EBMT6002: Analyzing SMM's Influence on Next plc's Customer Decisions

This report investigates the impact of social media marketing (SMM) on customer decision-making and buying behavior within the UK retail fashion sector, focusing on Next plc. It explores the concept and importance of SMM, identifies factors influencing customer buying behavior, and assesses the extent to which SMM impacts Next plc's customer decisions. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing both primary data collected through a survey of 20 Next plc customers and secondary data from scholarly articles. Data analysis is conducted using thematic perception test technique. The study also addresses ethical considerations and limitations related to time, financial resources, and data unavailability.

Business research

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Background..................................................................................................................................4
Research aim and objectives........................................................................................................4
Research questions.......................................................................................................................5
Theme 1 importance and concept of SMM and its significance................................................5
THEME 2 factors influencing the customer buying behaviour...................................................6
THEME 3 SMM impacts the Next plc's customer decision-making..........................................7
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................7
Research type / strategy...............................................................................................................7
Research approach and philosophy.............................................................................................7
Data collection.............................................................................................................................8
Sampling......................................................................................................................................8
Data analysis................................................................................................................................8
Validity and reliability.................................................................................................................8
Ethical consideration...................................................................................................................8
Research limitations.....................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

Topic- To assess the impact of social media marketing (SMM) on decision-making process of
customer and their buying behaviour in the context of UK retail fashion sector: A study on
Next plc
INTRODUCTION
Background
In today's' business environment, fashion industry is growing with a very high pace
which helps the economy make up profits to the great extent. Due to this, the economic condition
is also increasing which creates a positive impact on people's financial stability. This industry
provides huge benefits because it creates opportunities for many people for job and motivate
them to work effectively for their professional career. As people are more attracted towards
current fashion trends and upcoming fashion they always use social media platform to know
about it. For the current research proposal, Next plc has been selected which provides varieties of
products on its offline store and online website such as footwear, clothing, homeware and beauty
products.. Social networking such as YouTube advertisement, online websites, Facebook, blogs
and Instagram is majorly used by organization. The research will outline the methods and
techniques which can be used in order to analyse problems. In addition to this, the research will
provide time frame within which investigation will be taken into consideration.
Research aim and objectives
Aim
The main aim of the present research is to investigate the social media marketing impacts
on buying decisions of Next plc's customers.
Objectives
 To develop understanding about the concept and importance of SMM.
 To identify factors which impact customer buying behaviour within UK fashion sector.
 To investigate the relationship between SMM and decision-making with regard to Next
plc.
 To assess the influence of SMM on Next plc's customer decision-making
 To recommend strategies on improving the buying behaviour of next plc customers.
Research questions
 What is the importance and concept of SMM and its significance?

 Which factors can influence the customer buying behaviour with regard to fashion
sector?
 What is the extent to which SMM impacts the Next plc's customer decision-making ?
Rationale
The major reason behind this study is to analyse how SMM will impact the buying
behaviour of customers of Next plc. This in turn recognized as the major issue as nowadays in
modern world where there is a heavy competition in fashion industry, every organization is using
SMM for the purpose of branding and promoting. Every customer influenced by comments done
by others they read all the reviews and opinions of other people such as friends, relatives, group
of people. It is the biggest issue now because by using social media platform customer provide
positive and negative feedback both. Therefore, with the help of thematic perception test
technique the study will find the level to which SMM influences the buying behaviour and
purchasing decisions.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theme 1 importance and concept of SMM and its significance
As per the views of Arrigo, (2018), social media marketing is a method which is used to
spread awareness about the products or services provided by organization. It is a powerful
modern tool used by companies nowadays in order to achieve branding objectives and goals and
attain customer satisfaction level. By using social media marketing organisation is increasing its
sales level and profit margins. There are many types of social media platform and networks
which can be used to attract more customers so that they can make purchase. Li, Larimo and
Leonidou, (2021) commented that SMM is used by organisation as a marketing method which
assist them to reach their potential customer which is situated in different locations. With the
help of SMM such as media sharing and social news , the firm can improve customer
engagement and promote their mission, vision and objectives. By using advertisement methods,
the firm can attract more customer just by providing them detailed information about discount
and offers. By using SMM, marketing can be more informed about needs, demand, preferences,
dislikes and likes of customers. This can give idea about which marketing strategy will be
suitable to attract such clients (Dwivedi and et.al., 2021). The major benefit of using SMM is to
increase revenue of the organization and provide better customer service to impress audience. In
addition to this, SMM can provide a lot of opportunities related to business so that organization

can enhance brand awareness process and increase brand recognition. Nowadays, people are
spending more time on social media platform and reading comments which is given by other
customers related to services provided by organization. Based on that comments and reviews
read by customer, they can change their mind whether to purchase products or service from
organization or not. Hence, it is said that social media marketing can influence the buying
behaviour of customers. Li, Larimo and Leonidou, (2021) Says Social media platform such as
online sites, blogs, Facebook and Instagram is majorly used by companies to target audience and
increase sales. But due to heavy competition in the digital world, the firm have to be very active
while promoting its brand otherwise it can lose its customer base and reputation.
THEME 2 factors influencing the customer buying behaviour
Customer buying behaviour plays a vital role for the company marketing strategies. By
understanding the needs and requirements of buyers the company can make necessary changes in
improving their products or services features. With the help of proper market research, marketers
can understand how buyers feel, what they decide, and how they think about company. With this,
organization can determine how best to market their own services in order to increase market
position. Based on this, Arrigo, (2018) identified that there are various types of factors that may
influence the customers buying behaviour and decision-making. It includes quality of product,
environment of organization, personal income, social trends and cultural influence. So marketers
needs to focus on these factors before implementing any strategy in fashion industry. Family and
group of people around customers can influence the buying behaviour. As we all know that
humans are social beings who may get influence their behaviour of purchasing because of many
factors. People always try to imitate other people and wants to be socially accepted. So they
always keep track on changing trends and try to adopt those fashion. Price is the main factor that
can influence the power of customers. While making purchase the customer may consider
various aspects such as attitudes, lifestyle, market situation, psychological and personal factors.
THEME 3 SMM impacts the Next plc's customer decision-making
According to Dwivedi and et.al., (2021), social factors plays a vital role in buying habits
of customers. Due to word of mouth the purchasing power of clients may have distracted.
Nowadays, customer don't want to go to store for discovering new products. They just scroll
through their social comments for finding out what other people think or experienced. If they
read positive comment on social feeds they decide to make purchase. Kayumovich and

Kamalovna (2019) presented their views that around 56 % of clients says that they were more
impacted by images and videos shared on online shopping sites. Plus, Almost 80% of customers
buying behaviour and their decisions are influenced by the comments given by their relatives and
social media posts. From this, 60% of clients decides to make purchase by inspiring themselves
from a brand products line (Social media marketing: the ultimate guide, 2022). By reviewing
social media images from relatives, customers can change their mindset whether to make a
purchase based on that. Word of mouth is a source of information for decision-making of
customers and brand's expectations. The concept of word of mouth was established by the more
usage of internet in today's digital world. Chatterjee and Kar (2020) Argues that some of the
clients do negative comments because they were not satisfied with the services provided by the
company. Wrong and fake comments can negatively impact the people and also distract them
which can impact reputation of fashion brand. Hence, decision-making of other customers who
were loyal towards firm can affected adversely.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research type / strategy
There are majorly two type of research strategy named as quantitative and qualitative. In
order to attain the aims and objectives of the current proposal, qualitative research strategy has
been undertaken. Plus, aspects related to customer buying behaviour and SMM are theoretical in
nature which in turn can be investigated with the help of qualitative strategy.
Research approach and philosophy
In order to find out the impacts of SMM on customer buying behaviour Inductive
research approach will be selected. This approach assists in making the current purpose of study
more effective. There are majorly two types of philosophy such as positivism and interpretivism.
To attain the current objectives, interpretivism philosophy will be taken into consideration with
which qualitative data can be evaluated with regard to SMM. This approach will assist in
analysing study effectively and making assessment of qualitative research more efficient.
Data collection
In order to address the current aims and objectives of the research, primary and secondary
sources will be used. For primary research, survey method will be taken into consideration in
which the research will be done on 20 customers of next plc via questionnaire. For secondary
research, scholarly articles will be used to undertake this study.

Sampling
To achieve the current survey purpose, the researcher is required to select an appropriate
sampling method. For this, it is required to choose a relevant sample so that suitable results can
be obtained. For the current study, opinions of Next plc's 20 customers will be taken into
consideration with the help of simple random sampling technique.
Data analysis
For addressing current objectives, data analysis will be done through thematic perception
test technique. The major reason behind using this technique is it can easily analyse qualitative
data effectively from which scholar will be able to attain its research objectives.
Validity and reliability.
In order to ensure validity of the research the latest data sources articles which published
after the 2015 will be taken into consideration. In addition to this, Research topic articles will be
selected in a proper manner which in turn highlights that research is valid. The latest data which
has been taken will be copyright protected sources to maintain reliability.
Ethical consideration
 consent forms- For current research, consent forms will be sent to participants which has
been selected for survey. No participants have been forced to undertake this survey.
Every participants' permission will be asked before taking survey.
 Inclusion of references- To achieve ethical aspects, detailed reference list will be added
at the end of this research with which confidential information will be highlighted.
Hence, data which will be used in the current study is paraphrased not copied.
 Data privacy- The research will maintain privacy policy and will not disclose any
detailed information of participants.
Research limitations
study limitations can exist due to many constraints and these components may influence
the findings of the current study. By using this point into study, it can consider the affect of
research weakness and have a deep understanding of SMM. with the current research, financial
resources, time and sources unavailability is the major limitations.
Time- Due to time constraints, the research will include fewer respondents. However, to
deal with this issue, simple random sampling has been used for the participation selection.

Money- Due to money constraints, SPSS technique have not been applied. However, in
order to deal with such limitations and achieve the objectives of current research, thematic
analysis will be utilized. The reason behind that is thematic method will help in evaluating
qualitative aspects effectually.
Resources- Due to unavailability of resources, research is unable to access important
data set as few of the websites fall under the paid category which requires money. However, by
searching relevant articles with the help of keywords this issue will be solved.
TIMELINE
Activities /
weeks
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Selection of
research topic
Developing
objectives of
research.
Developing
brief thesis
Drafting brief
research
proposal
Literature
review
Selection of
relevant
methods
Drafting

questionnaire
with the help of
close and open-
ended method
Gathering
primary data set
referring to
questionnaire
Data analysis
Providing
conclusion
Giving
Recommendatio
ns
Taking
consultation
with tutor/ peer
feedback
Modification
done as per the
feedback given
by tutor
Drafting final
report and
Submission
CONCLUSION

To conclude, by evaluating the study it has been concluded that SMM has direct impact
on the customer decision-making and buying behaviour. By using thematic perception test
technique, the issues related to it has been resolved. Furthermore, theoretical aspects has been
applied while studying the current research. In addition to this, with the help of relevant articles
issues related to resources has been resolved.
Recommendations
 As customer buying behaviour and their decision-making is changing frequently because
of many factors. As a result, organization must assess the ability of sales department so
that they can adopt changing expectations. Technology such as SMM and willingness of
clients to share their opinions and reviews has highly influenced the purchasing
behaviour in last few years.
 Therefore, it is recommended to focus on changing expectation of customers related to
online shopping.
 To deal with heavy competition, the firm must focus on social media marketing concept
of rating where customers review and suggest other people. The firm must focus on keep
tracking wrong and fake comments to save reputation because negative comments can
influence the buying power of customers. They must focus on using fast-forward
techniques in today's world, in which they need to analyse how social networking and
platforms enable clients to research services or products information on their devices and
mobile phones.
 As nowadays customer believe more on their friends and family members. They like to
gather information through them and hear feedback from one another. Hence, the power
of word of mouth marketing in the world is real which is why it can easily influence the
buying behaviour of people. By using word of mouth technique, the company can
improve its promotion activities in which they focus on positive feedback. This is the
major benefit of using this method which can boost customer satisfaction level. Here they
can take support of freelancers to attract more customers towards company. Many
companies are using this method to get their customers to talk up about firm with their
relatives.

 Once the organization recognize issues they can proceed further to gather detailed
information. By gathering information, the organization will be able to promote brand
easily and target their clients.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arrigo, E., 2018. Social media marketing in luxury brands: A systematic literature review and
implications for management research. Management Research Review.
Chatterjee, S. and Kar, A.K., 2020. Why do small and medium enterprises use social media
marketing and what is the impact: Empirical insights from India. International Journal
of Information Management. 53. p.102103.
Dwivedi, Y. K. and et.al., 2021. Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research:
Perspectives and research propositions. International Journal of Information
Management. 59. p.102168.
Kayumovich, K.O. and Kamalovna, S.F., 2019. Social media-marketing-a forceful tool for
tourism industry. European science. (7 (49)). pp.41-43.
Li, F., Larimo, J. and Leonidou, L. C., 2021. Social media marketing strategy: definition,
conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science. 49(1). pp.51-70.
Mason, A.N., Narcum, J. and Mason, K., 2021. Social media marketing gains importance after
Covid-19. Cogent Business & Management. 8(1). p.1870797.
Online
Social media marketing: the ultimate guide. 2022. [online] available
through:<https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-media-marketing>
Social media marketing: how to do it, types, tools and tips. 2022. [online] available
through:<https://neilpatel.com/what-is-social-media-marketing/>
Building social media marketing strategy for 2022. 2022. [online] available
through:<https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-marketing-strategy/>