Impact of Social Marketing on Sales and Profitability: A Case Study of Woolworths

This research project aims to investigate the impact of social marketing on the sales and profitability of Woolworths, a leading Australian retail organization. The study will explore both the positive and negative implications of social media marketing strategies on the company's performance. Through a mixed-methods approach, including a survey of Woolworths stakeholders and a comprehensive literature review, the research will analyze the effectiveness of social marketing tools in driving sales and profitability. The findings will provide valuable insights for Woolworths and other retail organizations seeking to optimize their social media marketing strategies.

Assessment 3: Project Proposal
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................................3
2. Problem statement...................................................................................................................................4
3. Aim and Objectives/Research Question..................................................................................................5
4. Justification and potential output of the research.....................................................................................5
5. Conceptual Framework............................................................................................................................6
5.1 Overview of social marketing............................................................................................................6
5.2 Positive implications of social marketing on sales and profitability..................................................6
5.3 Negative implications of social marketing on the sales and profitability...........................................8
5.4 Hypothesis Development...................................................................................................................9
6. Methodology...........................................................................................................................................9
6.1 Research Methods............................................................................................................................10
6.2 Data collection sources....................................................................................................................10
6.3 Analysis techniques.........................................................................................................................11
6.4 Presenting the secondary data..........................................................................................................12
6.5 Structure of the Study......................................................................................................................12
6.6 Budget, Project Activities and Gantt chart.......................................................................................12
6.7 Project activities and schedules.......................................................................................................13
References.................................................................................................................................................16
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1. Introduction
Nowadays the business organizations and enterprises are continuously turning to the social
mediums in order to connect and communicate with the customers as the traditional methods of
marketing and advertising are becoming obsolete with the passing of time. The use of social
marketing has significantly transformed the marketing approaches of the business organizations
and their interactions and communications with the people and society as a whole. Social
marketing tools are efficient in building and cultivating the personal and professional networks
and developing relationships with the customers effectively. Over the last years, the number of
companies and enterprises has adopted the social marketing tools with an objective to
communicate with the customers in an attractive way that will improve the sales and profitability
of the organization.
The structure of the report is as follows. The first part of the report is problem statement that
discloses about the nature of the research, followed by research aims and objectives, justification
and potential output of the research, conceptual framework and development of hypothesis and
methodology that will entail about the methods and approaches used in the research. An action
plan and Gantt chart is also prepared in the proposal that entails the time duration of each of the
activity of the research.
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2. Problem statement
In the growing world of information technology, social media tools are very efficient and
effective in marketing that helps the business organization in maximizing the sales and
profitability with greater ease and flexibility. The supermarket giant Woolworths has consistently
faced problems in its social marketing where the marketing is not efficient in meeting the set
targets in terms of sales and profitability. Due to lack of effective marketing, the organization is
not getting quality reviews and feedbacks from their customers that do not allow the organization
to learn about the needs and demands of the customers in a proper way. Also due to this, they
cannot modify the products and services in accordance with the needs and demands of the
customers. All these factors have contributed to a major issue that needs serious consideration by
the organization as it might harm the sales and profitability of the organization that ultimately
influence the sustainability of the organization. Hence the organization needs to critically modify
and improve its social marketing tools that will not only improve the rate of sales and
profitability for the organization but also will enhance the trust and loyalty of the existing
customers and attracts new customers.
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3. Aim and Objectives/Research Question
Aim: The aim of the report is to learn and explore the impact of social marketing on the sales
and profitability of a renowned retail organization in Australia, Woolworths. The main focus of
the report is on the application of social marketing in the retail sector in Australia.
Objectives: The major objectives of the research are stated as under;
• To critically analyze the positive impact of social marketing on the sales and profitability
of Woolworths.
• To investigative the negative consequences of the social marketing on the organizational
sales and profitability.
Research question
Question 1 - What are the major implications of social marketing on the sales and profitability of
Woolworths?
Question 2- How the sound use of social marketing tools helps in raising the sales and
profitability of the organization?
4. Justification and potential output of the research
On the basis of the critical reviews and opinions presented by different authors and philosophers,
a number of implications of the social marketing can be observed on the sales and profitability of
the business organization which are both positive and negative. The findings of the research will
be helpful in offering a number of solutions for the research problem in an efficient manner.
With the study of the literature in the research report, the research aims and objectives can be
effectively accomplished with greater ease and flexibility and the research questions can be
easily answered. Nevertheless, with the combination of the existing studies, it would be possible
to find a meaningful conclusion regarding the impact of social marketing on sales and
profitability. The findings and outcomes of the research will act as insight for the future
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researches and also it can be used by the organizations in the retail sector to improve the
structure of sales and profitability with the social marketing.
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5. Conceptual Framework
5.1 Overview of social marketing
According to the words of Arca (2012), in the present environment, social marketing is one of
the best opportunities available for the business organizations to connect their brand with the
potential customers in an attractive way. The new media channel is helpful in winning the trust
of the customers by connecting them deeply. Nowadays the marketers are strictly considering to
implement the social initiatives at a very higher rate that makes the social media marketing very
sophisticated. Social media has continuously becoming a trend that represents a marketing
opportunity for the companies to directly deal with the customers. It is the newer form of
marketing which is used to connect large number of customers through online communities,
social networks, blog marketing and so on. The pace at which the social marketing is growing in
the business environment is mind-boggling. It is an efficient marketing platform that motivates
full proof marketing communication and interaction between the sellers and buyers in an
authentic way (Kotler, 2015). The global companies have recognized the importance of the
social marketing and utilizing them with the creativity and innovations in order to empower the
marketing campaigns effectively. The social media marketing enables the organizations and
companies in sharing their knowledge and expertise, gain the trust and loyalty of the customers.
Social media marketing is used as a communication tool that helps the companies in easy access
to the interested customers and also promotes their products and services in form of those who
don't know the product. It helps in the creation of a personality of the brand and creates long-
term relationships with the customers (Turban, et. al., 2017).
5.2 Positive implications of social marketing on sales and profitability
In the words of Ming and Yazdanifard (2014), with the use of the social marketing tools in the
marketing and advertising, the business organizations and companies can effectively enhance
their sales and profitability in an effective way. In the fast-paced business society, social
marketing offers a platform to the business organization to engage more and more customers
towards the business products and services. The one of the most positive impact of social
marketing can be observed on the sales and profitability of the businesses. Profitability is the
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financial benefit earned by the companies from their business activities. Profitability is the main
aim of the organizations for which they operate and survive in the competitive business scenery.
Without adequate profits and revenues, no business can survive in the competitive environment
for long time (Kumar & Reinartz, 2018). The business organizations have to put lots of efforts to
maximize their profitability. Appropriate and attractive marketing helps in maximizing the sales
that ultimately drives the profitability of the organization in the positive direction. With the use
of social marketing, the companies can enjoy sound relationships with the stakeholders like
customers and learn about their needs and demands effectively With the identification of the
needs and desires of the customers, it would easy for the organization to produce or modify the
products and services in accordance with the customer’s expectations (Scott, 2015).
In the opinion of Chheda (2014), there are a number of tools of social marketing which enables
the companies to raise their sales and profitability such as blogging, social networking tools like
Facebook, LinkedIn etc. Blogging is a platform that helps the companies in the demonstration of
the ideas and opinions to the customers as well as society. The companies can write the blogs as
an attempt to create a positive image of their products and services in the eyes of the potential
customers. Also, these can be used to stimulate debate with the readers and solve their queries
and misunderstandings about the offered products and services. Social networking tools are
widely used by people to share information, interact with others hence sharing the knowledge
about the products and services through the social networking tools like Facebook help the
organization in influencing a large number of customers in a very short time (Babin & Zikmund,
2015). The main advantage of this social marketing tool is that it is used by almost everyone in
the modern society. Another social networking tool is efficient for the companies monitoring the
online discussions about their products, services, policies etc. It is globally used tool which helps
in the maximization of the brand awareness of the companies to a greater extent. With the use of
all these social tools in the marketing and advertising, the business organizations and companies
can effectively improve their sales and profitability with greater ease and flexibility (Chheda,
2014).
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(Source: Facebook, 2018)
5.3 Negative implications of social marketing on the sales and profitability
As per the opinion of Bhattacharya (2018), social marketing refers to the use of social platforms
in order to promote the products and services in the eyes of the customers and society. There is a
number of companies are using the platform increasingly to share information about the products
and services with the customers. Along with the number of advantages, there is a number of bad
consequences of the use of social marketing in the business that harms the sales and profitability
in an effective way. With the advent of the social media marketing, anyone can post a negative
comment on the social profile or page of the company that causes harm to the reputation and
position of the company in the market (Buratowski, 2013). There are some companies who can
have control to limit the damaging posts on their profiles but not all and in case it is deleted by
the company and taken off from the page but a publicized negative comment on the internet
cannot be truly deleted hence it should be critically considered by the business organizations
before using the social media platforms for the purpose of marketing and advertising of their
products and services (Dewan & Ramaprasad, 2014). Also social marketing platforms like
Facebook, online blogging needs regular monitoring and controlling by the technical experts
who possess sound knowledge and expertise in the field of social marketing that increases the
costs of the organizations in recruiting the experts if the existing staff does not possess the
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required knowledge and expertise. Due to this, in spite of enhancing the sales and profitability, it
tends to the decline them both (Papadopoulos & Heslop, 2014). At the same time, employees
who spend most of their times on the social marketing platforms are less productive as they
ended up most of their times on the social networking sites instead of focusing on other
important areas which are a serious threat for the sales and profitability of the organization. With
social marketing of the offered products and services, the organization receives number of
feedbacks and reviews from the different customers that demands modifications in the products;
it is not possible for the company to implement the changes in the products and services in
reference to the feedback of each and every customer (Sinha and Singh, 2017).
On the basis of the above literature, both positive and negative implications of social marketing
have evaluated that offers pertinent knowledge and understanding about the use of social
marketing on the business sales and profitability. Undoubtedly, social marketing is one of the
efficient tools of marketing that helps in building brand awareness, engaging more customers and
improving sales and profitability but at the same time it also brings number of challenges for the
business organizations that in spite of drawing sound profits and sales harm the reputation and
brand image of the organization (Hajli, 2014).
5.4 Hypothesis Development
On the basis of the above literature review, following hypothesis is developed for the study;
H0- Social marketing has a positive impact on the sales and profitability of the organizations.
H1-Social marketing has a negative impact on the sales and profitability of the organizations.
6. Methodology
As per the words of O'Brien & Saldanha (2014), methodology refers to the set of tools and
techniques which are used in the research for the investigation and examination of the research
problem deeply. The discussion in the section will present the detail description of the methods,
data sources tools and analysis techniques used in the research.
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6.1 Research Methods
Quantitative: It is an explanatory type of research which is used for gaining an understanding of
underlying reasons and opinions. It offers deep insight into the research problem and deals with
the information and data that cannot be presented in numerical and statistical terms (Takhar-Lail
& Ghorbani, 2015).
Quantitative: It is the systematic investigation of the research problem with the help of the
statistical, mathematical and computational techniques. In this research method, data and
information can be easily analyzed and interpreted in the numerical and statistical forms.
Mixed: It is the combination of qualitative and quantitative research where the application of
both the methods is used to develop meaningful findings and conclusions. It is an efficient
method of research that is widely adopted in the academic researchers as the application of
separate qualitative or quantitative method does not ensure desired results and outcomes
(Somoray, et. al., 2016).
As the subject of the research is wide, hence the mixed research methodology is used with the
application of both quantitative and quantitative methods.
6.2 Data collection sources
Primary sources: The data and information collected from the primary sources are the first-hand
data which have not been used earlier for any purpose (Farrell & Brunton, 2016). The primary
sources of data collection in this research include the survey questionnaire and interviews where
questionnaire will be distributed to the set of population and their responses will be recorded for
further analysis and evaluation. Also, the interviews will be conducted where the same questions
stated in the questionnaire and in the same order will be asked from the selected samples in order
to gain their direct opinion about the research topic.
Secondary sources: The secondary information is the data which has already been used in the
previous studies or researchers or for any other purpose (Hewson & Stewart, 2016). In addition
to the survey questionnaire, the data will be also collected from the secondary sources like
articles, journals, books, company websites and internet sources. Academic journals and reviews
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published by the universities will be considered for the collection of relevant data and
information. In addition to it, internet sources like Research gate will be used for the collection
of efficient and effective secondary information. The data will be critically reviewed and
analyzed and only the relevant data will be added to the research that offers knowledge and
information associated with the subject of the research. The data is collected from the different
sources for the accomplishment of the objectives of the research i.e. to learn about the
implication of the social marketing on the sales and profitability of the business.
6.3 Analysis techniques
Population
The selected population for the research is the 100 stakeholders of Woolworth's consist of the
managers and employees. The questionnaire will be distributed to the respective population for
conducting the survey.
Sampling
It would be difficult to review the responses of each of the respondents from a large number of
populations, Hence 20 samples will be selected randomly through the technique of random
sampling and will be used in the research for evaluation purpose. Random sampling is an
efficient sampling technique where samples are randomly selected from a large number of
populations unbiased. The selected 20 samples will represent the population as a whole
(Özerdem & Bowd, 2016).
Analysis
For the analysis of the primary information which is collected through the survey questionnaire,
quantitative analysis tools will be used where the data will be presented in the form of charts,
graphs, and tables. While on the other hand the secondary data and information will be analyzed
critically and presented in the form of literature review.
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6.4 Presenting the secondary data
The secondary data in the research will be collected from a number of sources like articles,
journals, reviews, books, company websites and internet sources. Data and information regarding
the impact of social marketing are collected from the journals and articles written by different
authors. The data will be critically reviewed and analyzed deeply in order to avoid the irrelevant
and unreliable information. Opinions of the different authors will be presented in an order and in
order to respect the dignity and authenticity of the research, the sources of the information and
data will be provided at the end of the report in the bibliography section.
6.5 Structure of the Study
Chapter 1 – Research proposal
Chapter 2- Literature Review
Chapter 3- Research methodologies
Chapter 4- Findings and Analysis
Chapter 5- Summarization of the findings
6.6 Budget, Project Activities and Gantt chart
The estimated budget for the research is around $5000 which will be used for the execution of
the different activities and stages within the prescribed time. On the basis of the importance of
each of the activity, the following budget is prepared;
 For conducting literature review, around $1000 cost will be incurred where data will be collected
through articles, books, journals and other sources.
 Conducting survey will cost around $2000 and interviews will cost around $1000.
 In the analysis and interpretation, around $1000 will be incurred.
Activity The cost to be incurred
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Literature review $1000
Survey $2000
Interviews $1000
Analysis and Interpretation $1000
6.7 Project activities and schedules
Task Name Start date Finish date Days
Primary research 15/05/2018 18/05/2018 4 days
Literature review 19/05/2018 21/05/2018 3 days
Critical analysis of the
data
22/05/2018 24/05/2018 3 days
Findings and analysis 25/05/2018 28/05/2018 4 days
Conclusion and
recommendations
29/05/2018 30/05/2018 2 days
Final report 31/05/2018 31/05/2018 1 day
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submission
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Gantt chart
Duration (June, 2018)
Tasks
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1
9
2
0
2
1
2
2
2
3
2
4
2
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2
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3
0
3
1
Primary research
Literature review
Critical analysis
of the data
Findings and
analysis
Conclusion and
recommendations
Final report
submission
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