A Study on Customer Reliance on Social Media As a Source of Information in Buying Process

1.Introduction2.Research Methodology3.Statistical Evaluation4.Aftermaths of the Pursuit5.Conclusion

1.Introduction

• Customer Buying decision process• Social Media as a Information Source• Social Media Marketing (SMM)• Reliance on SMI• Importance of the study• Limitations of the Study

Customer Buying Decision Process

Social Media as Information Source• Most used info sources are SM’s like- Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter,

Googleplus, etc.• More than 2.3 million searches every sec.• Available 24*7*365 around the globe.• 4.5 billion likes generated daily as of May 2015.(67% rise since 2014)• 29.7% of users-Age 25 to 34 is the most common age demographic.

• Highest traffic occurs mid-week between 1 to 3 pm.• Photo uploads total 300 million per day. (e.g. Vijayawada’s Best DPs)• Average time spent per Facebook visit is 20 minutes.• 16 Million local business pages have been created as of May 2015 which is a

100 percent increase from 8 million in June 2014. • 50% of 18-24 year-olds go on Facebook when they wake up.• More than 50 Facebook pages in Vijayawada for Online commerce.

Importance of the study

• Present marketing trends• Latest technological innovations (e.g.. slide &

earn)• Green Marketing practice• Data analytics and Cloud computing• Vijayawada as the growing business hub• Capital city of Andhra Pradesh• Narrowcasting of communication

Limitations of the study

• Limited Geographical area of study • Small sample size of 200• Biased & incomplete responses• Language Barrier• Lack of Awareness• Time Constraint

2.Research Methodology

• Literature Review• Research problem• Objectives of the Study• Hypothesis formulation• Research design• Statistical methods

Literature ReviewArticle No. Research Title Author(s) Published In/On1 E-marketing and the

Consumer decision making Process

Neha Jain April, 2014. www.jiit.ac.in/uploads/SynopsisNehaJain

.pdf

2 The impact of Online Social Networks on Consumer Purchasing decision - The study of food retailers

Ayda Darban, Wei Li

June, 2012www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/

diva2:532049/fulltext02

3 Social Media and its Impact on Consumers Behavior

Elisabeta Ioanăs, Ivona Stoica

International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2014, Special issue on Marketing andBusiness Development, e-ISSN 2247–7225

4 An Analysis of the Social Media Influence on the online buying behavior of Indian Consumers

Mrs Smita Dayal ISBN no. 978-81-923211-8-9 http://www.internationalseminar.in/XVII_AIS/INDEX.HTM, January, 2016

5 Information Sources for Two-wheeler Purchase: An Analytical Study with Special Focus on Malappuram District of Kerala

K. P Najeemudeen1, N. Panchanatham

Universal Journal of Industrial and Business Management 4(2): 59-70, 2016

Research problem

SOP: ‘Do people of Vijayawada rely and believe on the information available on the Social Media for Buying Decisions?’ is the question of this study which is to be answered in the conclusion of this quest.

Objectives of the study

• To find out if Customers of Vijayawada rely/trust on SMI for buying decisions or not.

• To study the qualitative factors of SMI which makes SMM effective and reliable.

• To analyse the demographic & economic aspects that influences the Customer Buying Behaviour (quantitative).

Hypothesis formulation

• Null hypothesis (H0): The customer purchasing decision in Vijayawada is reliant on the SMI.

• Alternative hypothesis (H1): The customer purchasing decision in Vijayawada is not reliant on SMI.

Research design

• Both primary and secondary data are used in this descriptive study.

• Sources: * Primary: Questionnaire Survey

* Secondary: Published researches , Books & Internet

Sampling technique: Convenience sampling Sample size: 200 people of Vijayawada

Continued…..

• Time frame of the study: Oct-Nov 2016• Location for Study: Vijayawada.• Data collection: Questionnaire via Social

Media ,Emails, Google forms, Linkedin.• Measuring tool: 5 point Likert scale• Questions type: Close Ended • Statistical methods: SPSS, Frequency,

Percentage, Chi-Square test, Bar graph.

3. Statistical Evaluation

• The demographic questions reveals the followings: AGE (Independent variable):

* 71% respondents - 16-25 years age class * 21.5%- 26-35 years * 5.5% - 36-45 years * 3% - dependent & old class.• Gender (I.V.): 73% male & 27% female, 21% female &

50% male - youth class, 6% female & 21% male – Adult class, 3.5% female & 4% male – dependent old class.

• Qualifications(I.V.): *Doctorate-3%, *PG-52.5%, *UG-34% *Intermediate-7.5%, SSC-0.5%, Other-2.5%• Income levels (Monthly): *Less than Rs.10,000=18% *Rs.20k-40k=21.5% *Rs.40k-60k=8.5% *Rs.70k n above=11% *None = 40.5%

4.Aftermaths of the Pursuit

Intentional use of E-commerce for Purchase: * 20 Female-Agree & 1F-Disagree * 68 Male-Agree & 6M-Disagree * 12 female- Strly agree & 0F- Strly disagree * 28 male- Strly agree & 1M- Strly disagree * 21F-Neutral & 42M-Neutral

Frequency of Purchase

• Daily – 2% female & 1.5% male • Weekly - 3% female & 14% male• Fortnightly – 3% female & 6.5% male• Monthly- 19% female & 50.5% male• Other – 0% female & 0.5% male

Reasons for Online purchase• Choice Variety-27.5% vote • Convenience-23.5%• Offers-18%• Price-22.5%• Resource Savvy-8.5%

Reliance on SMI for Buying decisions

• Strongly Agree- 13%• Agree-40%• Neutral-36.5%• Disagree-7%• Strongly Disagree- 3.5% only

Social Media used & preferred to seek information for buying decisions

• Facebook-41.5%• Youtube-22.5%• E-commerce websites-9%• Instagram-8%• Linkedin-7%• Others-8%• Twitter-4%

Features of Social Media impacting the Buying Decisions

• Popularity-34%• Reviews-28%• Accessibiltiy-16.5%• Security-16%• Interface-5.5%

Types of Reviews seen about Products/services on Social Media

• Positive-33.5%• Negative-15%• Both-35%• Never consider-16.5%

Judiciousness of Purchase decisions made using SMI

• Strongly Agree-18.5%• Agree-46.5%• Neutral-29%• Disagree-5.0%• Strongly Disagree-1.0%

Cost-Benefit Value expectations seen by Online purchases

• Yes-52.5%• Neutral-40%• No-7.5%

Recommendation to believe in SMI for Purchase decisions

• Yes-55.5%• Neutral-37%• No-7.5%

5.Conclusion• 7 chi-square tests of different variables verified the acceptance of null

hypothesis (H0).• Reliance on SMI: SA-13%, A-40%,N-36.5%,D-7%,SD-3.5%.• Recommendation of SMI for Purchase decisions: 55.5% respondents &

only 7.5% don't recommend.• C-B-V expectations met by P/S bought using SMI is positive & satisfying

for 52.5% while only 7.5% are negative.• Frequency of online purchases and clicking the links, emails, popups and

posts of Promotion Campaigns have impressive influence on customers.• Facebook is being preferred as most reliable and accessible SMI source as

41.5% of the sample use and follow it.

Hence, this study implies that Customers of Vijayawada do rely/believe/use/trust/recommend the SMI for making the purchase decisions for both offline/online purchases/sells(commerce).

Niraj Thakur152510139MBA15C