Impact of Traditional Marketing on Social Networking Media

This research study aims to investigate the impact of word-of-mouth and traditional forms of marketing on social networking media. The study will collect primary data through a questionnaire for customers and secondary data from various journals, articles, and authors related to the topic. The researcher will employ both quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques, including thematic analysis and factor analysis using SPSS tools. A deductive approach will be used, and hypotheses will be developed. Potential research obstacles include limited time and money, confined research area or topic, and potential prejudices from secondary sources. The study aims to provide a deep insight into the importance of word-of-mouth over traditional marketing forms.

Research proposal – “Word of mouth
marketing versus Traditional Marketing – A
findings from social networking media”

Contents
RESEARCH TOPIC..................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1
Word of mouth marketing......................................................................................2
Traditional Marketing............................................................................................2
Comparison of word-of-mouth and Traditional marketing....................................3
Impact of word of mouth and traditional marketing on social networking media. 4
RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.................................................................4
RESEARCHQUESTION…………………………………………………………..5
LITERATURE REVIEW…......................................................................................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..............................................................................7
HYPOTHESIS...........................................................................................................8
DATA COLLECTION METHODS..........................................................................8
DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE...........................................................................9
RESEARCH APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY....................................................9
Research Obstacles...............................................................................................10
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................10
REFERENCES........................................................................................................11

RESEARCH TOPIC
The topic of the research is “Analyzing the Word of mouth marketing versus
Traditional Marketing – A findings from social networking media”. The present
research is being undertaken to comprehend the effects of word of mouth and
traditional marketing over social networking media. Here, in the subsequent study
a comparison is being made between the traditional and word of mouth marketing.
This will provide a supporting hand to many upcoming talents of the Marketing
industry by having better insight in regards with the traditional marketing and
Word of mouth marketing as well as their significant effects on social media
marketing. Thus, the present research study will focus on the effects of both these
marketing on social networking media and which one is the better option from
word of mouth marketing and traditional marketing.
INTRODUCTION
(My professor says , in the introduction part, I need to specify that “This research
will concern only the age group between 18-25 yrs, we need to specify the reason,
why?? We have taken/chosen this age group for research…. )
Marketing is nothing but defined as the process of communicating the values
and importance of products and services to valuable customers. Sometimes, it
might be interpreted as an art of selling products and services to customers
(Lorette, n.d). In the present scenario, the role of marketing is becoming a key for
the success of business. The heart of every business organization lies on the
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marketing. Many types of marketing are prevailing in this current competitive
business environment. These are traditional marketing, social media marketing and
many more. The traditional marketing involve direct mail, brochures, print
advertising and bill boards etc (Higuera, n.d). Marketing provides a supporting
hand in increasing the sales and revenue of the organization. It also helps in
maintaining the reputation of the firms. Thus, without any type of marketing,
company might crashes their existence and sales (Lorette, n.d).
Word of mouth marketing
Word-of-mouth marketing is a free form of promotion of product and
services, either oral or written by satisfied customers. Here, in this type of
marketing a contended consumer tells other people and group about his or her
experience of using the products and services of the company. Word of mouth
marketing often exists in the market (Cakim, 2009). However, it may be
considered as the first type of marketing. Recently, this type of marketing has
gained attention of most of the practitioners (Stephen, Andrew and Donald, 2008).
There are numerous books, which advertise word of mouth marketing as a feasible
alternative to traditional marketing. After the upcoming of various social
networking media like face book, twitter and LinkedIn and various other websites,
the importance and role of word of mouth marketing has ballooned up. It also
provides a supporting hand in improving the performance of the company. When
speaking about the internet, WOM has prominent features there. Thus, it becomes
indispensible to compare the effects and impacts of word of mouth marketing on
social networking media (Worthwhile word-of-mouth on social media, 2012).
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Traditional Marketing
Each and every business want to grow and achieve a sound client base,
which can further help them in capturing larger market share for extended period
of time (Lilyquist, n.d). This can be made possible by effectively advertising and
promoting the products and services of the firms (Schreiner, n.d). Thus articulating
from this fact, traditional marketing can be defined as any type of promotion,
campaign and advertising being used by the firms for years and years and which
has proven success rate as well. Organizations involved in such type of marketing
can make use of print media, newsletter, flyers, billboards, campaigns, television,
radio and many other forms of traditional marketing tools (Higuera, n.d).
Traditional form of marketing has high rate of success. However, intervention of
many new marketing can pose danger to traditional marketing tools. Therefore,
innovating and use of new forms of marketing can help in supplementing the
growth and success of the company (Stone, 2012).
Comparison of word-of-mouth and Traditional marketing
In current competitive business world, the traditional marketing is
continuously losing its effectiveness. There are many companies who spent
millions of dollars on TV commercials, billboards, radio spots, online impressions
and various other forms of traditional and online marketing (Hill, n.d). All these
brands are now realizing and comprehending the value of word of mouth
marketing. Word of mouth (WOM) marketing is a powerful form of
communication in comparison with the traditional marketing. Further, it is also
very cost effective way to influence and contact the masses. In traditional form of
marketing, marketers cannot have the opportunity to create a two way
communication between the consumers and the firms (Cakim, 2009). While in
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WOM, this is so. In spite of spending millions of dollars on advertisements, most
of the companies are trying to shift towards word of mouth and other forms of
social media marketing so as to have much cheaper marketing strategies in place.
The use of Social media has permitted many people to share their opinions in
regards with the organization, products and services (Hill, n.d).
Impact of word of mouth and traditional marketing on social networking media
Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic by making
use of social networking media. Some of the tools Face book, my space, Twitter,
etc. This kind of marketing is being considered as an entirely new concept and it
came into existence in last one decade. The use of social media marketing is
growing at an astonishing rate (Worthwhile word-of-mouth on social media, 2012).
The impact of word of mouth marketing on social networking media is positive in
nature, however sometime it might pose negative influence too. With the help of
word of mouth benefits of social media sites like, Face book and Twitter can be
made aware to the general public. Social media networking has emerged as new
battlegrounds, where various marketing wars are taking place (Pauwels, 2004).
Thus, it can be attributed that with the help of word of mouth marketing, social
media sites can popularize their existence among the potential users. On the other
hand, traditional marketing too have some positive impact on the social networking
media, but up to a certain limitation (Schreiner, n.d). Direct mails, advertising and
campaigns may help in making the public aware, but revealing experience of a
person on using that products and services will have more influence than any other
means (Nekatibebe, 2012).
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RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The present study is being undertaken to analyze the effectiveness of both
word of mouth and traditional marketing. A deep insight into the concept of both
types of marketing is also being done. Further, a comparison between word of
mouth and traditional marketing is also investigated by the researcher. To
accomplish these aims, many other objectives are also set down and some of them
are:
(My professor says, I need to reduce below points, and use the realistic points
only.. he says this is too much for the research & unrealistic too..)
 To analyze the current social networking media market.
 To assess the difference between traditional and word of mouth marketing.
 Investigating the impact of traditional and word of mouth marketing on
social networking media.
 To evaluate the most effective marketing among word of mouth and
traditional marketing.
RESEARCH QUESTION
(In the Research question, plzz specify which social networking media (like
facebook, twitter,whatapp etc..) we are talking about..?) )
How the impact of word of mouth marketing and traditional marketing on social
networking media affects people attitude & behavior?
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review part of the dissertation evaluates the past theories and
data’s so as to deal with the specified topic of the research. This section is being
involved in the research in order to search various secondary sources. This chapter
is being prepared by taking assistance of past available sources. Literature review
has a well defined structure that is developed by personal insights and many other
literary sources. The present review is going to explore various concepts in regards
with the word of mouth and traditional marketing.
Word of mouth marketing is not a brand new concept. Further, it is not
limited to the dot com world. The importance of word of mouth marketing is being
recognized by marketers and sociologists by more than half a century (Cakim,
2009). This type of marketing greatly affects the purchase decisions of an
individual. Thus, the above facts attributes that most of the people put more weight
into the recommendations of their peers group rather than advertising or any other
forms of marketing. Further, this type of marketing also has a key role to play in
Social networking media. Strategies involved in such type of marketing are very
appealing, as it encompasses the prospects of overcoming consumer resistance
with noticeably lower cost and fast delivery (Trusov, Bucklin and Pauwels, 2009).
Traditional marketing on the other hand enjoys the highest rate of success.
Marketers using advertising, print media, campaigns and flyers are all forms of
traditional marketing. With the help of traditional marketing like newspaper, radio,
flyers and mail service, anyone can learn more about the business (Stone, 2012). In
this current competitive market, the results of traditional forms of marketing i.e.
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advertising and many other methods are very poor and dissatisfactory. As a result,
word of mouth has grabbed this opportunity and becomes the most common
method of communication and research (Hill, n.d). Due to the emergence of
communication technologies, more and more consumer interaction is being
facilitated. Traditional marketing is losing its existence. This can be articulated
form the fact that Word of mouth communication strategies are very appealing as
compared to the traditional advertising (Schreiner, n.d).
In today’s era, social media plays a very crucial role. The platform of
social media has been completely changed into the nature of interaction between
brands and their customers. In addition to this, they directly influences the basic
decision making process of customers (Bennett, 2012). Many studies being
undertaken in this regards has revealed that social networking media has positive
impact on the products and services (Close, 2012). This can further be enhanced by
making use of word of mouth marketing. However, there are many types of
organizations who are making use of both traditional and word of mouth marketing
in social networking media in order to promote market their brand and services
(Bacon, 2011). Use of social networking media is becoming more convenient and
effective for the purpose of promoting to lure customers (Mayzlin, 2004). There
are many networking sites such as, face book, twitter, what’s up and many has
allowed the individuals to interact with one another, build relationships and shares
pictures and information. Most of the firms are making use of these sites in order
to interact with consumers directly. Thus, it becomes important to have deep
insight as to what factors affect the social networking media (Close, 2012).
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This section is considered as the most significant part of the research. It
helps in presenting a theoretical statement, which further shapes the foundation of
the survey of project. Research methodology part of the dissertation provides
support and gives brief introduction in regards with various strategies and
techniques adopted during the research process (Ethridge, 2004). With a view to
track out solutions of various research problems, numerous research instruments
and philosophy was also developed (Gibaldi, 2010). For the purpose of concluding
the research, employment of both primary and secondary research is required.
In order to gather the data and information, both primary and secondary
research methods will be adopted by the researcher. Through secondary sources, an
idea as well as overview of the topic can be extracted (Gill and Johnson, 2002).
The research would be Qualitative in nature and accumulated data will be
evaluated by making use of qualitative research. The primary data will be collected
by developing questionnaires. Here in this research report, the researcher will be
using deductive approach, for this a hypothesis would be designed and assessment
would be made to prove the same.
HYPOTHESIS
(REMOVE HYPOTHESIS, BECAUSE THE RESEARCH QUESTION IN
ITSELF IS ENOUGH)
H0:–Word of mouth and Traditional Marketing affect the social networking media.
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DATA COLLECTION METHODS
(My professor says, this alone will not give us a clear picture.. I need to add in
data collection methods, that why I have chosen the age group of 18-25 years,
What will be in the questionnaire, like:-
(block 1) personal details etc
Block 2
Block 3
Block 4 etc.
. how many blocks & What blocks I’ll be adding in the questionnaire. )
Here in this research proposal, both primary and secondary research methods
will be adopted by the researcher. For the purpose of collecting the primary data
from various customers, the researcher would be going to use survey method. The
respondents comprise of customers between the age group of 18-25 years. Further,
the survey will be conducted by sending questionnaire to these customers. On the
other hand, the secondary data will be collected by exploring various journals,
articles and authors related to the topic. Through secondary sources, an idea as well
as overview of the topic can be extracted (Gill and Johnson, 2002).
DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE
(*Discuss data analysis techniques, using factors
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* Explain in detail, the analytical tools n techniques. (What tools:- like aggression,
multiple aggression, personal details, etc. What factors I’ll be measuring etc. )
Both quantitative and qualitative analysis technique will be used by the
researcher. Qualitative analysis of information will be done by making use of
thematic analysis technique. On the other hand, quantitative analysis of
information and data will be done by making use of SPSS tool such as “factors
analysis”. The factor analysis will support in spotting the impact of different
factors over the loyalty for consumption of different products. It is a statistical
approach, which could be used to analyze the inter-relationships within a large
number of variables as well as to define such variables in terms of their common
underlying dimensions.
RESEARCH APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY
Through research philosophy, researcher will better comprehend the nature
and design of the study in an efficient manner. Many types of philosophies are
present such as positivism, interpretivism and realism. In each and every research,
all these type of philosophies has different meaning (Gibaldi, 2010). On the other
hand, research approach helps in increasing the effectiveness of the research. This
is considered as the next step after selecting an appropriate research philosophy. It
helps in administering the whole process of the research. Here, in this study, the
researcher will be using deductive approach. In this regards, hypothesis will also
need to develop.
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Research Obstacles
 Limited time and money for carrying out an effective research
 Findings cannot be generalized due to confined area or topic of the research
 Views of many authors can be prejudices, as secondary research is being
used in the research (Ethridge, 2004).
CONCLUSION
(My professor wants me to remove the conclusion part, because I’ll be using this in
my dissertation )
On the basis of above facts and figures, it can be concluded that this research
study will going to provide a deep insight in regards with the word of mouth and
traditional forms of marketing. Further, it will also investigate the impacts these
types of marketing will have on social networking media (Close, 2012). An
extensive overview of the importance of word of mouth over traditional marketing
would be explored by the researcher. In addition to this, a comparison between
both these types of marketing will be done. Therefore, further research into this
matter will help in drawing an overview of marketing and its related concept.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cakim, I. M., 2009. Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing: Online Strategies to
Identify Influencers, Craft Stories, and Draw Customers. John Wiley &
Sons.
Close, G. G. A., 2012. Online Consumer Behavior: Theory and Research in Social
Media, Advertising and E-tail. Routledge.
Ethridge, D. E., 2004. Research methodology in applied economics: organizing,
planning, and conducting economic research. 2nded. Wiley-Blackwell.
Gibaldi, J., 2010. Handbook of Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. Modern
Language Association of India.
Gill, J., and Johnson, P., 2002. Research Methods for Managers. 3rd ed. London:
SAGE Publications Ltd.
Mayzlin, D., 2004. Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth
Communication. Marketing Science. 23(4). pp.545-60.
Pauwels, 2004. How Dynamic Consumer Response, Competitor Response,
Company Support, and Company Inertia Shape Long-Term Marketing
Effectiveness. Marketing Science. 23(4). pp.596-610.
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Stephen, Andrew, T., and Donald, R. L., 2008. Recipient Characteristics and
Product-Related Word-of-Mouth Transmission: The Role of Social Capital.
Columbia University.
Trusov, M. Bucklin, R. E., and Pauwels, K., 2009. Effects of word-of-mouth
versus traditional marketing: findings from an internet social networking
site. Journal of Marketing. 73(5). pp. 90-102.
Online references
Bacon, J., 2011. Impact of Social Media on Marketing Industry. [Online].
Available through: <http://www.fourthsource.com/social-media/impact-of-
social-media-on-marketing-industry-3515>. [Accessed on 17thDecember
2012].
Bennett, S., 2012. Marketing 101 – Social Media v/s Traditional Media
[INFOGRAPHIC]. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-vs-traditional-media-
marketing_b25389>. [Accessed on 17thDecember 2012].
Higuera, V., n.d. Advantages & Disadvantages of Traditional Marketing. [Online].
Available through: <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-
disadvantages-traditional-marketing-25573.html>. [Accessed on
17thDecember 2012].
Hill, G., n.d. Word of mouth v/s traditional marketing. Friend or foe. [Online].
Available through: <http://returnonbehavior.com/2009/09/word-of-mouth-
versus-traditional-marketing-friend-or-foe/>. [Accessed on 17thDecember
2012].
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Lilyquist, M., n.d. Types of Marketing: Traditional & Internet. [Online]. Available
through: <http://homebusiness.about.com/od/marketingadvertising/a/Types-
Of-Marketing-Traditional-And-Internet.htm>. [Accessed on 17thDecember
2012].
Lorette, K., n.d. The Importance of Marketing for the Success of a Business.
[Online]. Available through: <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-
marketing-success-business-589.html>. [Accessed on 17thDecember 2012].
Nekatibebe, T., 2012. Evaluating the Impact of Social Media on Traditional
Marketing. [pdf]. Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
Available through: Website:
<
http://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/46954/Nekatibeb_Tesf
aye.pdf?sequence=1>. [Accessed on 17thDecember 2012].
Schreiner, E., n.d. Traditional Marketing Tools. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.ehow.com/info_7777604_traditional-marketing-tools.html>.
[Accessed on 17thDecember 2012].
Stone, K. E., 2012. Why Traditional Marketing Trumps Social Media, And What
To Do About It. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2012/09/18/why-traditional-marketing-
trumps-social-media-and-what-to-do-about-it/>. [Accessed on 17thDecember
2012].
Worthwhile word-of-mouth on social media. 2012. [Online]. Available through:
<http://sciencenordic.com/worthwhile-word-mouth-social-media>.
[Accessed on 17thDecember 2012].
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