Influence of Social Media Marketing on Customer Buying Decisions

Research Project

Abstract
Social media marketing is being increasingly used by companies in today’s competitive
market so that they can reach to a large number of customers and also build a string brand image
that can help in increasing its sales. SMM also affects the customers decision making as they can
be influenced by the various strategies that help that are used by company. This report contains
research about how companies can use SMM to influence customer buying decisions so that
sales of company can be increased.

Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
Research Topic.................................................................................................................................4
Chapter 1-Introduction.....................................................................................................................4
Aims and objectives...............................................................................................................4
Research rationale..................................................................................................................5
Chapter 2-Literature Review............................................................................................................5
Chapter 3-Research Methodology...................................................................................................7
Chapter 4-Analysis and Findings...................................................................................................13
Chapter 5-Critical appraisal, Recommendations & Suggestions...................................................23
Chapter 6- Conclusion...................................................................................................................24
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................25

Research Topic
“To assess the influence of social media marketing on decision of customers while
purchasing the products or services of company”. A study on Marriott International Inc.
Chapter 1-Introduction
As the businesses are growing and expanding in global market they are also facing high
competition from their competitors which makes the use of marking strategies important for
these companies so that they can effectively attract more number of customers and increase their
sales. In the hospitality industry which is related to giving hospitable services to customers like
accommodation, travel and tourism, food and beverages etc. the use of marketing plays an
important role in influencing customers in buying the company services (Cappelli and Keller,
2017). Social media is being increasingly used by people and has a great influence on customers
which makes the use of social media marketing important in order to create a brand reputation
and reach to a large number of potential customers. In this report Marriott International Inc is
taken which is an American multinational diversified hospitality company that provides
luxurious facilities to its customers. The headquarters of company is located Maryland, US and it
has over 1,332,826 number of rooms in about 131 countries. In this report a research is done on
Marriott hotel which will help in building an understanding on how customers can be influenced
by using social media marketing. Use of research tools like Gantt Chart, WBS and other research
methodologies will also be done.
Aims and objectives
“To assess the influence of social media marketing on decision of customers while
purchasing the products or services of company”. A study on Marriott International Inc.
Research objectives
 To understand the concept of social media marketing.
 To evaluate both the positive and negative impact of SMM on customer decision making.
 To determine the challenges which are faced by hotel in using digital technology as a
marketing tool.
 To recommend SMM strategies that Marriott can use to influence customer decision
making.

Research questions
 What is the concept of social media marketing?
 What are the impacts of SMM on customer decision making?
 What challenges are faced by company in using digital technology as a marketing tool?
 What are the strategies that can be used by Marriott in order to influence decisions of
customers?
Research rationale
The rationale behind conducting research on this topic is that it will help the researcher in
increasing their knowledge on the importance of social media marketing (SMM) on decisions of
customers while purchasing services in hospitality industry. It will also help in developing the
knowledge on how SMM can be strategically used so that more number of customers can be
attracted thereby increasing the sales of company. This topic can also help the researcher in their
personal and professional development so that they can use the knowledge so acquired in their
future aspects.
Chapter 2-Literature Review
Concept of social media marketing
According to the views of Will Kenton, 2018, social media marketing is the use of social
media websites and networks by a company so as to reach to all the users of social media that
can help in reaching to their potential customers. SMM also help the company in promoting their
products and services by placing uploading ads, images, reviews, feedbacks etc. of customers so
that the customers can get an overview of the potential of company in fulfilling their needs and
wants (Collings, Mellahi and Cascio, 2017). Social media is being extensively used by people
from various age groups and it also create a great influence on these users if companies advertise
about their products and services using this communication medium. It also help the companies
in reaching to a large geographical area and to a large number of customers at once. Internet
users can be segmented in a better way than any other marketing channels making it easy for
companies to reach to their target customers.

Positive and negative impact of SMM on decisions of customers
As per the views of Gulzar, Maqbool, 2018, with the help of social media marketing a
large number of customers can be reached by the company and they can be persuaded and
influenced to buy the products or services of companies. There are both positive and negative
impacts on customers of the social media marketing strategies used by companies depending on
which they do purchasing. There are various positive impacts like the customers get to know
about various companies which are providing variety of goods and services which help them in
selecting and choosing the ones that can give them high satisfaction (Skuza, McDonnell and
Scullion, 2018). They also spend their money wisely on things that can help them in creating
more value for their money. However there are various negative impacts of these on customers
like some companies can post about their goods and services as being high on quality while they
cannot help in increasing value for customers. Also as many companies are using SMM the
customers cannot choose the products that can give them better satisfaction and end up selecting
wrong companies.
Challenges of using digital technology as a marketing tool
As per the views of Angie, 2017, while using digital technology as a marketing tool by
companies, various challenges are faced which can affect the sales of company and also its
ability to attract customers and meet its targets. Some of the challenges that are faced by
companies are being able to produce effective referrals, ability to generate the desired amount of
traffic, keeping up with web trends, changing customer needs, using advanced technologies etc.
In order to create a brand image of company in the minds of customers it is important that they
post the right content about their products and services so that customers can be effectively
attracted towards company (Böhmer and Schinnenburg, 2016). Also the creation of desired
amount of traffic and to create referrals and links the company need to link to many customers
and satisfy them so that they can be further referred. Also the cost of company to create ads on
social media can be high and can affect company profits.
Strategies on how social media can be used to influence customer decisions
According to Shane, 2017, various strategies can be used by company in order to
influence customers to purchase their products and services so that their sales can be increased.
The company needs to track the customer preferences and their interests on social media so that
target customers can be found by their social media behaviour. Also the company needs to