Research on the influence of online community marketing on the brand relationship quality

Citation

Zheng, Aibing. (2017). Research on the influence of online community marketing on the brand relationship quality. (Independent study, Master of Business Administration). Bangkok: Siam University.

Abstract

With the continuous improvement of production methods, enterprises are becoming more efficient in the production of products. The market has already shifted from supply shortages to oversupply, and the concept of marketing has also shifted from enterprise-centered to consumer-centered. To maintain a competitive advantage, retain customers, and increase customer loyalty, companies began to pay more and more attention to building a long-term reciprocal relationship with their customers, starting from the first Intel Internet portal brand advertisement on Sina in 1997. Precision advertising after the rise of the search engine and the people-oriented community marketing model are gradually carried out today. In the online community, Ereli’s data report shows that 95% of the community’s Internet users spend an average of more than one hour. The online community has become the longest platform for Internet users to stay. The theory of interactive media argues that people are more likely to attend to a new interactive medium when the persons they know have also adopted it (Hiltz & Turoff, 1993). The online community marketing is based on the mobile internet technology and is based on the infinitely fissile and spreadable exponential double loop model of the community platform. Users can fully and interactively participate in marketing activities and can communicate with companies in multiple dimensions. Through the mutual interaction between the members of the community, consumers know the brand usage, use issues, and solutions used by others. Through community marketing, consumers have a high degree of loyalty to the brand, and they also have high satisfaction with the product. Therefore, online community marketing has become a hot spot for consumers and brand companies today. There is a profound theoretical and practical significance to study the impact of online community marketing on brand relationship quality.

The core issue of this study is to study how online community marketing affects customer value and how it affects the quality of brand relationships. To discuss this issue, first, we reviewed the previous literature on the impact of online community marketing, and through theoretical analysis and actual research, we built several elements of online community marketing, followed by analysis of two dimensions of community marketing and customer value: The role of customer perceived value and customer value innovation, and their influence on the quality of customer-brand relationship. Finally, the theoretical framework of “network community marketing-customer value-brand relationship quality” was constructed to explain the network community marketing to the brand. The influence mechanism of relationship quality. The specific findings are as follows: First: There are four dimensions in online community marketing: membership value, content value, activity value, and product value. Secondly, this study carried out a correlation analysis of the influence of online community marketing on the customer value of the intermediary variables. Based on the literature analysis, the customer value was subdivided into two dimensions: customer perceived value and customer value innovation. On this basis, this paper analyzes the mechanism of the four dimensions of online community marketing on customer perceived value and customer value innovation. Through empirical research, it is found that member value, content value, activity value, and product value have significant positive correlation effects on customer perceived value and customer value innovation. Third, this study further analyzes and validates the impact of customer value of mediator variables on the quality of brand relationships. Empirical analysis confirms the positive correlation between customer value and trust, satisfaction, and commitment in the quality of brand relationships.

Based on the above conclusions, suggestions and countermeasures are provided for the three perspectives of network community operators, brand consumers and brand enterprises. The innovations of this study are: First, the in-depth analysis of online community marketing, put forward the essential dimensions of online community marketing: member value, content value, activity value, product value. Secondly, it studies the relationship between customers and brands from the perspective of online community marketing, and it discusses the process from the value creation of online community marketing to delivery to customer value, and finally a series of value change mechanisms attached to the brand value. Through empirical analysis, this process of value transfer was verified.

Keywords:  Online Community Marketing, Brand Relationship Quality, Member Value, Content Value, Activity Value, Product Values, Customer Value, Customer Perceived Value, Customer Value Innovation.

Research on the Influence of Online Community Marketing on the Brand Relationship Quality

International Master of Business Administration (IMBA), Siam University, Thailand