Abstract Titel: How do established companies communicate with their existing customers? Level: C-level in the Business Administration Author: Jessica Axelsson and Trang Nguyen Thi Thu Supervisor: Per-Arne Wikström Date: 2012-05 Aim: Our aim with this essay is to describe how an established company communicates with its existing customers. We want to explore which communication strategy the company applies to reach their customers. We also want to see what kind of communication the company applies to get to market more effectively and remain on the market longer. Method: The study is a qualitative case study where we have conducted a personal interview with the company president. Result and conclusions: Hamrånge Inrednings AB is a small company that manages to communicate with their customers by using methods like word of mouth and Google-search, in a manner that is efficient and reaches out to the customers. The company is also managing relationship marketing, which involves meeting with clients properly and put them first, trying to understand and finding out what the customer wants to buy from the company. This is a strategy that is going to benefit Hamrånge Inrednings AB in the future, because the strategy that HI uses fulfills the new market demands. Suggestions for future research: It would be interesting to examine and compare the differences between the approaches of the old marketing theories Kotler, Wrong, Saunders and Amstrong (1994) writes in their book "Principles of Marketing". To the new theories that emerged in the marketing approach that is written by Kotler, Jain and Maesincee (2002) in the book "Marketing Moves." Another interesting area is to find out what kind of company that uses the new marketing and how they succeeded. Contribution of the thesis: We hope that our study may help increase the understanding of how important it is for companies with communication and customer relationships to remain on the market today. 4 Key words: Communication strategy, Customer relationships, Relationship marketing, word of mouth.

Word-of-mouth (WOM) is a powerful phenomenon, with the potential to determine a brand’s success by influencing both purchase decisions and the consumers’ experiences. While the predominant view suggests that WOM behavior stems from satisfaction with the brand, self-presentation can also motivate people to share their experiences. This dissertation examines how the desire to convey a particular image, one of being knowledgeable about a product category, motivates and affects WOM behavior. The conceptual framework suggests that social circumstances influence when people feel the motivation to use WOM to convey an image of being knowledgeable about a product category. Relative assessments of the salient audience’s capabilities resulting in perceptions that the speaker possesses more or unique information will likely activate this self-presentation goal. This motivation leads speakers to follow a consistent and systematic pattern of changes to both the content and phrasing of their WOM messages. Specifically, speakers will mention more brands, include claims to establish their credentials, mention both the pros and cons of a brand, adopt objective language, and include more technical jargon in their messages. From the receivers’ perspective, the changes to the content and phrasing result in augmented perceptions of the speaker’s credibility, though the changes affect different dimensions of this construct (i.e., through knowledge perceptions and trustworthiness perceptions). The predicted changes also enhance receivers perceptions regarding the persuasiveness of the message. Empirical testing of the conceptual framework involves three studies, a survey and two scenario-based experiments. The conceptual framework and findings in this dissertation yield important implications for both theory and practice. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-25 15:07:35.356

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Word-of-mouth har länge varit ett intressant och viktigt fenomen inom marknadsföringen. Med introduktionen av Internet och den växande populariteten av sociala medier, så har word-of-mouth förändrats och är nu tillgänglig för många fler konsumenter online och världen över. Word-of-mouth som sker över Internet har fått namnet elektronisk word-of-mouth (förkortat eWOM). Denna studie har undersökt skillnader i inflytandet av olika word-of-mouth-källor, specifikt traditionell muntlig WOM och eWOM. Detta för att se om det finns några skillnader i hur konsumenter söker och tar del av WOM-information inför köpbeslut av nya produkter eller tjänster. Denna studie har också perspektivet att endast kolla på inflytandet av negativa WOM-källor och hur dessa påverkar konsumenters köpbeslut. Studien har genomförts med hjälp utav ett elektroniskt frågeformulär som distribuerats genom Högskolan i Borås studenter samt genom Facebook. Frågeformuläret består av frågor och avsnitt gällande hur viktigt WOM är för konsumenter innan köp av en tidigare oprövad produkt eller tjänst, trovärdigheten av WOM informationen, hur WOM kan ändra ens attityd samt sannolikheten att man avstår köp på grund av negativ WOM.Resultatet från frågeformuläret visar på att traditionell muntlig WOM fortfarande anses vara den bästa WOM-källan, den som används mest och anses vara den mest trovärdiga källan för WOM och fick högst poäng i alla kategorier från frågeformuläret. eWOM från ratingsidor rankades som näst bäst medan eWOM från ens Facebookvänner ansåg vara det sämsta alternativet för eWOM i alla kategorier. Slutsatsen dras därför att negativ WOM-information influerar konsumenter på olika vis beroende på vilken WOM-källa det kommer ifrån. Traditionell muntlig WOM anses vara det bästa, även om eWOM används mycket så anses det inte vara lika trovärdigt och informativt. / Word-of-mouth has been an important phenomenon in marketing for a very long time. With the introduction of the Internet and the growing popularity of social media, word-of-mouth communication has changed and is now available for consumers from all over the world with just the click of a mouse on your computer. This phenomenon has been given the name electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). This study has examined the influence of different WOM-sources, specifically traditional oral WOM and electronic WOM to see if there are any differences in how consumers search and use different WOM-information in their purchase decision. This study has also taken an approach to only look at the influence of negative word-of-mouth from different WOM-sources and their influence. To research this an electronic questionnaire has been used and distributed to student at the University of Borås and also over Facebook. The questionnaire consists of questions regarding how important looking for WOM information before a purchase it, trustworthiness of WOM, how WOM can change your attitude to a product or service and the possibility of not going through with a purchase based on information from WOM-sources.Results from the questionnaire shows that traditional oral WOM is still considered to be the best, most used and trustworthy source of WOM as it scored highest in all categories of the questionnaire. eWOM from rating sites scored second in all categories, and eWOM from Facebook friends scored lowest in all categories. It can therefore be concluded that negative WOM-information can influence consumer purchase decision in different ways, and even though eWOM is widely used it is considered to be less informative and trustworthy than traditional oral WOM.

Experiential marketing has been the new force in the field of marketing for past several years, while traditional marketing which focuses on single product can no longer satisfy nowadays customers. Instead, it is ¡§comprehensive marketing¡¨, the strategy that resorts to personal experiences through integrating organ, thinking, interrelation, interaction, service, and emotion, that rocks this industry. A series of relevant studies by scholar Pine II, Gilmore and Schmitt suggest that ¡§experiential marketing¡¨ can effectively and efficiently improve the satisfaction and loyalty of numerous consumers. This thesis is based on the model of customers¡¦ three-phase decision process by Schiffman and Kanuk (2000), the model of five strategic experiential modules (SEMs) by Schmitt (1999), and other related literatures. In addition to utilizing these models and studies as the basis of this thesis, I accordingly revise the model to further accurately measure the characteristics of the basketball industry, or say Super Basketball League (SBL) in this case. Last but not the least, I also conducted the survey , by using questionnaires, to ask consumers who have attended the SBL games before how experiential elements influence the experiential satisfaction and the behavior of ¡§word of mouth¡¨. After collecting 208 effective questionnaires and running relevant statistics data analyses, the conclusions are found as follows: 1. There is a positive relationship between the promotion incentives used by the SBL and consumers¡¦ willingness to attend the games. 2. There is a positive relationship between the personal interest and consumers¡¦ willingness to attend the games. 3. There is a positive relationship between the opinions of focus groups and consumers¡¦ willingness to attend the games. 4. There is a positive relationship between the audience's positive experience and consumers¡¦ satisfaction. 5. There is a positive relationship between the audience's positive experience and the behavior of word of mouth. 6. The level of customer¡¦s satisfaction will influence the behavior of word of mouth. 7. The various dimensions of the motive to attend the game have positive influence on consumers¡¦ satisfaction through experiential elements. 8. The various dimensions of the motive to attend the game have positive influence on the behavior of word of mouth through experiential elements.

abstract   buzz marketing, the phenomena Have you ever thought about why the small French pastries called macarons suddenly became so extremely popular? Soon they were seen everywhere in the media, on every celebrity party and shortly after of course on every Swedish person’s cake dish. Could it be that a trendy it-girl happened to mention these lovely creations in her blog? What (or who) is it really that decides and controls what is popular and what is going to sell? If one individual can influence a whole group of followers it is definitely something marketers should take advantage of. One cannot any longer rely on traditional advertising, one needs to be more creative and rethink the possibilities to get through the media noise. This brought our attention to Buzz Marketing and Word-of-mouth which is a tool for marketers to make use of individuals to spread positive information in different ways.   research question How does Buzz Marketing work with the individual as a channel of communication?   methodology This is a case study on the idea of Buzz Marketing and the individual as a channel of communication. The foundation of our research is based on a selection of three companies that are all involved in activities oriented towards Buzz Marketing and the individual as an influential factor. The three companies studied are; Pronto Communication, Buzzador and Springtime. We have also used one independent source. The empirical facts have been collected from homepages, personal- and mail interviews and the secondary data has been collected through subject literature and scientific articles.   result & conclusion One needs to choose the right communication channel to get through the media noise, from sender to receiver. The individual functions within Buzz Marketing as a channel of communication and finding the right individual to spread positive Word-of-mouth is of major importance for the message to reach through. What these individuals are called and their required characteristics depends on the person who one asks and the task the individuals are about to perform. What they actually do is basically the same; they spread a message to a specific target group on behalf on a marketing bureau and its clients, often in exchange of free samples or something else that is coveted.  One can then choose to call them ambassadors, innovators, influencers or opinion leaders. It is very important that these individuals have the ability to influence specific target groups and that they are committed. They should also be willing to try new things, have a large social network and be curious. Marketers just need to identify these individuals and get to know them. This may sound like a simple task, but is in fact far from it. If Buzz Marketing is not transparent and well-planned enough it can result in a negative Buzz; every marketer’s nightmare.   Keywords: Buzz Marketing, Word-of-mouth Marketing, Buzz, Word-of-mouth, innovator, opinion leader, communication channels, media noise, segmentation, IT, individual, diffusion of innovations, source credibility.

Word of mouth (WOM) – or information shared among consumers themselves – has long been regarded as one of the most influential information sources for consumers (Brown and Reingen 1987). Unlike offline word of mouth, which typically occurs among people who know each other, online word of mouth typically occurs among strangers who do not know, and are unlikely to ever know, one other. While it is reasonable to assume that social concerns, such as maintaining relationships, are likely to influence people’s offline word of mouth behavior among familiar others, it is unclear whether social concerns dictate people’s online word of mouth behavior. In my dissertation, I look at how social considerations – thoughts about other people – affect people’s online word of mouth behavior. In the second chapter of my dissertation, I examine how people’s choice of word of mouth topic online is influenced by social considerations. Specifically, I find that while people enjoy talking about controversial topics because the topics are intrinsically interesting, people often times avoid these topics because they fear social rejection by their conversation partner. In chapter three, I examine how reviewers’ desire to appear logical (vs. imaginative) during word of mouth transmission affects their memory for the experience. I find that attempting to be logical negatively affects reviewer’s memory and this is due to the logic mindset activating verbal instead of perceptual processes during subsequent recall. In other words, impression management goals (e.g., to present oneself as a rational person) during word of mouth communication may be detrimental for people’s memory . Chapter four examines how consumer evaluations of reviews are driven by consumer beliefs about why reviews are written. I find that, in general, consumers tend to discount positive reviews because they think positive reviews are written for reviewer-specific reason such a self-enhancement or signaling expertise. When temporal contiguity cues – words and phrases indicating that the review was written immediately after the consumption experience – are present, however, people tend to give more credence to positive reviews because these cues make consumers think that the product experience, rather than reviewer-specific goals, precipitated the writing of the review. Taken together, my dissertation shows that social considerations affect both the transmission of word of mouth and the reception of online word of mouth. More generally, my dissertation showcases how thoughts about others (e.g., will others be offended?) influence consumer behavior even in situations where present and future social interactions are unlikely to occur.

I samband med den växande teknologiska utvecklingen har spridningen av internetbaserade recensioner, även kallat electronic-word-of-mouth (eWOM), fått en allt större betydelse för konsumenterna inför ett köpbeslut. Turismbranschen är ett exempel på en bransch där allt fler människor använder online recensioner vid val av hotell online. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur den negativa spridningen av eWOM påverkar köpbeslutsprocessen hos svenska konsumenter vid onlinebokning av hotell. Studien baserades på teorier som belyser följande ämnen; köpbeslutsprocessen, trovärdighet och eWOM.  Studiens urval grundades på individer som har tidigare erfarenheter av hotellbokning online och använder online recensioner vid sin informationssökning samt är över 18 år gamla. Studien bestod av en kvalitativ undersökning där tio respondenter har intervjuats på ett semistrukturerat vis. Intervjufrågorna bestod av 35 frågeställningar som var tematiserade i fyra olika teman med sju subteman och utformade efter studiens frågeställningar samt syfte.  Resultatet påvisade att majoriteten av respondenterna i undersökningen ansåg att negativa recensioner är till hjälp inför deras köpbeslut. Detta gäller vid osäkerhet eller informationsbrist gällandes hotellet. Resultatet visade även att negativ eWOM har en större påverkan på konsumenternas köpbeslut än positiv eWOM.  Majoriteten av respondenterna tyckte att tvåsidig information var en viktig faktor inför deras köpbeslut, samt att recensioner skall vara detaljerade. Den uppfattade trovärdigheten ökade ifall webbplatsen var lättanvänd, allmänt känd och modern. / With regards to the global technological advancements and the effects of both external and internal factors on consumers' decision-making process. Consumers utilize online platforms to convey and to perceive other’s opinions, the act falls under the category electronic word of mouth (eWOM). The aim of this study was to reach a deeper understanding of how negative electronic word of mouth (neWOM) affects consumers' buyer decision process.  The study utilized theories that highlight the following areas: consumer buyer decision process, credibility, electronic word of mouth. With regards to these theories a qualitative research method was applied, and ten semi-structured interviews were carried out. The interview questions were divided into different themes, based on the previously stated theories.  The results indicated that negative reviews are of value for the participants of the study prior to purchasing decisions, especially during situations of insecurity and lack of information. It also showed that neWOM has an effect on their consumer buyer decision process. Their capability to trust certain webpages were based on the popularity, design and the navigational sense of ease or difficulty of the webpage. The results also showed that negative reviews were perceived as more trustworthy by most of the participants.

Past studies suggest that market mavenism refers to the degree to which a consumer is likely to become a market maven. High market mavenism consumers are characterized to possess information across many kinds of product categories and initiate word-of-mouth communication (WOM). High market mavenism consumers are influential consumers and key participants in WOM communication. Due to the explosion of online communication platforms, electronic word-of-mouth communication (eWOM) comes to attention. Understanding the virtual version of market mavenism becomes a salient topic. eMavenism is the extent to which consumers are involved in finding and disseminating marketing or advertising information online. Consumers who are relatively high on eMavenism are conventionally considered eMavens. eMavenism should be regarded as a unique type of market mavenism. This dissertation study aims to examine both the antecedents and eWOM communication behavioral consequences of eMavenism. The antecedents of eMavenism are considered from scattered literature on market mavenism, while eWOM communication behavioral consequences are identified from extensive literature review on the characteristics of eWOM communication. The results suggest that psychological tendencies and technology factor are the most important antecedent groups that positively affect eMavenism. Although consumption factor is not significantly related to eMavenism, it may serve as a perspective to analyze the primary difference between eMavenism and market mavenism. The insignificant relationships between demographics and eMavenism challenge the traditional perception that high mavenism consumers are constrained to the old, the unemployed, or housewives. The findings from this dissertation study debunk that high eMavenism consumers come from a broad variety of demographic groups. The findings call for a shift from focusing on consumer demographics to focusing on consumer psychographics in analyzing eMavenism. As to eWOM communication behavioral consequences, specific anonymity types are preferred by highly eMavenist respondents. Highly eMavenist respondents stay active in different online media outlets and contribute more positive than negative eWOM in online discourse. This dissertation study enhances the theoretical understanding of eMavenism and eWOM communication. The findings are also managerially relevant. / text

In this dissertation, I examine how online conversations as electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) information via social media networks affect business outcomes. Using data from the movie industry, my goal is to show how conversation quantity and quality, defined here as volumes and valence, on social network sites affect important business outcomes such as sales. Using a dynamic simultaneous equation system, I find that social media conversations can be a precursor to and an outcome of sales. Aggregated data from multiple sources show how social media variables and other key variables—volume, valence, and other information related to movies such as YouTube views, ratings, advertising, production budget, number of screens—contribute to box-office and home video sales through eWOM via social media. Findings highlight that eWOM volume correlates with box-office performance and home video sales: the more positive and strong the conversation, the higher the box office and home video sales. The study extends prior research on WOM and offers insight into how film studios can strategically manage social media to enhance box office and home video revenue. / text