How Does Social Media Change the Way Marketers Operate - Qantas Airways Ltd - Coursework Example

HOW DO SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONSUMER-GENERATED CONTENT CHANGE THE WAY MARKETERS OPERATE Name Institution Professor Course Date Abstract The use of the internet in the corporate world is increasing all over the globe. This has initiated a novel form of marketing referred to as Social media marketing. Scores of companies use social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to spread the message concerning their services or product in a conversational and relaxed manner. Social media platforms offer marketers a voice and a means of communication with potential consumers and already existing customers. Social Media is a novel means of promotional mix that assists companies in establishing relationships with their customers and determines unmet requirements of customers. It allows consumers to communicate with firms, create and share content and interact with each other. Qantas uses its Facebook to market, sell, inform and develop close relationships with its customers. Drawing on relevant literature and analysis of Qantas, this report explores how social media and consumer-generated change the way marketers operate. While consumer- generated content provides prospects for marketers, it can put at risk the image, brand equity, personality and reputation of a firm. The firm should, therefore, limit the control of consumers, moderate comments and establish rules that prevent adverse publicity. Table of Contents 1.0 1.0 Introduction Social networking sites such as Facebook have swiftly occupied a significant space in the business world’s mediated perception. Marketers worry about the consumer-generated content and its effects on companies’ brand equity. Advertisers fret over-reaching their audiences who also assume the role of content creators. Companies work attentively to design, establish and execute effective viral campaigns and seek a constructive response in the form of likes, fan following, sales, an increase in website traffic and reviews. Social media is transforming businesses and represents a concept change in marketing communications. Brands that were initially controlled by marketers are increasingly being controlled by their consumer markets. The development of online brand communities that include social network supports the development of consumer-generated content. Drawing from pertinent literature and close analysis of Qantas Facebook page, the paper offers a brief overview of Qantas Airways Ltd, explore how the company uses Facebook to market and sell its products besides determining how the firm establishes and upholds customers’ relationships. 2.0 Qantas Airways Ltd Qantas Airways Ltd is one of the ten biggest airlines in the global and the second oldest following Netherland’s KLM. It is an Australian domestic airline and the leading airline in the Asia-Pacific region. Qantas link Australia to eighty-one destinations in forty other nations worldwide (Qantas 2015). The company operates far-reaching domestic services in both New Zealand and Australia. Qantas also operates numerous local airlines in Australia and works together with budget start-up established in Singapore. The company and its local subsidiaries serve over thirty million passengers on a yearly basis. The firm upholds numerous code share plans and alliances, and it is an associate of the Oneworld global airline coalition led by British Airways Plc and American Airlines. Qantas was founded in 1920 and has grown into being the largest domestic airline in Australia (Qantas 2015). The airline was established by two First World War veterans, Paul McGuiness and Willian Fysh, who served the Flying Corps in Australia. The Airline was originally registered as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS) before changing into Qantas Airways Ltd. Qantas in the Australia’s powerful brand and offer services to customers through Qantas and Jetstar. The firm has developed a picture of superiority in customer service, safety, engineering and maintenance as well as operational reliability. Qantas target market includes the international and domestic travels, and buyers are differentiated through their trip purpose 2.1 Qantas Use of Social Media and E-business Model According to Czinkota and Ronkalhen (2012, p.571), social media has obtained popularity in the multinational market given its comparative advantage over traditional marketing techniques and disintegration of conventional media perspectives alongside the rise of IT. Social media may take the form of wikis, forums, blogs, video sharing and podcasts. It takes advantage of the individuals’ natural tendencies, the capacity to engage customers and the capacity to research and track the consumer behaviour. Qantas uses social media to market its services and connect with its clients. Jamuna (2013, p. 524) describes social media as media developed to be broadcasted via social interaction and developed through highly scalable and accessible publishing methods. Social media promotes the human call for social interaction via web-based technologies and internet to turn broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues. Social media promote the democratization of information and knowledge, turn people from content consumers into content developers. More and more firms have resorted to using social media in their external marketing. According to Barker, Chitty, Valos and Shimp (2011, p.229), Qantas uses social media for novel route launches, announcements and special offers, to respond to clients’ queries and to post news updates and sales. Qantas disseminates messages, attention and gain internet traffic through social media to promote its personality and market its services. Modern firms face a world of global prospects, and the challenge lies in accessing their presence in the market. An essential focus in this milieu is the economic development of the surfacing markets and their technological advancement including augmenting the use of the internet and social media tools (Trost 2013, p.7). Technology has made it possible for firms to progress into international markets. Being active in social media has become essential for international operating firms such Qantas. The use of social media by Qantas and other companies is intended to attract as many clients in the World Wide Web as possible within minimum costs and efforts. Qantas is willing to expand its marketing strategies through social media. The company is interested in communicating with an augmenting number of people in less time. Qantas has an active Facebook page that is regularly updated. The Facebook page is used as a platform to market the Company’s brand. The Facebook page holds over six hundred thousand likes and friends with over 2.5 million people indicating they have used the company’s services. The Facebook page also provides the company’s information, when it was founded, its location and description of the company’s services. The Facebook page underscores the company’s Facebook page rules that friends and customers require upholding when interacting with each other. The page also indicates the firm’s website. Besides, the Facebook page provides chat services between the firm’s representatives and clients between 7 am-9pm on Mondays to Fridays and between 9am-5.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Qantas E-business model is developed to transform the way the company perform its business practices via lowering intricacy and augmenting efficiency and productivity. It eQ program involves detailed projects that summarize the firm’s vision of a technology founded environment. The firm has a single web-founded interface with an internet-based inventory and procurement management system. The firm e-business model establishes loyalty applications and novel customers. The company upgraded to Oracle e-business suite release 12 in 2014 to promote its functionality, unify vendors and lower system management. 2.2 Establishing Customers’ Trust and Relationships The Company uses public relations and customer satisfaction strategies to develop and maintain customer trust. Establishing customer trust is essential for service firms and to both offline and online retailers (Nguyen, Wingate & Simkin 2014, p. 208). The firm ensures consumer trust through its opinions posted on its Facebook page and other online platforms employed by the company. Trust is the basis for upholding a lasting relationship with consumers, and it augments the prospect that the consumer will remain loyal. Qantas is committed to researching consumer perceptions, and it has been rated among the most trusted firms and brands in its market (Schiffman, O’Cass, Paladno & Carlson 2013, p.21). Qantas collect opinions of consumers and understand their perceptions through its social media platform such as Facebook. The firm has established powerful customer relationships and trust through allowing consumers to voice out their views and complaints. Qantas use of social media alters the temperament of communications without and within the firm. The firm creates and upholds customer relationships through allowing consumers to communicate with each other and the company. According to Rocha, Jansen, Lofti and Fraga ( 2013, p. 264). The use of online virtual communication, forums, social networking sites, blogs to mention but a few helps firms in attracting consumers, establish virtual communities, assess consumer actions, send special messages and suggest practices that are acceptable to the consumers. Qantas uses its Facebook page to build and enhance its customer relationships. The interactions through its Facebook page socially tie the firm to its consumers. The Facebook page promotes visibility, reputation and popularity of the firm. The firm can reach large audiences swiftly through its Facebook page. The firm can respond to published comments and opinions as soon as possible thereby enhancing customer relationships. 2.3 Selling through Facebook When a consumer updates a message or makes a comment, the page followers find out and this in turn augments returns on the stock. Therefore, Qantas sells through its Facebook page. Qantas Facebook page offers the company manifold advantages of internationalising the firm, including formulating sales and exposure for the firm, its services and products. The Facebook page has helped the company to develop brand equity and drive traffic, conduct research, spread messages virally. From a closer look at Qantas Facebook page, the firm utilises this social networking site to conduct sales, public relations, promotional activities and advertising on an international scale (Qantas 2015). The company post its services, resources, facilities and products through its Facebook page besides posting its corporate social responsibility activities. The company is skilful in devising suitable social media policies for marketing strategies. In fact, Qantas Facebook page has become a crucial portion of the firm’s marketing mix that functions to influence the buying decisions of consumers. Qantas attract consumers and market its services through its Facebook page alongside other social media platforms. The company’s Facebook page offers a destination of information, reviews and recommendations from the company’s consumers. The Facebook page has offered a feedback component to Qantas-customer relationships (Qantas 2015). The two-way feedback empowers the consumers and instigates engagement and increased sales. The dynamic relationship established through the firm’s Facebook page contributes to the overall worth of the process. While consumers are afforded control and utility, Qantas get customer feedback and access. These establish a foundation of a co-creation ‘prosumer’ model where every member contributes and benefits from each others actions. Although it is not clear whether Qantas manages its bookings for the corporate market and consumer market through its Facebook page, the page offers the necessary information needed to facilitate booking through providing its website and contact details. As a result, it can be said that the company facilitates its sales through its Facebook page and other social media platforms. In addition, trough marketing its products through its Facebook page, the firm attracts numerous consumers who increase its sales. 3.0 Consumer- Generated Content In the contemporary world; advertising is no longer under the control of marketers and their agencies of advertising. The advancement in technology and accessibility of digital marketing tools has made it possible for consumers to generate their contents. Campbell, Pitt, Parent and Berthon (2011, p.224) assert that the internet had altered how marketers operate and the connection between consumers and marketers. Conventionally, companies and their agencies of advertising developed advertisements that were spread through radio, television and print media to inform, persuade and remind consumers about a firm’s services or products and its existence. However, in 2011, advertising has revolutionised with consumers creating their advertisements and posting them on social networking sites such as Facebook. In this regard, firms or marketers are no longer in control of brand-linked media. Any individual with internet access can honour, mimic or ridicule a company service or product. According to Christpdoulides, Jevons and Bonhomme (2012, p.53) , consumer-generated content entails content that is made publicly accessible via the Internet, content that reflects a given amount of creative effort and content developed outside professional practices ad routines. Consumer-generated content encompasses advice, opinions, commentary and experience concerning a company’s brand, product, services often informed via personal experience. With the development of online participation in content development and sharing, customers exert considerable influence over brands and products. To prevent, negative publicity, Qantas has set up rules that its Facebook friends must adhere to when creating or sharing content on the company’s Facebook page. Apparently, consumer-generated content can be negative or positive. Consumer-generated content improves the experience of consumers by allowing them to voice their views, read reviews and comments from other consumers and gain more brand awareness (Campbell, Pitt, Parent & Berthon (2011, p.224). More importantly, consumer-generated content functions as a tool of marketing that promotes a company’s services or products. Through Qantas Facebook page, consumers voice out their concerns and seek information regarding the firm’s activities. In less than 4 hours, an unsatisfied consumer shared her concerns regarding poor customer service, “I have now been twice charged to change a flight as it won't let me do it online for free. I sent complaint emails about this well over a month ago, and yet I don't hear anything. This is the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life” (Qantas 2015). Although such complaints created and shared through the firm’s Facebook page may jeopardise the firm’s brand, it helps the firm to improve its services to meet the needs of its consumers. In addition, the content prompts the firm to offer improved service and address issues that their consumers experience. Positive consumer-generated content is more beneficial to a company compared to marketer-generated content. Apparently, consumers trust the consumer-generated content more that marketer-generated content on information on a firm’s website. As a result, Facebook customers would want to befriend this company in order to get reviews, feedback and content from the company’s consumers. Consumer-generated content increases Qantas sales particularly when positive content is shared. Even when negative content is shared, the company responds positively through improving their services. Allowing customers to create and share content enables the firm to collect content, increased its audience base and augments its reach beside augmenting consumer-relationships. Consumer-generated content include videos, photos, guest posts, product reviews and more importantly, social media posts (Christpdoulides, Jevons & Bonhomme (2012, p.53). Consumer-generated content helps the company in understanding its target audience, enrich consumer experience and extend the firm’s customer base as it acts as a form of marketing. According to Campbell, Pitt, Parent and Berthon (2011, p.227), consumer-generated content promotes a firm’s brand image and brand personality. More so, consumer-generated advertising offers marketers a pool of novel creative talent. 4.0 Points to consider when setting up a Facebook Page Although consumer-generated content presents many probable prospects for marketers, it can also destroy the image and reputation of a firm. As a result, when setting up a Facebook page, firms should consider limiting the control of consumers to prevent negative effects of CGC. A firm’s reputation and image can be damaged through negative comments posted by consumers. Wrong perceptions and negative reviews can lead to loss of consumers. In this regard, a firm thinking of set up a Facebook page should try to limit the control of consumers. A closer look at Qantas Facebook page shows negative comments in the form of complaints that may jeopardise the image and reputation of the firm. This happens because the firm has given consumers too much control in creating and sharing content. Secondly, firms should consider moderating comments. To ensure that the firm’s image is not put at risk, businesses should implement an application that will allow and ensure assessment of the comments or complaints before they are posted on their Facebook page. Companies should ensure moderation of comment to ensure that spam comments, insults and offensive language that can damage the company’s brand are not exposed to the consumers. Effective moderation of comments and monitoring are essential to avoid luring costumers and potential customers away. Thirdly, firms should consider establishing practical rules of engagement. Consumers can create content that contravene a firm’s copyrights, or that can run counter to a companies’ brand positioning (Campbell, Piercy 7 Heinrich 2012, p.120). In this regard, a firm wishing to set up a Facebook page should provide reasonable rules for engagement. Such rules will prevent damage to a firm’s reputation and image besides ensuring that all the contents generated by consumers do not violate the firm’s copyright or counter run the firm’s brand position. 5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations The social media presents a paradigm shift in marketing communications. Social media entails the media that users can participate, create and share content. This media has increased the ability of consumers to communicate with one another. Firms have embraced social media as a marketing tool and use it to create awareness of their products or services and in attracting and retaining their customers. Qantas uses social media platforms to establish its presence in the airline market. Consumers are allowed to post or comment on the firm’s Facebook page. The consumers can create content and share it through the firm’s Facebook page. While consumer-generated content increases awareness of the firm’s services, it can affect the firm’s reputation and image. Social networking sites such as Facebook limits the control of firms over the content and sharing of consumer-generated content. However, as the role of consumer-generated content becomes relevant, firms should consider whether to adhere to the trend of placing their brands into the hands of consumers. Firms use social media platforms as a marketing tool should weigh the benefits and costs of consumer-generated content. They should implement rules to prevent negative publicity, implement application that ensures review of comments before they are shared. They should also promote moderation of comments to prevent insults and offensive language that may jeopardise the image, reputation, brand equity and personality of the firm. 6.0 Reference List Barker, N, Chitty, B, Valos, M & Shimp, T 2011, Integrated marketing communications, UK, Cengage Learning. Campbell, C, Piercy, N & Heinrich, D 2012, ‘ When companies get caught: the effect of consumer discovering undesirable firm engagement online’, Journal of Public Affairs, vol.12, no.2, pp. 120-126. Campell, C, Pitt, L, Parent, M & Berthon, P 2010, ‘ Tracking back-talk in consumer-generated advertising: An analysis of two interpretative approaches’, Journal of Advertising Research, vol.51, no.1, pp. 224-238. Christodoulides, G, Jevons, C & Bonhomme, J 2012, ‘ Memo to marketers: Quantitative evidence for change. How user-generated content really affect brands’, Journal of Advertising Research, vol, no.1pp. 53-63. Czinkota, M & Ronkainen, I 2012, International marketing, UK, Cengage Learning. Jamuna, S 2013, ‘ Social media: A medium to interact with potential customers’, International Journal of Logistics & Supply Chain Management Perspectives, vol.2, no.4, pp. 524-530. Nguyen, B, Wingate, N & Simkin, L 2014, ‘ The customer relationship management paradox: Five steps to create a fairer organisation’, Social Business, vol.4, no.3, pp. 207-230. Qantas 2015, Facebook. Available from https://www.facebook.com/Qantas [ 4 April 2009]. Qantas 2015, Qantas. Available from http://www.qantas.com.au [ 4 April 2009]. Rocha, T, Jansen, C, Lofti, E & Fraga, R 2013, ‘ An exploratory study on the use of social networks in building customer relationships’, Review of Business Management, vol.15, no.47, pp.262-282. Schiffman, L, O’Cass, Paladino, A & Carlson, J 2013, Consumer behaviour, Australia, Pearson Higher Education. Trost, E 2013, Social media marketing in BRIC countries, USA, LIT Verlag Munster. Read More