Essay 1 contemporary issues in marketing PDF

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Contemporary issues in marketing...

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Introduction This essay will Discuss the implications of the increasing use of smartphones to contemporary theory and practice of marketing in the current environment of COVID-19. It will be structed into three sections which is based around major contemporary themes that are interlinked:  Digital marketing  Integrated marketing communication  Relationship marketing

COVID 19 How did COVID-19 change consumer lifestyles and behaviour? As a part of COVID 19, government rules for social distance measures and lockdowns have resulted in numerous companies (such as restaurants and bars) shutting their outlets on a provisional basis, and now everything has been transferred online. Throughout this crisis, we’ve all spent more time at home than ever before, going in forward there are expectations that home will continue to be the primary “hub” for work, school, exercise and entertainment as well as dining. This is an indication that there are changes in consumer lifestyles and behaviour. A survey was completed at the end of July 2020, in addition, 46% of survey participants completion of July 2020 indicated they nearly doubled their smartphone usage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (shown in Appendix 1). With the changes to consumers lifestyles, more and more ae using smartphones in order to buy goods and service that they really need during this pandemic, this has led to an increase in the usage of smartphones. Smartphones is a form of a digital device, with the use of data bases via Smartphones it is an effective method that companies use to capture personal data, location data, lifestyle data, buying history, etc. It is very imperative for them to have an effective marketing strategy because now companies have had to change their practices in how they deliver goods and services to the customers (Hongwei and Lloyd, 2020). They have responded to this change by forming advanced solutions to reach customers but also ensuring it can accommodate to mobile users. Digital marketing How do marketers create value through digital marketing? The implementation of advanced technology has resulted in dynamic shifts in consumer preferences and needs, businesses must better service their customers with the different digital channels, personalize them and also service people who are not native in this field. In fact, within household in the modern society, smartphones hold one of the highest and fastest adoption rates. There are multiple digital marketing channels that are available to consumers. The model taken from a book by Dave Chaffey (2007) outlines the different type of online and offline communication. With online communications, there are several digital communications channels in which marketers uses search engine optimization, banner ads, smartphones and interactive televisions (Appendix 2). Search marketing is a tool which

encompasses things like pay-per-click, search engine optimization, paid search and paid for inclusion feeds and paid search. SEM is a great way to really get targeted traffic to a website of your interest by running ads on search engines such as Google (Appendix 3). For markets with traffic optimization and gaining an audience in the online market, it increases the likelihood of potential customers to reach the business or come across it. Some companies often deliver their marketing needs through tools like marketing mix or internet of things, however this essay will focus more on the AR and experiential marketing theoretical perspective. Businesses have digital services that they are providing to their customers. For example: within the retail sector, they are offering face-to-face messaging or chatbot services to help assist or support customer when purchasing online. In doing this, businesses are trying to penetrate to customers to make their lives a little bit more augmented while creating value for them. Experimental marketing is a digital marketing tool that focuses on consumers expectation and satisfaction. The significance of experiential marketing is defined as “the process of creating value” for end-users. This framework (Yuan and Wu, 2008) or tool can be used as a viable advantage for companies as it can have a positive affect and influence the customer’s buying behaviour. The method in which augmented reality is often used in marketing campaigns may be viewed as a form of "experiential marketing," since it focuses not just on the service or product, but rather on the quality and level of experience intended for customers (Schmitt, 1999). The augmented reality framework helps marketers to create immersive AR experiences that will optimize customer engagement. When purchasing makeup products online, shoppers are always hesitant to purchasing as there is a high chance that they might not like the “foundation coverage” or “lip colour”, especially if they are not trying it or testing them in store; they need to see it and compare products in order to find the perfect match. Sephora acknowledges this challenge and has introduced an experimental AR function, called the “Virtual Artist App” with ModiFace- this application focuses on making the most practical AR try-on capability for the beauty industry. One of the key things that businesses are now doing with apps is data collection, incorporating visual search into its widely engaging mobile app allows users of the app to grasp or visualize an idea of how makeup items look on their faces through the use of their phone cameras. Users will also find out which products or tools they would need to apply to specific products. Sephora's use of augmented reality is not only useful to users—it also drives revenue. Sephora is making the most practical AR try-on capability and creating value for consumers as they are satisfying their needs. With this technological advancement it allows consumers online to see and compare products in order to find the perfect match, this enhances the consumer shopping experience. Integrated Communication Marketing How do marketers create and capture value using IMC? One of the other thing marketers are doing digitally is connecting with the customers using different communication channels, these channels must be integrated if not it can be very confusing to consumers. Before the Fenty Beauty makeup line was launched, social media accounts were created on almost all platforms, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. This represented them and was made to pre advertise their products by keeping prospective customers updated on what the makeup line consisted of and the release date; this appealed to the customers as a form of suspense. Using social network platforms offers a contact channel for consumers and marketing that enables customers to comment about goods in ways they would like by tweets, constructive comments/feedback will have a strong effect on the Fenty

brand, and there will be a high probability that a lot of people will agree with a statement made by someone who will lead to a retweet by other customers (Michaelidou et al., 2011). However, if negative tweets are posted about Fenty Beauty products, this may tarnish the brand image but also allow Rihanna as a Businesswoman to make improvements to her products taking in consideration what her customers have said. This strategy of social media marketing is used to meet the objectives of customer retention and brand awareness. It meets the objective customer retention because it restores the relevancy of the business campaign through its social media accounts being very active in posting and interacting with customers/followers. Many well-known social media influencers are used as a form of further promotion and clear representation as the brand promotes diversity therefore the model range is diverse and multicultural so that it would suit every possible prospective customer that may want to buy from the business, differentiating itself from a lot of other competitors within the makeup industry. Missguided is another business that uses ICM to create value for their customer, they achieve this through the use of email marketing. When a customer becomes an email subscriber, handing over their email address is something that they're super protective over, so when they do that it means they're actually invested in the business, this indicates that they're really interested in whatever it is that you do. as a result, a business is more likely to be able to warm these leads up and compare them into a sale. As shown in appendix 5, Missguided have applied this tool when trying to engage with customers. When the customer has access to their website, they are given the choice to reveal their email address so that they are alerted about new products/discounts, or the customer may either select the option to shop as a "guest." As a result of IMC, the customer is going to be engaging with the different platforms or channels the business offers them, which forms the foundations of relationship building. Relationship marketing Outcomes for companies Customer relationship management (CRM) is all about creating and maintaining a profitable customer relationship by providing customer satisfaction. According to Berry (2002) "Relationship marketing is about appealing, sustaining and developing customer relationships”, they also suggested that "relationship marketing concerns attracting, engaging and retaining customer relationships." Customers are the foundation of any company, so building strong customer relationships is very essential to a business success. Maintaining a positive customer relationship with all your customers can help increase the profitability of the business and lifetime value. Establishing effective CRM can also give a company a competitive advantage. With CRM companies must convey the significance and relevance of quality improvement to each area of the company as a useful approach. This method allows for companies focus on areas that may need improvements, this might involve evaluating their achievements and mistakes regarding quality of their relationship marketing. Marketers can learn from their mistakes and instead look at customer complaints as an opportunity to improve service and gain customer trust and their loyalty. Social media has evolved as an important platform for communication in the streamlining of customer relations. User can now share their overall experience, it can either be a positive or negative feedback/review and they would expect an instant response. Best known social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are not only about business promotion; marketers will use them to communicate with their customers. Approximately 78% of customers would also like brands that assist and engage with them using social media. (Ashley and Tuten, 2015). Building good customer interactions on social media helps brands to improve customer

relationships by making them feel connected to the company, in a way consumer can then become emotionally attached to the company (emotional branding). For example, Nike communicates with its customers to let them know that they are still willing to speak to or address their issues, even though customers might discover the solution themselves. (Appendix 6). Additionally, Apple is a company that uses CRM, this tool plays a critical role in Apple's growth strategy. If you've used an Apple product, there's a likely chance that you'll have to register with an Apple ID, with this ID users are able to access any Apple features. Apple’s special IDs synchronize can monitor and assess the users saved music and film tastes, this allows the business to then offer personalized suggestions depending on what they want or like - this is useful for consumers. Loyalty from consumers is the outcome as a result of the effective engagement. For Apple, this really is a platform that provides perspective into what consumers want, it can be used for natural and easy, personalized messaging or offers, effective management of this relationship can then lead loyal satisfied customers as well as high retention. Loyalty memberships are a form of data collection that businesses may use to form a database and it could also give consumers benefits for instance, earning points, discounts, rewards and more. Marketers often tend to recommend certain items/service to their consumer; this is because with data collecting through Loyalty Cards it provides marketers with relevant details on consumer purchasing trends or browser history. Implications  For customers In the registration process, some businesses require their customers to share specific confidential information, like contact, age/gender, and credit card details. This might be perceived as a “poor customer experience” for certain people. They might have encountered a bad experience from a previous online purchase that might have lacked security or consumer protection, they may therefore not feel comfortable or want to trust the company's website or app. According to Then and DeLong (1999), "fear of doing financial stuff internet purchases" is the most critical obstacle that prevents web browsers from being online consumers. Data breaches in this way refer to the interpretation by consumers that online firms will not be able to protect their purchase and billing address information from being compromised. These anxieties and fears will have a direct impact on consumer online purchasing decisions (Yang and Jun, 2002). Customer satisfaction and the behavioural purpose of consumers in using ecommerce sites, is greatly affected by their interpretation of the level of security and protection controls on the website; trust can impact and greatly influence customer experience, consumers perceive that both trust and honesty of organisations is more crucial to help minimize fear and risk in their online experience. Security concerns can be addressed by the communication of regulations and the code of conduct; therefore, it is very vital that businesses inform their customer that they have effectively implemented these laws.  For companies Customers will only complain because they're not happy, there's a gap between the perceived service and expected service. Marketers need to know why unhappy customers complain, who's likely to complain and how do they complain. The SERVQUAL framework (Appendix 7) recognizes the five limitations (gaps) that may occur between both the needs of the customers and the support provided by the business; It is a means of recording and assessing the level of service experienced by customers (Zeithaml et al.,1998). Not every dissatisfied or unhappy customers is going to complain, instead most of the time they just

leave and never return. So, when there is a customer complaint online (Google reviews), it is an opportunity, this is because it gives the business a chance to engage with them and clearly listen to the customer’s complaint, they can attend to them and effectively resolve the matter. In doing this, the customer will then feel very happy and even valued (emotional attachment); just like that a complaint can be turned into an advantage, if companies are smart enough to understand and implement effective “service recovery” solutions within this area of issue.

Conclusion In conclusion, the role of smartphones plays a massive role in customers and companies perspective influencing the way we all now function or market ourselves which will still continue to in the future. Every time we make a purchase, search or post on social networks we are leaving a considerable amount of digital footprint. Companies are now investing in their online presence and delivery services in order for them to create value and capture value, which it is vital when building strong relationships with their consumers. They might have to come up with more applications of AI in mobile to satisfy and meet customers’ expectation. As discussed in the digital marketing section, there is transformation and adaptation of AR in which business are now using to create and capture value for consumers. Although a number of brands (like Primark) are still not yet able to access AR, marketers should still take note of how these brands have creatively incorporated emerging technologies in their content marketing strategies. At the end of the day as media environment evolves and technology is becoming more advanced, marketers of various sizes of company will have more opportunities to incorporate technology within their marketing approach. And when they do, they're going to have to act rationally and innovatively in how they engage would in it.

References Ashley, C. and Tuten, T., 2015. Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), pp.15-27. Berry, L.L., 2002. Relationship marketing of services perspectives from 1983 and 2000. Journal of relationship marketing, 1(1), pp.59-77. Chaffey, D., 2007. E-business and E-commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. Pearson Education. Comer, J.C. and Wikle, T.A., 2008. Worldwide diffusion of the cellular telephone, 1995– 2005. The Professional Geographer, 60(2), pp.252-269. Hongwei, H. and Lloyd, H., 2020. The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility and marketing philosophy. Journal of Business Research 116 (2020); 176-182. Michaelidou, N., Siamagka, N.T. and Christodoulides, G., 2011. Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of small and medium B2B brands. Industrial marketing management, 40(7), pp.1153-1159. Schmitt, B., 1999. Experiential marketing: A new framework for design and communications. Design Management Journal (Former Series), 10(2), pp.10-16. Statista. 2020. Coronavirus Impact: Device Usage Increase In The UK 2020 | Statista. [online] Available at: [Accessed 27 November 2020]. Then, N.K. and DeLong, M.R., 1999. Apparel shopping on the web. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 91(3), p.65. Yang, Z. and Jun, M., 2002. Consumer perception of e-service quality: from internet purchaser and non-purchaser perspectives. Journal of Business strategies, 19(1), p.19. Yuan, Y.H.E. and Wu, C.K., 2008. Relationships among experiential marketing, experiential value, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 32(3), pp.387410. Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A., 1988. Communication and control processes in the delivery of service quality. Journal of marketing, 52(2), pp.35-48.

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