Impact of Social Media on Brand and Customer Relationship

Running head: RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
Research in Business
Name of the student
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1RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
2.0 Problem Statement...............................................................................................................2
3.0 Aim, objectives and Research questions..............................................................................3
4.0 Justification and potential output of the research.................................................................3
5.0 Conceptual framework and Hypothesis development..........................................................3
5.1 Social media and its impact on brand image........................................................................3
5.2 Social media on customer relationship of the organization.................................................4
5.3 Hypothesis development......................................................................................................6
6.0 Methodology........................................................................................................................7
6.1 Research Approach and sources of data...........................................................................7
6.2 Proposed data collection and analysis techniques............................................................7
6.3 Organisation of the study.................................................................................................8
6.4 Budget, Project Activities and Gantt chart.......................................................................9
Project activities and schedule...............................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................12

2RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
Topic: Examination of the impact of social media on brand and customer relationship
1.0 Introduction
This report examines the influence of social media on development on brand and
customer relationship. The competition in the global market has been growing significantly
and companies are constantly looking for options to develop strategies that helps in
developing sustainable competitive advantage in the market. Social media has become one of
the most crucial area of business for companies working in the global platform. Social media
plays an important role in generating meaningful connections between the organisation and
the online audience (Balakrishnan, Dahnil & Yi 2014). It has been used effectively by
companies to engage with the consumers and gather positive response regarding the brand.
Social media enables the consumers to voice their opinion and has developed a two way
communication channel (Godey et al., 2016). In recent years, brands have utilized different
ways to optimize social media. Moreover, the potential of social media in the upcoming years
is huge and companies have to be a part of this trend to survive and compete at the same level
with other companies. The growth experience due to advent of social media is very high and
it has become essential for the companies to leverage these opportunities in the most effective
way possible.
This report will propose to evaluate the impact of social media on the customer
relationship and branding. The report will identify the research problem and develop
objectives for the research. The aim, objectives and research questions will also be discussed
in the research. The study will also provide justification for choosing the topic and potential
outcomes in this study. Past literature will be reviewed and critically analysed to develop a
conceptual framework for the research. The appropriate methodology will be proposed along
with the timeline and expected budget of performing the research.
2.0 Problem Statement
The automobile companies in Australia has been using social media marketing and
significantly changed the way they operate and sell products. Social media has become one of
the most important aspect of influencing buyers (Ngai, Tao & Moon, 2015). Moreover, the
appearances of the cars have gained significant importance than before and visual outlook has
become one of the important factors of purchase behaviour. The process of purchase is also
shifting to the online medium. Even past studies have been able to examine the impact of

3RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
social media on consumer buying behaviour but there is lack of evaluation on the impact of
social media on developing effective customer relationship and branding.
3.0 Aim, objectives and Research questions
The aim of the study is to critically evaluate the relationship between the independent
variable social media and the two dependent variables customer relationship management and
branding. The research has developed the objective based on the goal and they are as follows:
 To examine the impact of social media on customer relationship and branding in the
automobile industry
 To recommend suitable strategies to successfully implement social media strategies
for better customer engagement and brand development
Research Question
What is the impact of social media on customer relationship and branding in the automobile
industry?
4.0 Justification and potential output of the research
The analysis of the past literature have clearly shown that there is gap in
understanding the impact of social media on the companies in the automobile industry and
the way they have used social media to develop brand and engage consumers (Valos et al.,
2016). The majority of the studies have focused on general impact but there is a huge gap in
understanding the way Australian automobile companies have been affected.
The potential output of the research is expected to highlight the key ways social media
has been beneficial for the companies in the Australian automobile industry. This study aims
to bring awareness among the management in different companies about the role of social
media in improve ng customer relationship and branding. The study expects to develop a
positive relationship between the variables.
5.0 Conceptual framework and Hypothesis development
5.1 Social media and its impact on brand image
De Vries andCarlson (2014) stated that the utilization of a wider range of social media
platforms affect the potentials of a brand while improving the brand image. The systematic
development of the promotional activities of an organization assists in enhancing the rate of