Social Crm and Digital Marketing Communication in B2B Relationships
UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ School of Business and Economics
SOCIAL CRM AND DIGITAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION IN B2B RELATIONSHIPS
Marketing Master’s Thesis December 2011 Author: Marjo Himanen Instructor: Heikki Karjaluoto
JYVÄSKYLÄ UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS Author Marjo Himanen Thesis Title Social CRM and Digital Marketing Communication in B2B Relationships Major Subject Object of the Study Marketing Master’s Thesis Month and Year Number of Pages December 2011 85 + appendices Abstract The growing importance of the Internet as an everyday communication channel has transformed the marketing environment. Digital channels and the expansion of social media have produced several new tools which organizations can use for their marketing efforts. Yet, it still remains somewhat unclear how companies can utilize digital marketing communication in their customer relationship management and what it actually contains. This study investigates what meanings B2B companies give to digital marketing communication and social CRM. In particular, the study aims describing the means, moderators and outcomes of digital marketing communication in B2B relationships. In addition this study attempts to shed some light on the meanings of social CRM and its application elements. The empirical study comprises of eight interviews with managers responsible for managing key account relationships. Both the buyer side and the seller side were investigated, in order to form a coherent representation of the phenomenon. The findings of this study indicate that communication content and frequency are the means of digital marketing communication. Interestingly, the study reveals that the form of a message matters in B2B digital marketing communication as short and visual messages are more desirable for the receivers. Along with channel preferences, the importance of the right sender and receiver of messages were found to be moderators of digital marketing communication. In contrast
SOCIAL CRM AND DIGITAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION IN B2B RELATIONSHIPS
Marketing Master’s Thesis December 2011 Author: Marjo Himanen Instructor: Heikki Karjaluoto
JYVÄSKYLÄ UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS Author Marjo Himanen Thesis Title Social CRM and Digital Marketing Communication in B2B Relationships Major Subject Object of the Study Marketing Master’s Thesis Month and Year Number of Pages December 2011 85 + appendices Abstract The growing importance of the Internet as an everyday communication channel has transformed the marketing environment. Digital channels and the expansion of social media have produced several new tools which organizations can use for their marketing efforts. Yet, it still remains somewhat unclear how companies can utilize digital marketing communication in their customer relationship management and what it actually contains. This study investigates what meanings B2B companies give to digital marketing communication and social CRM. In particular, the study aims describing the means, moderators and outcomes of digital marketing communication in B2B relationships. In addition this study attempts to shed some light on the meanings of social CRM and its application elements. The empirical study comprises of eight interviews with managers responsible for managing key account relationships. Both the buyer side and the seller side were investigated, in order to form a coherent representation of the phenomenon. The findings of this study indicate that communication content and frequency are the means of digital marketing communication. Interestingly, the study reveals that the form of a message matters in B2B digital marketing communication as short and visual messages are more desirable for the receivers. Along with channel preferences, the importance of the right sender and receiver of messages were found to be moderators of digital marketing communication. In contrast