Abstract Title: Digital marketing communications in startup companies Author: Jacob Petersson Supervisor: Olga Rauhut Kompaniets Keywords: Startup companies, digital marketing, media channels, brand, stakeholders. Problem formulation: What marketing communication do startup companies use today in digital forums and how important is it for the relationship with the stakeholders? Purpose: The study will investigate digital marketing communications for startup companies in southern Sweden. Furthermore, the study intends to contribute to a model that helps start-ups to achieve successful marketing communication in digital forums. Delimitation: The study was limited to smaller startup companies in southern Sweden. Method: The author has conducted a qualitative study with an abductive research approach. The theory was collected through a literature review of previous research studies and books. The empirics were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten respondents from different startup companies. Conclusion: The study willdigital marketing communications for startup companies in southern Sweden. Furthermore, the study intends to contribute to a model that helps start- ups to achieve successful marketing communication in digital forums.The results point to the importance of using social media and the website asmedia channels in digital marketing communication. By starting early with digital marketingcommunication, startup companies can begin branding. Furthermore, the results indicate thatthe main purpose of digital marketing communication is to reach out to stakeholders andcreate a relationship. A conclusion that can be drawn is that there is a need to strengthencontinuous work with digital marketing communications in startup companies.

Background: Global services, particularly professional services, have become one of the world economy’s fastest growing sectors and professionals are becoming increasingly important as a result of this shift. Inherent differences, characterizing professional services, result in a scarcity of empirical evidence on how marketing communications are perceived and executed. Additionally, clients play a big role in the co-creation of the service, making relationships and communication between clients and PSF critical. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate how PSFs communicate their services to clients. As an example of a PSF, the researchers chose to investigate the digital marketing agency, GA Agency, and their clients. This research aims to contribute to the academic field of services marketing and, more specifically, the stream of literature on PSFs and their communication and propose a theoretical model that represents their findings. Method: This research combines the interpretivism paradigm with qualitative research and an inductive approach, utilizing GA Agency as a single case study, to address the purpose of this research. The researchers designed open-ended, semi-structured research questions that were then posed to 11 employees of GA Agency and 2 of their clients. Conclusion: The findings of this research demonstrated the need for communication that is understandable for the clients, for example, in terms of resources. Additionally, educating the clients is important, to tackle the knowledge gap between agency and client, known as information asymmetry, and therefore build trust. Building a relationship between agency and client can help to enable communication and develop interactions and relationships simultaneously. This is represented in the conceptual model, showing the stages of relationship and according communication.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / In 2018, the Ministry of Health of Peru reported that more than 50% of the Peruvian population suffers from obesity. In total, 40% of the people affected by this disease are in the metropolitan area of Lima. Moreover, a report by the newspaper Gestión states that, on average, each Peruvian citizen consumes 52 kg of ultra-processed food per year. These alarming figures show that a change in the lifestyle of the citizens of Lima is necessary. It is imperative to increase peoples’ awareness of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, which in turn means improving eating habits and exercising. Given the increase of people with health problems caused by poor nutrition, the manufacture of health products, such as nut butter, must be natural, without added sugar, hydrogenated oils, added chemicals, or preservatives. Nuts belong to the group of energy foods and eating them provides great health benefits and helps fight obesity. They are a source rich in proteins and healthy fat, provide energy, and contain vitamins and antioxidants, among other benefits. They are also suitable for vegetarians, vegan, celiac, and diabetic people. Therefore, the manufacture and sale of handmade nut butter is a business opportunity in Lima. To prove this, the lean startup methodology was used, and through the development of viable minimum products, the viability of the project was evidenced. The project management bases of the Project Management Institute (PMI) are used as guidelines to develop the project, and digital marketing tools are applied to make the products known to the target market. / Revisión por pares

Background: Social media marketing has been used to facilitate communications and interactions between customers and brands and is considered as the effective driver to influence the customers’ buying behaviours and loyalty. Since its emergence in Vietnam market, Samsung smartphone brand has secured a considerable market share in this country and has activated some social media platforms to stay connected with its customers. Though the social media marketing activities and their impacts on brand loyalty have been studied by a number of researchers, the specific case of the smartphone industry has not been eyed enough.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how social media marketing activities influence brand loyalty with the specific case of Samsung smartphones in Vietnam.  Method: The chosen approach to address the purpose of this study is deductive. Descriptive design and quantitative technique are purposefully selected to form a structure of methodology of this study. Specifically, the data collected via the tool of survey questionnaires which were delivered to respondents through social media platforms to yield out 197 usable answers.  Conclusion: The results show that the six elements of social media marketing activities, namely: Entertainment, Interaction, Trendiness, Customization, Word of Mouth and Promotion have positive correlations with Brand loyalty. With some differences in terms of responses from different age groups and genders in each category towards the dimensions being utilized on social media sites, the brand is suggested to give a better focus on the importance of Entertainment and Promotion. Also, the platforms of Instagram and Youtube should be better managed to attract and satisfy a larger number of followers.

Background: As of today, it is apparent that with the ever-changing demands and needs of customers, companies are facing enormous pressure to deliver the right value, on time, in the right way, and proper manner. To realize the full potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a careful plan and method need to be established in the development and deployment when incorporating the technology with marketing. Technology is evolving at a rapid pace and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be found in a variety of applications. AI in marketing can provide valuable data clusterization and insights for personalized recommendations, customer segmentation, or even advertising optimization.  Problem:  To date, a few studies have been made due to the rapid development of AI which has shown an opportunity for marketers. From this hype, companies are looking into speedy implementation where one can forget that this technology comes with risks and threats. “The problem is that everybody has unconscious biases and people embed their own biases into technology” (Kantayya, 2021). Although machines can deliver personalized numerical information, it cannot deliver new solutions such as products and services, nor classify different outputs with a cognitive mindset which could result in biased results. The objective of this research is to utilize the information and insights gathered from experts in the field of engineering and marketing to gain a holistic view of the current and future capabilities of AI in marketing.  Purpose: The focus of this bachelor thesis is to provide additional insights in regards to Artificial Intelligence in relation to marketing, taking into consideration bias, personalization, the black box, along with other possible implications of AI systems, also referred to as the dark side. To fulfill the researchers’ objective, qualitative interviews with practitioners and employees with different roles within the field of AI and Marketing were conducted. The paper will be focusing on concepts, theories, secondary data, and interviews which will be further discussed and give opportunities for future research.   Method: To perform this research, a qualitative research design was applied, and 12 structured interviews were conducted with those who have knowledge and experience with AI, marketing, or both.  Results: The study elucidates the potentials and fallbacks of Artificial Intelligence in marketing. Where the findings suggest a mixture of human intervention and technology is needed to work against the perceptions, bias, and manipulation the technology can possess. The aims then guide towards the conclusion presenting the important cognitive and emotional skills that humans obtain that are currently lacking in AI.  This study finds several key areas both in terms of opportunities and risks. Such key areas involve the possibility of delivering new, unique personalized content to a mass audience at lightning-quick speed and at the same time presenting a handful of risks by giving machines the permission to make human decisions. Risks found in this study presented as the dark side include the bubble, bias, manipulation, fear of losing jobs, lack of transparency creating the black-box phenomena. Therefore, this research is interesting especially for marketing managers in how AI could be used both from an opportunity perspective and possible risks to consider.

The phenomenon of Live Video Shopping (LVS) has gained increased attention in recent years. Sinceapproximately 2017, the Chinese market has brought LVSto the attention of the public. In terms of overall market share, LVS was projected to account for roughly 20% of the overalle-commerce volume in Chinauntil 2021. Despite that, within Europe LVS has not seen such rapid growth and seems to be still a neglected domain,both in practice and in academia.Most academic research on LVS has originated in China and took place in an Asian setting. From a European standpoint, these findings can onlyserve as a starting point for further researchdue to cultural differences. Sincemost extant research on the topic of LVS adopted a quantitative research design, we could clearly identify a lack of qualitative studies in a European context. Therefore, our study aims to fill this research gap by investigating European consumersperceived value of LVS and their motivations to engage in it. A qualitative research design is particularly suitable for the exploratory nature of ourresearch. For the collection of data, we conducted three synchronous online focus groups through purposive sampling of European participants. In addition to that, and as a triangulation for our data sources, Pål Burman, the CEO of the LVS provider Zellma, was interviewed. With this we were able to includedifferent perspectives on the topic. It also helped us to increase thevalidityofthemanagerial implications.Usingthematic analysis, we could identify themes that theparticipants associated with the concept of LVS. The findings suggest that the perceived value of LVS for European consumers is not indisputable. Based on the theoretical concept of perceived value,LVS has to solve the trade-off between give and get components. This means that the committed time for attending an LVS stream has to be compensated by certainbenefits, such asdiscounts, enhanced product information, exclusivity of content,or inspiration. By using the theoretical framework of Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), we were able to divide the motivations of European consumers to engage in LVS in three types of gratifications: hedonic, utilitarian, and social. As opposed to prior Asian research on the topic, social gratifications only played a minor role forEuropean consumers. Reasons for an interaction between the viewer and the broadcaster were primarily product-related and utilitarian by nature. Engagement for the sake of social motives could not be confirmed. Utilitarian gratifications desired byEuropean consumers were mainly connected to theobtainment of enhanced production information, leading to more informed purchase decisions. Hedonic motivations were for exampleentertainmentand inspiration. When connecting UGT to the TechnologyAcceptance Model (TAM), we have also been able to identify consumers' approachesto LVS as a new technology.Crucial here weretheperceived ease of use and perceived usefulnessof LVS.It was shown that consumers require LVS to be as easy or easier than normal e-commerce shopping is already.LVS would further be perceived as useful if it could provide the viewers with something uniquethat old technologies are not able to provide.Asa new digital phenomenon, itis expected to serve as a complement to physical and online stores. In fact, LVS might not only serve as a platform of sales, but also tocreate long-lasting relationships between a brand and its consumers with consumer engagementas a main desired outcome.

Kundbortfall är en utmaning vilket flertalet organisationer står inför. Tidigare studier påvisar att digital marknadsföring kan vara en lösning för att minska kundbortfall, detta på grund av att digital marknadsföring kan bidra till ökad kundnöjdhet vilket i sin tur leder till kundlojalitet. Denna lojalitet gör att kunden stannar hos organisationen trots att de får erbjudanden från konkurrenter. Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att undersöka hur och varför digital marknadsföring nyttjas för att hämma kundbortfall inom telekommunikationsbolag. Valet av bransch och avgränsning baseras på att telekommunikationsbranschen påverkas kraftigt av kundbortfall. Detta på grund av den hårda konkurrensen samt att marknaden inom branschen är mättad. Leverantörer och konkurrenter erbjuder liknande produkter och tjänster vilket är en bidragande faktorer för kundbortfall inom telekommunikationsbranschen. Uppsatsens slutsats utformas från en analys av insamlad empiri från semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyseras med stöd av teoretiskt referensram, tidigare forskning samt bakgrund till ämnet. Resultatet tydliggör vikten av digital marknadsföring i kommunikationen för att möjliggöra lönsamhet i form av kundnöjdhet. Resultatet tydliggör även hur digital marknadsföring nyttjas i syfte att förstå kundbeteende samt ge stöd i utformningen av recovery strategies. / Organisations are facing a crucial challenge in terms of customer churn. Previous studies show that digital marketing can be a solution to reduce customer churn. This is because digital marketing can contribute to increased customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to customer loyalty. This loyalty makes the customer stay with the organisation despite receiving offers from competitors. The purpose of this qualitative research is to investigate how and why digital marketing is used to inhibit customer churn in telecommunications companies. The choice of industry and demarcation is based on the fact that the telecommunications industry is heavily affected by customer churn. This is due to the fierce competitive environment and the saturation of the market within the industry. Suppliers and competitors offer similar products and services, which is a contributing factor to customer churn in the telecommunications industry. The conclusion of this paper is formulated from an analysis of collected empirical data from semi-structured interviews which are analysed with the support of theoretical framework, previous research and background to the topic. The findings clarify the importance of digital marketing in communication to enable profitability through customer satisfaction. The study also clarifies how digital marketing is used to understand customer behaviour and to support the development of recovery strategies.

Consumer purchase decisions is a vital process for online fashion retailers to customers. The Corona pandemic has resulted in more people purchasing through the internet and increase online shopping in Bangladesh than ever before. A limited number of studies provide insight into how consumers are influenced to buy fashion products from online specifically through Facebook. In this regard, it is very important for retailers to present their product and services to consumers in an appropriate way for their digital platform. In Bangladesh, consumers are moving towards online and e-commerce fashion as a new trend now than ever before. Therefore, the author found it interesting to research digital marketing influences in consumers purchase decisions. Existing studies about consumer purchase decisions of fashion product has provided a limited understanding of the phenomenon in terms of Bangladesh. However, overall process of making purchase decisions is studied insufficiently. There is insufficient conceptually reasoned during taking decision to buy a fashion product from Facebook. Consumers are facing challenges due to lack of scholarly investigation, practical advice, practice, strategy for making the right purchase decision in Bangladesh, Additionally, it is difficult to make the right choice and make ideal purchase for them through online and e-commerce experiences. The findings of this study will contribute to the understanding and increase knowledge of consumer purchase decisions from online shopping and furthermore, it is also interesting to see how fashion brands use online platforms like Facebook to promote their fashion brands. In addition, this study will provide a brief introduction to the digital marketing, Facebook advertisement targeting specific consumers and marketers. In general, this study will provide guidelines for those who seek to understand, evaluate, and investigate the digital marketing and the factors that influences purchase decisions. At the same time, this study will deliver guidelines for fashion brand managers on Facebook advertisement process and give them a sense of direction on advertisement content selection and the areas that need more focus while using digital marketing on Facebook. To fulfill the purpose of this study, a qualitative method (inductive approach) was chosen to collect and analyze the relevant data. Data collection has been carried out through telephone interviews with five individual experts in fashion product sourcing, production, marketing, quality, logistics and merchandising in Bangladesh. To move with this research, the author will have to code and systemize the raw data and using the codes has made a theme that are relevant and connected with theoretical framework in this study. The findings were interpret using simple terms and general conclusions were drawn. Product quality, communication, review, recommendation, product aesthetics and price are the key influencer to take fashion product purchase decisions. Beside this, an organized Facebook page, Facebook live show, advertisement content also affects purchase decisions. Sometimes, brand value can influence in purchase fashion product.

Las acciones de fidelización de ecommerce se han vuelto en una herramienta esencial para las compañías. Puesto que, les facilita a las empresas a que sus productos o servicios no necesariamente se puedan adquirir presencial, si no de manera virtual por sus canales online. Cabe mencionar que esta investigación presenta la adecuada originalidad, ya que se estudia por primera vez las acciones de fidelización de ecommerce en supermercados online y que los resultados pueden ayudar a mejorar la implementación adecuada de estrategias online para las compañías con respecto a la preferencia de marca. Del mismo modo, la finalidad de la investigación es determinar la relación de las acciones de fidelización de ecommerce con respecto a la preferencia de marca de los supermercados peruanos en Lima Metropolitana. Por otro lado, se realizó una investigación mixta. El estudio cualitativo está compuesto por dos focus group de seis personas entre 20 a 35 años; del mismo modo por entrevistas a profundidad, de las cuales fueron realizadas a un experto del sector de supermercados, un especialista en comportamiento al consumidor digital y un gerente de marketing de uno de los supermercados peruanos; finalmente un estudio cuantitativo aplicado a 250 encuestas de manera online al público objetivo. Por último, se realizó un análisis correlacional entre la variable e-loyalty (que representa fidelización de ecommerce) y los servicios premium; de lo que se obtuvo como resultado que sí existe relación. Por otro lado la variable brand loyalty y e-loyalty; de lo que se obtuvo como resultado que si existe relación. y el brand loyalty; de lo que se obtuvo como resultados que existe una relación. / The subject of this research focuses on the "Loyalty Strategies in E-Commerce in relation to the preference of brands in supermarkets within the grocery category in metropolitan Lima." For its development, the content has been divided into three parts: introduction, three chapters (theoretical framework, methodology and field) and finally, conclusions (discussion and implications that have been found in the research). This research will support the new role that E-Commerce plays in consumer brand preference. Thus, brands are developing new strategies such as CRM, Inbound, Marketing or Dynamic Remarketing that seek to attract and attract new customers through loyalty actions used by major supermarkets such as Wong, Vivanda and Tottus. The Estrada methodology (2017) in which it studies the loyalty process in relation to brand preference in retailers in Bogotá facilitated the design and scope of this study. The design is non-experimental with a cross-sectional and correlational scope, since the characteristic of two actions at specific times is observed and specified. Similarly, a mixed approach was used, that is qualitative and quantitative. The results of the study include conclusions from the buying behavior of the target audience online, the influence of the loyalty actions in the purchase and preference of two places of purchase, showrooming and webrooming. From the aforementioned, it is broken down that the most valued actions for the consumer are the E-mail marketing and the Differentiated Services that the companies currently offer. / Trabajo de investigación

Internet marketing is critical for meeting changing consumer needs and staying competitive in the business environment. Small business owners need strategies on how to use Internet marketing to promote their products or services. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how 5 small business owners in Maryland developed and implemented an online marketing strategy. Participants were recruited for their roles as the chief decision maker of their business; additional prerequisites for their participation were that they used Internet marketing, represented different industries, and had fewer than 20 employees. Data came from semi-structured interviews with the small business owners, direct observations of the firms' online marketing processes and technology, and evaluation of companies' use of different Internet marketing channels. The data analysis strategy drew on resource-based view theory propositions, examinations of conflicting explanations discovered during the literature review, and cross-case synthesis. The 5 emergent themes encompassed unstructured planning, limited Internet marketing knowledge and expertise, use of Internet marketing channels and tools, lack of systematic approach to the management of Internet marketing, and inadequate measurement of Internet marketing efforts. By engaging in Internet marketing strategy planning, acquiring specialized Internet marketing knowledge, measuring marketing performance, and extending their Internal marketing resources through outsourcing, small business owners may develop and implement successful online marketing strategies. These findings may influence positive social change by contributing to more effective and efficient marketing practices in small firms that can lead to better financial performance, higher survival rates, and a healthier economic system.