media on Consumer Behavior

1. Introduction

The digital era has brought with it a new method of marketing as well as new communication tools for business-to-consumer interactions. There are two common views on consumer behaviour in relation to new methods of social media in the digital age. One is that social media has become the central activity in consumers’ online lives. This is due to the high level of user involvement and interactions available. Currently, it is estimated that worldwide users spend an average of 110 minutes per day on social media. The time consumers allocate to social networking has the potential to greatly influence buying decisions and consumer insight as well as being a direct channel for marketing and advertising for a product or service (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Step into the realm of Facebook and more recently Twitter, both networks have at least 1 million active advertisers. Their media attributes make it easier for business advertisements to be spread, thus generating revenue for the social networking service in the form of ad sales marketing.

A generation ago, consumers made brand choices based on advertising and marketing messages, and staff interactions with those brands. Traditional marketing and advertising still matter today, but consider the choices available to modern consumers. More importantly, how do consumers actually come to make buying choices for services and products? In answering this question, it is possible to gain insight into a more detailed understanding of current consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour can be identified as the decision-making process and the physical activity individuals engage in when evaluating, acquiring, using, or disposing of goods and services. It is an exploration into the emotion/thought processes of an individual and is incredibly important for business recognition of such processes can greatly assist in creating an effective marketing strategy. During the last decade, the online landscape has changed dramatically and consumer activity has shifted to incorporate the digital world, to an extent where it is no longer possible to dissociate the two.

2. Case Study Background

This research project focuses on online shopping and its effects on consumer behavior. The internet has brought many changes in the way information is obtained and how it is used by consumers. One of the most important changes has been the emergence of the internet as a viable and valuable tool for consumers. The internet has created a new way for companies to interact with their customers, one which in many ways is superior to the older forms of consumer-company interaction. This new form of interaction, known as relationship marketing, is widely considered to be the marketing strategy of the future. Consumer behavior and consumer behavior theory can be approached through marketing research, and the case that was selected for this research approaches the topic in this manner. This paper will examine the case through the perspective of consumer behavior theory and relationship marketing. (Mills, 2002)

3. Findings and Analysis

No doubt, an aware consumer is the best consumer. He can make complex decisions relatively easily, can classify between different brands, and become loyal to one which he thinks has best served the purpose. He is updated with the latest happenings in the market and may be a right source of information to others. All this will lead to a very high post-purchase satisfaction, increased consumption of the product, and attainment of a loyal customer, all due to the information availability provided by social media.

And what better medium than the social media? Considering the amount of time an average person spends on these networking sites, it can be used as a low-cost and highly effective means to spread information. Social media can be used as a highly personalized tool to influence consumers to associate interest in a product or brand through observation of others’ behavior. All over the world, people can learn about brands and products during live video chats, instant messages, social media, or other online venues. This can be used by marketers to create awareness about their products, as the research showed that an increase in the awareness of just 5% resulted in an increased consumption of 1%.

To moderate the consumer’s behavior, the mere availability of information is very important. In this study, it was revealed that consumer buying decisions are largely influenced by the information availability. The data regarding the newer brands is not so easily available, which would force the consumer to rely on personal sources and unearned information which may not be accurate. Thus, in order to cater to consumer behavior, marketing strategies have to be formulated in a way that the information access should be made easier.

4. Implications and Recommendations

It gives the structured expansion of this exploration. Preface of the exploration is given to give the establishing of the subject. First is the presentation of the examination and there is clear foundation expounded in this hypothetical exploration. Proposed issue is given where there is the impact of web-based media which is a marvel around everybody of us. Here there are the rules given to the buyers and when there is a slight change in that norm, then there are questions arising on that rule of the buyers. So the conduct of the shoppers isn’t steady and this becomes possibly the most significant factor. So in view of this, the exploration embraced is to find out if the conduct of the Malaysian customer changes because of the impact of web-based media. This is trailed by the objectives of the examination where there is given about how the changes happen. The principle thought is given here to subtleties the spot of web-based media towards the shoppers. The impact of web-based media on the conduct of the purchasers is glued with the new period and innovation. So this will help the making of current buyers to go through web-based media. New age and current will be labeled to the people who are impacted to use web-based media. These people will have changed because of their devotion of time and energy to the person to utilizing web-based media. So it is expected to learn what the effect is towards the others who are non-users of web-based media. The anticipated yield is clarified later where the primary concern is the conduct of the Malaysian shoppers. Meeting these Malaysian buyers is the primary way that market analysts can glance in learning the changes of these people. So the adjustments of the advanced time clients will be contrasted with the old clients through the distinctions of actions. Here there are two sorts of purchasers which are clients and purchasers. A client is somebody who utilizes the administrations given while a purchaser is somebody who buys the administrations. Later there is given the setting of this hypothetical examination and here it is quickly enlightened that there are many sorts and techniques in leading a logical examination. A literature audit is given to represent the account of the past. The past expectations of the web-based media effect towards the conduct of buyers can be seen today. Subsequently, there is hardly any sort of examination led and a large portion of them concluded with no evidence. So it is not a smart thought to do the guesses with next to zero evidence. This examination is to affirm the alterations in buyer conduct because of the impact of web-based media through observations. This will be watched straightforwardly at the current purchasers and then the old buyers. This observes the distinction in culture of client and another client of the digital services nowadays. Moving on, there is the strategy utilized in conducting this exploration and it is straightforward that the singular perception is the magnificent thought to accumulate such information. This is best done through the observation of behavior. A survey is to set up a gathering of present clients and present the inquiries to know the differentiation with the purchasers. Remembering the goal to look at it is ideal to do it in the survey with similar inquiries. At last, the outcomes are to be gathered and analyzed of the potential changes with those individuals decided for this observation. This will be a decent confirmation of the contrasts between the two periods of buyers today and yesterday. The last part in this preface will be the designs and discussions of this hypothetical examination. This design is given to simplify the focal contemplations and definitive conclusion of how and what this exploration needs to accomplish.

5. Conclusion

The effect of social media on consumer behavior can sometimes be hard to notice for an average person. A study was taken and published in the Journal of Marketing Research. It was created by two marketing professors from Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh. They created an experiment involving a group of students to look at the effects of social influence and adherence to social norms on product preferences. They implied that social media is now a social norm. The group of students were asked to rate the perceived tastiness of a common salted caramel chocolate. Then, the students were told that a junior high school student brought the chocolate to a class, and they were asked how the child’s impression would change his liking of the chocolate. For the last scenario, students were able to see that same chocolate being handed out to people in a setting that resembles a party. It was then concluded that the greater the social influence, the more likely one is to conform to either normative influence – that being the child – or informational influence, which is the party, in hope to enhance one’s self-concept or self-esteem. This is a primary example of how social media really has not changed consumer behavior but rather amplified the effects of certain social factors and, in turn, led to individuals becoming more consumer dependent on them.

Consumer behavior can be defined as the way that people purchase, use, evaluate, and dispose of products and services. Together, all of these actions make up the decision-making process. The decision-making process and many other consumer behaviors are affected by social factors, that is, the effect of society on the individual. These can include things such as social status, opinion of a specific society, and social class. Social media is a way for modern consumers to address the need to belong as well as the need for self-presentation. Due to a large number of consumers using social media, they have, whether they know it or not, already changed their consumer behavior in an attempt to be “closer” to their virtual friends by using certain products and brands. This is an attempt to increase their self-concept and raise their self-esteem by comparing their lifestyle and possessions to others. Finally, social media is the tool to receive and store information about others as well as one’s self. People have a constant curiosity to gather information, and by having a large store of information on products on social media, consumers can then satisfy their curiosity which, in turn, helps make better decisions on products they wish to consume.