BSc (Hons) Business Management Top up

The current research report is based on aspects of social media and its role within consumer buying process. This marketing method is associated with informing target audience in such a manner that their decision may positively impact organisational profitability and efficiency. The report is going to highlight regarding the factors which are considered by an individual while making their buying decision making. On the other hand the report is also demonstrating different methods of social media in order to attract their customers. Besides this the relationship between social media marketing and decision making process is also elaborated within the research so that the organisation may acquire differential edge into the organisation.

The organisation selected for the research is Argos which is a catalogue retailer which is operating their business in UK and Ireland. The company is acquired by Sainsbury's in the year of 2016 which is one of the supermarket chain. The company trades using their online and physical store which provides differential edge to the business. The company is operating their business with distinct business model and this is the reason that the organisation is holding separate edge in respect of their competitors.

1.2 Significance of The Research

The research is highly significant in nature as this is associated with examining aspects of social media and its significance within consumer decision making. This has been analysed that for current businesses social media plays an essential role as this is helpful in placing business aspects by including audience into the business. On the other hand, the research will provide such knowledge to the businesses by which they can develop their social media marketing in the favour of positive buying decision (He and et. al., 2017). The information gathered from the current research can be used by organisation situated in retail industry so that to groom their business and to deal with needs and requirements of their customers. The research is having significance as in developing marketing strategies and adding digital factor in the same so that in overall manner the organisation can develop their marketing strategy in order to gain business objectives. Using social media organisational capabilities can be increased and the same can be communicated to their potential customers in most appropriate manner.

1.3 Rationale of The Research

The major rationale of the current research is to develop understanding related with social media and their impact with customer buying decision. This has been analysed that using such information researcher may develop their career and their job role in most appropriate manner. The research is related with dual perspective such as personal and professional. In the terms of personal perspective the current research will develop various skills within researcher such as communication skills, analytical skill, problem solving skills and many others. So that by using such skills this will be easier for researcher to manage their career and acquire success as well. Whereas in terms of professional perspective the current research will increase knowledge of researcher so that future researches can be conducted in more appropriate manner (Schivinski and Dabrowski, 2016). By enhancing such skills the researcher will get to know regarding the manner in which a research can be conducted so that issues which are faced by them within the research can be eliminated. In this manner by conducting the current research the researcher will satisfy dual perspective so that in personal and professional career can be boosted in which the researcher may get an edge within their future in order to gain different dimensions.

1.4 Research Question (s)

• What is the concept of social media marketing and consumer buying decision?
• What are the main factors used by Argos Limited for changing buying decision of consumers towards their brand?
• What are the major platforms of social media marketing that Argos Limited has used for attracting customers towards their brand?
• What is the relationship between social media marketing and decision making process of consumer towards their brand.

1.5 Research Aims and Objectives

Research Aim

To identify the impact of social media marketing on the decision making process of the consumers towards UK retail industry: A study on Argos Limited

Research Objectives

• To develop basic understanding regarding the social media marketing and consumer buying decision
• To determine the factors used by Argos Limited for changing buying decision of consumers towards their brand.
• To examine the platforms of social media marketing that Argos Limited has used for attracting customers towards their brand
• To evaluate the relationship between social media marketing and decision making process of consumer towards their brand

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction of Literature Review

This is the second chapter in dissertation which plays a very crucial part for attaining objective in better manner. Literature review contain the previous data about the topic. This section used the past data in order to answer research question in systematic manner. The data which is accumulated in literature review is collected using various secondary sources some of them are books, journal, magazine, website, articles and many more. This section also helps the researcher to gain deeper understanding about the topic and acquire more knowledge so that investigation can be conducted properly. In short literature review is the comprehensive summary of the past investigation on the particular topic.

2.2 Main Body With Heading and Sub-headings

2.2.1 What is the Concept of Social Media Marketing and Consumer Buying Decision?

As per the view of Voramontri and Klieb (2019), social media marketing refers to the process of promoting and advertising company’s product and services with the use of social media platform or network. In recent time with the increase use of digital technology the concept of social media marketing is gaining more importance. Companies are shifting their traditional way of promoting the product into modern way. they are using social media as a platform to market their goods and services. social media marketing helps the brands to make an interactive connection and communication with their existing customer as well as helps in attracting various new buyers for the company. In current era social media has changed the way the business operates their marketing function. This has provided an enhance chance to the organisation to make connection and gain market growth and success. There are various social media platform to promote goods and service some of them are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many more.

Social media marketing also come out to be the most powerful marketing strategy in recent time were completion is very high. Using various channels and platform company are acquiring competitive advantage from their rivalry. It is that digital marketing approach through which brands are attaining their marketing as well as branding goal. Social media marketing is not about posting something on the site it is much more than this. Social media marketing includes various things some are:

• Managing and design unique and attractive brand profile.
• Positing various post, stories feed, videos that present company’s product and services and also attract buyers.
• Responding back to the comments made by the followers so that they can enhance their market reputation

Companies are also paying amount to advertise their product on various platform which is knowing as paid social media advertising. There is various advantage that can be acquired by social media marketing. The foremost benefit that can be acquired while using the concept of digital marketing is humanizing the business (Naeem, 2021). It helps in turning the business into active participants were they can interact with diversified customer. The second advantage of social media marketing is generating lead for the company’s product and services. Through using various platform, they can directly sale their goods and service by online purchasing. One of the biggest advantage of social media marketing is enhancing the brand image and awareness. With the help of social media company can create their visual identity which helps in attracting large audience as well as improving brand awareness. It is also being observed in various research that with the time the use of social media among the people increase which helps the brands to promote their product in effective and efficient manner.

Social media marketing also helps in change the customer buying behaviour towards the company product. Consumer decision process is also known as buyer decision process. Consumer buying decision is the process from the day they know about the goods and service to the day they make purchase. It is very vital for the company to know the buying behaviour of their customers in order to market and sale their goods. In today era customer are the king of the market so to sale the goods it is very important to know their attitude, needs and wants. There are serval stage of consumer decisions making process which are discussed below:

• Need Recognition or Problem Recognition:This is the first step in buying process where the buyers identify their need or problem related to the product or service. In this stage they look for the good which satisfy their need.
• Searching Information:The second step is searching for the information related to the goods and service. In this they look out for the brand or company which sale the particular product.
• Evaluation of Alternative:This is the third stage which is very important to make purchase decision. In this they analyse and evaluate their alternative so that they can get the best option for their need.
• Purchase Decision:The fourth step in the consumer decision making process is purchase decision. After evaluation of the option the best product is being selected and then the product is being purchased by the buyers.
• Post Purchase Evaluation:The last step in the process is measuring their satisfaction level by the purchased product and to decide whether they want to be the loyal customer or will switch for the other brand (Jacobson, Gruzd and Hernández-García, 2020).

Thus, social media marketing plays vital role in consumer buying process. They try to attract the buyers for their product and service and make force them to make buying decision for their company product. It is very vital for the organisation to adopt those social media strategies which helps in the favour of them and by which consumer make buying decision.

2.2.2 What are The Main Factors Used by Argos Limited for Changing Buying Decisions of Consumers Towards Their Brand?

According to the view of Chen and Yao (2018), there are different factors which is used by Argos limited to change the buying decision of consumer towards their organisation. These factor help them to generate lead for their company and attract new consumer for their organisation. Argos limited has used these factor so that they can make connection with the existing buyers as well as increase their sale. The factor which is used by the brand are discussed below:

1. Psychological Factor: The foremost factor that is used by Argos limited is Psychological factor. In this they make an internal connection between the psychology of the human with the product. Measuring this factor is quite difficult but this helps in generating lead for the product. There are some key drivers of psychological factor which are:

• Perception: In this drive Argos gather the information related to the product the customer needs or ant to modified. This helps them to create image of the product in that manner so that they can advertise and promote it in greater manner. Argos limited is o the view that an image of the item should always match with the perception made by the buyer about the product (Loxton and et. al., 2020).
• Attitude and Belief: Attitude and belief of the buyers towards the good or service also promote them to make their purchasing decision. So Argos limited first analysis the attitude and belief a customer have and then according to this they advertise the product in the market. This also aid the Argos to successfully designing their marketing campaigns in effective manner.

2. Social Factor: Another component which are being looked by Argos limited to change the buying behaviour of the customer is social factor. In this they make those marketing strategy which are in the favour of the society. The human buying decision also impacted by the group of people living around them. Argos limited on the continuous basis look for that approach which best fit in the surrounding. Some of the social factor are:

• Family: The families of the buyers plays a vital role in their decisions process. It is very crucial for the Argos to sale that product which is accepted by the family.
• Role and Status: Another factor that is important in social factor is the role and status of the customer in the society. Argos limited sale product according to different class so that they can attract various class group in their company. The marketing strategy of the Argos is based on the middle class people so that they can turn their buying behaviour towards them.

3. Cultural Factor: It is very important for the company to promote and advertise product as per the values and ethics followed in the society. Culture of the human shape their decision making as they live in a community where they need to obey their culture. Argos analysed the culture while sale the product and according to that they decide which product and service need to be promote in that particular area (Wiederhold and Martinez, 2018).

4. Personal Factor: One of the vital factor that affect the consumer decision making is personal choices of the individual.Some of the Personal factor which are looked by Argos limited is age, occupation, income, Lifestyle and many more. According to this they design their marketing strategy so that they can attract buyers as per their ned and wants.

2.2.3 Major Platforms of Social Media Marketing That Argos Limited has Used for Attracting Customers Towards Their Brand

According to Cooley and Parks-Yancy (2019),social media marketing refers to the procedure to create content for social media channels for promoting products and services of the company. It facilitates business to build community with their potential audience and increase traffic for the business. Social media channels and platforms are developing day by day because they are coming with new and emerging features. Social media platforms have become one of the common ways for companies to reach large number of customers in short period of time. Social media channels include people with different industries who consume different products, commodities and use different services. Thus, with great number of social media channels available, companies take great advantage of it and take most out of it. There are various platforms of social media marketing such as: YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and many more. These social media platforms are explained below in detailed manner.

1. Facebook: One of the most common channel used by companies and organisations is Facebook. It is the social media platform that more than 2.27 billion active users. This large number of audience shows that it is number one choice among people. There is one specific feature of Facebook known as Facebook Ads Manager because in this company can easily create advertisements that target people based upon factors such as gender, location, education level, job title, interests, device usage, relationship status and many more. This helps company to reach out each customer by their identified needs and requirements. This channel also allows company to create Custom Audience from the phone number list and e-mail addresses that they have gathered from reaching the present customers. Facebook Pixel is the other channel which is considered by company for targeting all those people who have visited the website of the company (Zollo and et. al., 2020). Thus, an organisation makes their Facebook creative and attractive and ensure that they update information on Facebook page regularly.

2. Twitter:The other social media channel which holds great significance is Twitter. It is the social media platform which has 186 million daily active users. It is one of the fast-paced platform and mostly people visit this platform through their account to get new data and information. It is one of the good marketing platforms for organisations because it publishes original content consistently (Sun and Wang, 2019). This channel is quite easy to use for customers as well as companies. Customers simply share links of the products they like about the company. Customers also get information directly from the company through their posted content on Twitter. Company develops habit of posting information about the products and services of the organisation to customers and create great reputation in the whole industry.

3. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the first social networking site for the professionals. This is used by company for updating its customers about the business. Through LinkedIn, an organisation focuses over recruiting new members for the team and connecting with new industry partners. As it is a professional network, it is one of the best choices to promote products and services of the organisation (Sheikh and et. al., 2019). This channel assists in generating new leads and creates traffic on other channels of social media accounts.

4. Instagram: This is the most important social media marketing platform and it is owned by Facebook. This platform is increasing its customer base continuously because it is the fastest method to reach large number of customers. It is one of the visual platforms that helps in showcasing the personality of the business. It has access to many tools that an organisation uses for improving the creative experience of the organisation's customers. It is one of the best platforms for business when company requires to reach customers by videos and photos. Company posts photographs of the products in use and asks followers to repeat and do the same. Instagram hashtags also play significant role because it assists in reaching large number of audience and the current number of customers can be easily increased by using feature of Instagram Live Video and Instagram Stories (Aragoncillo and Orus, 2018). Instagram also gives advertising methods to business which are also accessible by Facebook.

5. YouTube:The other significant social media platform is YouTube. It has more than 2 billion registered users. It is the best social media channel to highlight the culture of company and making demonstrations and tutorials (Mason, Narcum and Mason, 2021). When company is able to create its content then YouTube is one of the best channels for hosting videos. This channel makes creative videos of the newly launched products of the company so that attention of the customers could be grabbed in a systematic way.

Thus, with the help of social media channels an organisation focuses taking best out from these channels in terms of advertisement and promotion of the products (Ebrahim, 2020). Thus, there are many advantages which are gained by an organisation such as: it creates buying intent among customers in relation to the products of the company, these channels are not costly because there is no requirement to pay any amount of making social media accounts, it is not time consuming procedure because it always has active and engaged customers and there is no requirement to get expertise help for posting content about the company's products.

2.2.4 Relationship Between Social Media Marketing and Decision Making Process of Consumer Towards Their Brand

According to Voramontri and Klieb (2019),social media channels have occupied significant position as one of the communication tools. Customers of the different countries use different social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for sharing thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. People use these social media channels for reviewing products, information about service, advice about various healthy food and health, warnings about the products, tips on using one product in different ways and many more. There are many purchasers who have double the use of these channels because they are finding right product and service on these channels. An individual always look for reviews of people before buying any product because it assists them in making right and relevant decision regarding their purchase (Pop and et. al., 2022). They also consider these channels for getting recommendations from different people so that they can purchase right commodity or product. One of the latest trends in marketing is social media and it holds great power to influence customers to purchase the products of the company. Customers require great information about the products of the company and its various different offerings. Some of the impacts of social media marketing over decision making procedure of consumers towards the brand are:

1. Building Product Awareness: Social media has great influence on the decision-making procedure of customers. With the help of social media account, company put information about their proposed products and services which include price, features, pictures, videos etc. This assists customers to become familiar with the company's product and services and this eventually influences them to buy that promoted and advertised product. Thus, the objective of social media influencing consumer buying behavior.

2. Social Proof as a Greater Force of Purchasing Decision: Social media channels have resulted in the evolution of social proof as one of the greater forces for purchasing decisions. Social proof is one of the elements of people for imitating people's behavior and people imitating who have influenced them. Happy consumers tend to go about praising the commodities with shares, reviews, likes and many more (Laksamana, 2018). Thus, these likes and comments of other audience influence customers to purchase products of the company.

3. Promotions, Discounts and Deals on Social media: The other significant positive relation between social media marketing and consumer buying decision process is highlighted by the discounts and offers offered by company. Companies offer discounts and coupons to their customers on social media so that they can gain attention of their existing as well as new customers. When customers see that company is offering multiple offers and benefits then they purchase more from the brand.

4. Social Media Influencers: Social media marketing and customers buying decision have positive relation because this type of marketing includes people who are admired by other people. Customers easily get influenced by purchasing the products of the company when they see that their favorite celebrities or popular people are promoting the product. This assists in attracting large number of customers and increasing the sales of the company (Aji, Nadhila and Sanny, 2020). Social media influencers work wonder for the organisation because it attracts large number of consumers and gain their attention.

Therefore, it is carried out that social media channels are directly linked with the process of influencing people because it involves discounts, promotions, visuals and influencers. The impacts of social media on consumer behavior cannot be ignored by organisations and companies because their business is directly dependent over retention of customers.

2.3 Conclusion of Literature Review

From the above recorded information, it is summarised that social media channels are essential for companies because it is directly linked with influencing large number of audience. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube etc. are social media channels that are mostly used by companies to put content so that customers could be aware about the products and services of the brand.

Chapter 3: Methodology

3.1 Research Process

Research process is being written down and explained in the research methodology chapter. Research process is the set of various step which is carried out to conduct the investigation ins systematic manner. This is the step by step action taking by the investigator to complete the investigation and proper a report in best way. These all step is interlinked with each other and help in gathering and analysing data (Fisher and Bloomfield, 2019). steps of the research process are discussed below:

• Identification and Defining Research Problem: This is the first step in the research in which investigator observe the people and things around them and then define the problem related to it. In this step problem is being identified and on the basis of this research question is being formulated.
• Review of Literature: The next step in the process of research is reviewing the research question and then gathering data about them from various secondary source. In literature review part past published data is being obtained that is collected by various researcher earlier. This step provides the vivid picture of the investigation. The data in this is gathered through books, journal, online site, articles and many more (Jensen, 2020).
• Formulating Hypothesis: The third stage of the research process is formulating the hypothesis. Hypothesis is the statement which helps in logically identifying the relationship between two variables. These are being design show that research problem ca be solved in effective and efficient manner.
• Research Design: After the hypothesis is being formulated researcher prepare their research design. In this level they develop the blue print of the investigation so that investigation can be undertaken in scientific manner. This also help in identifying the resources need to be utilised in the investigation (Mac Naughton and Rolfe, 2020).
• Carrying out Investigation: The fifth step in the research is to carry out the actual investigation. In this data is being gathered and various action is conducted so that research can be conducted in valid and reliable manner. in this section research methodology is carefully designed so that accurate type of information can be accumulated as per the selected topic.
• Preparing the Research Outcome: After the actual experiment is carried out in which data is being gather, the next step is analysing and evaluating the information so that results can be obtained by it. In this step inspection of raw information is being made in order to get useful information.
• Reporting and Findings: The last step in the research process is reporting and finding. In this stage the actual report is being made and the overall finding of the research is written down as per the structure. At this level researcher try to obtained their aim and objective in valid and reliable manner.

3.2 Research Approach

Research approach is the planned procedure which contain detailed action to find the relationship between the variables. In this part hypothesis and theories are being tested in order to attain the objective in valid manner. This section is the most crucial part of the methodology section as it helps in gathering and analysing detailed information for the chosen study. Using this section researcher address their research problem in greater manner. There are two types of research approaches which are inductive and deductive approach (Snyder, 2019) . Deductive approach is the process of evaluating the hypothesis with the help of numerical information. On the other side, inductive approach is the procedure of measuring theories with non-numerical information. In the current investigation, researcher has selected deductive approach to test the theories and hypothesis. The main reason for choosing this approach is it helps in testing existing hypothesis which is being designed by the researcher prior to the actual investigation is done. This approach does not build new theories rather than test the theories which are formulated on the basis of research problem. Another reason for selecting this approach is it will help in shoeing the relationship between social media on consumer buying behaviour in sound manner. With the help decision is being made whether the hypothesis will be accepted or rejected.

3.3 Research Strategy

Research strategy is a plan which is being made about the method thorough which data will be gathered and observed. This part contains various step by step action which is undertaken to obtained information. Research strategy helps in given the direction to the thoughts and idea of the investigator so that accurate data can be accumulated. This part also aids in conducting the investigation in quality manner so that exact result can be obtained. There are different kinds of research strategies some of them are survey, systematic literature review, case study, experimental research, action research, focused group and many more. Survey strategy helps in extracting quantitative information from mass population and the data which is collected using this gathered volume information. Systematic literature review helps in collecting past information about the topic with the help of various secondary sources (Rinjit, 2020). Experimental research is that process which assemble detailed data about the topic with the assistance of empirical study. Action research is the research strategy which obtained information about the day to day problem by identifying the accurate solution for it. In the current investigation, investigator has selected survey research study. The reason for this is it helps in accumulating numerical information in numbers, facts and figures. Another reason for this is it acquire data in less time and cost. The information which is collected through this is in large quantity because information is gathered from large population.

3.4 Research Methodology and Tools

Research methodology is the most important chapter in the overall dissertation. It can be defined as the scientific process to identify analyse and interpret information as per the topic in systematic manner. This part assists the researcher to obtained solution for their two main question which are how data will be analysed and how it will be collected. This is the most important chapter in the dissertation because the finding and discussion part depends on the type of information gathered using different methodologies (Cr, 2020). Research methodology also aids in attaining aim and objective in accurate and appropriate manner. There are various philosophies, choices and data collection method is used by the investigator in order to accumulate valuable information. Readers also measure the validity and reliability of the research by the help of gathered information. The main purpose to write down this chapter in the research report so that appropriate data can be gathered as per the selected topic.

1. Research Philosophy: It is the set of belief and principle which tells about the phenomenon of the information which is to be collected and used in the investigation. Philosophies are divided into three parts which are positivism, interpretivism and realism. Positivism philosophy tells that the data from the social world can be accumulated in objective manner. interpretivism philosophy say that social world can be understand with the aid of subjective information (Pandey and Pandey, 2021). In last realism say both objective and subjective information is needed to understood the human mind. In the present investigation, positivism philosophy is used to collect, analyse and used quantitative data. The main motive behind opting this approach is that information can be acquired and used in number and aim can be attained accurately. Another reason is it will assist in extracting out the trend and pattern for collecting information. Apart from this it requires less time to analyse data which helps in making decision in shorter time.

2. Research Choice: There are three types of research method which are mono method, multi method and mixed method. Mono method is used when only single type of data need to be collected. In this either quantitative or qualitative data is used. In mixed method both kind of information is being used and in multi method both types of data is collected and analysed but the both are gathered for more than two time (Kumar, 2018).

Research choice is the process of selecting a type of information need to be gathered and analysed as per the topic. Quantitative and qualitative are the two data research choice. Quantitative research method is the procedure of gathering and analysing numerical data. whereas, qualitative research is the process of extracting and measuring non numerical data. quantitative data is in number, figures, facts and values. On the other side qualitative data is in words, statements or paragraph. In the current investigation, researcher has opted for quantitative data. The reason for choosing this approach is that it collecting and evaluating numerical information is quite easier. It also requires less time and cost to gather and analyse data (Nayak and Singh, 2021).

3. Time Horizon: Time horizon is the time framework which tell about the investing time to collect and analyse data. Cross sectional and longitudinal are the two-time framework. Cross sectional time horizon collects and analyse information for single time and longitudinal gathers and evaluate data multiple time (Zangirolami-Raimundo, Echeimberg and Leone, 2018). In the present investigation, cross sectional time horizon has selected by the investigator. The reason for this is it will take less time to gather information. Using this multiple variable at single time can be observed in shorter time.

4. Data Collection: Data collection is the process of gathering, analysing and evaluating data. there are two data collection method that are primary and secondary data collection. These method helps in assembling valuable information as per the study. This method also helps the investigator to provide combination of information as per the chosen topic. Primary data collection is the process of collecting and analysing first-hand information. This method gathered fresh data from the respondent (Bairagi and Munot, 2019). Primary data is directly gartered by the investigator without any third party involvement. Secondary data collection is the process of gathering and analysing secondary information. In this second hand information is being gathered and this information is obtained by another person but used by multiple researcher. In the present study, both primary and secondary data is being collected. Primary data is used in data analysis part and secondary data is used in literature review. The tool to collect primary data is questionnaire and secondary data is books, journal, magazine, articles and many more.

5. Data analysis: Data analysing is the technique to inspect, evaluate and measure the data. this is the method in which raw data is being inspected in order to accumulate useful information. There are two data analysis technique which are frequency distribution method and thematic analysis (Ledford and Gast, 2018). Frequency distribution evaluate quantitative data and thematic analysis measure qualitative data. in the current investigation researcher has used frequency distribution method. The reason for this is it helps in inspecting and evaluating numerical information. Using this method does not require expertise knowledge. It also takes less time and cost for evaluating information.

3.5 Sampling Approach

Sampling is the method used for taking out sample from the whole pollution. There are two sampling methods that are probability sampling and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling is the methods in which respondent are given equal opportunity to get selected. On the other hand, non-probability sampling takes out sample on biases manner. In the present investigation probability sampling method is selected to select sample (Ragab and Arisha, 2018). Further there are various types of probability sampling such as random sampling, systematic sampling, cluster sampling and many more. In the present investigation random sampling technique has selected because it selected the participants in equal and fair manner. The sample size is 30 employees from Argos.

3.6 Ethical Implications

Ethics within an investigation is highly important because it has a positive impact on the researcher while they want to complete entire activity of the study in an ethical manner. There are various principles of the ethics that are taken within an investigation such as minimising the risk of harm, obtaining informed consent, protecting confidentiality and autonomy and many others (Lee, 2018). These are main principles of the resech ethics that helps an investigator in completing each activity of the dissertation ethically and successfully. Thus, it is the role of the researcher to follow all principles of research ethics for achieving an aim and all objectives ethically.

Chapter 4: Findings (Data Presentation)

Frequency Distribution Table

Chapter 5: Discussion (Data interpretation)

Table 1: Basic Understanding Regarding the Social Media Marketing and Consumer Buying Decision

Interpretation:

From the above graph it is being identified that out of 30 respondents, 25 have said that they have basic understanding regarding the social media marketing and consumer buying decision. As they have basic knowledge of social media marketing and consumer buying decision they can make effective social media strategy and attract more and more buyers towards the brand. The remaining 5 thinks that they don't have enough understanding regarding the social media marketing and consumer buying decision which affects the business performance.

Table 2: Role of Social Media Marketing on Improving Business Performance and Productivity

Interpretation:

The above graphical representation depicts that out of 30 participants, 7 thinks that the role of social media marketing on improving business performance and productivity is reaching out wider customer. Beside this, 8 said that communicate relevant information related to the products and services is the role of social media marketing on improving business performance and productivity. Another 9 have perception that the main role of social media marketing on improving business performance and productivity is developing strong relationship with customer. The remaining 6 have opinion that the role of social media marketing on improving business performance and productivity is to improves customer satisfaction.

Table 3: Consumer Buying Behaviour Affects the Performance and Productivity of Business

Interpretation:

It is being analysed from the above graph that out of 30 respondents, 24 said that consumer buying behaviour affects the performance and productivity of business. Other 2 have opinion that consumer buying behaviour doesn't affects the performance and productivity of business. Besides this 4 thinks that they can't say consumer buying behaviour affects the performance and productivity of business.

Table 4: Factors Used by Argos Limited for Changing Buying Decision of Consumers Towards Their Brand

Interpretation:

From the above mention graph it is being interpreted that there are various factors which can be used by Argos Limited for changing buying decision of consumers towards their brand. In this manner out of 30 respondents, 10 thinks that Psychological factor can be used by Argos Limited for changing buying decision of consumers towards their brand. On the other hand, 7 have perception that Social factor is the factor which can be used by company for changing buying decision of consumers towards their brand. Besides this, 5 have said that cultural factor is the factor which can be used by organisation in order to change buyer decision whereas 8 thinks that personal factor is the factor that can be used by Argos Limited for changing buying decision of consumers towards their brand.

Table 5: Platforms of Social Media Marketing That Argos Limited can Used for Attracting Customers Towards Their Brand

Interpretation:

The graph demonstrated that out of 30 participants, 6 said that Facebook is the effective platform of social media marketing that Argos Limited can used for attracting customers towards their brand. On the other hand, 7 thinks that Twitter is the platform which can be used by company in order to attract more and more customer towards the brand. Another 5 said that Instagram is the platform which can beused by Argos Limited for attracting customers towards their brand. The other 7 have perception that YouTube is the platform of social media marketing that Argos Limited can used for attracting customers towards their brand. At last, 5 thinks that LinkedIn is the platform of social media marketing that Argos Limited can used for attracting customers towards their brand.

Table 6: Benefits Which can be Gained by Argos Limited While Using Social Media Marketing Strategy For Attracting Customers

Interpretation:

From the above graph this can be concluded that there are various benefits which can be gained by company while using effective social media marketing strategy. Out of 30 participants, 5 have said that increase brand awareness is the benefit which can be gained by Argos Limited while using social media marketing strategy for attracting customers. Another 6 have opinion that better client service is the benefit which can be gained by organisation while using social media marketing strategy for attracting customers. Beside this 4 have said that increase market reachis the benefit which can be availed by company while implementing effective social media marketing strategy. On the other hand, 8 have said that building strong relationshipis the benefit which can be gained by Argos limited while using social media maketing strategy for attracting customers. At last, 7 said that improves profitability and productivity is the advantage which can be gained by organisation while using social media marketing strategy.

Table 7: Relationship Between Social Media Marketing and Decision Making Process of Consumer Towards the Trand

Interpretation:

From the above shown bar chart this can be concluded that there is a relationship between social media marketing and decision making process of consumer towards the brand. Out of 30 respondents, 26 have said that they think there is an effective relationship between social media marketing and decision making process of consumer towards the brand. The other 2 thinks that they don't think so there is a relationship between social media marketing and decision making process of consumer towards the brand. The remaining 2 have opinion that they can't say there is any relationship.

Table 8: Impacts of Social Media Marketing Over Decision Making Procedure of Consumers Towards the Brand

Interpretation:

It is being identified from the above graphical representation that out of 30 participants, 10 thinks that building product awareness is the impact of social media marketing over decision making procedure of consumers towards the brand. Other 6 said that promotions, discounts and deals on social media is the influence of social media marketing over buyers' decision. Another 7 thinks that social media influencers is the impacts of social media marketing over decision making procedure of consumers towards the brand. At last, 7 said that social proof as a greater force of purchasing decision is the impact of social media marketing over decision making procedure of consumers towards the brand.

Table 9: Challenges Which are Faced by Argos While Implementing Social Media Marketing Strategy For Attracting Customer

Interpretation:

From the above information it is being analysed that out of 30 respondents, 6 thinks that definingmarketing goals is the challenges which can be faced by Argos while implementing social media marketing strategy for attracting customer. Another 4 have perception that identifying the right platforms is the challenges which is faced by company while using social media marketing strategy for attracting customer. Beside this, 7 thinks that understanding the target audience is the challenge which can be faced by organisation while using effective social media marketing strategy. On the other hand, 5 have opinion that increasingad cost is the challenges which can be faced by Argos while implementing social media marketing strategy for attracting customer. The remaining 8 have said that reducing in organic reach and engagement rates is the problem which is faced by company while implementing social media marketing strategy.

Table 10: Ways to Overcome the Challenges Associated While Implementing Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy

Interpretation:

The above graph depicts that there are various ways to overcome the challenges associated while implementing effective social media marketing strategy. Out of 30 participants, 7 said that increasing audience participation is the way to overcome the challenges associated while implementing effective social media marketing strategy. The other 8 have perception that creating social media marketing plan bis the factor which can help in mitigating the issues related to implementing effective social media marketing strategy. Beside this, 6 have said that examining the effectiveness of social media is the way through which organisation can overcome the issues related to the implementation of social media marketing strategy. At last, 9 have said that dipping organic reach is the way that helps in mitigating the issues associated while implementing effective social media marketing strategy.

Chapter 6: Conclusion, Recommendations and Implications for Further Research

Conclusion

Social media marketing is defined as the marketing measures which is used for the purpose of promoting and advertising organisational offerings into the market using internet as mediator. The concept of social media is new and is related with using digital methods in marketing so that higher importance over the business can be attained. For the current time in order to meet market demands and to understand needs of their customers. Social media is the platform which is different from traditional marketing and can be used to develop open communication within the customer. This is the method which is used for the purpose of interacting with customers so that market growth opportunities can be acquired by the organisation.

There are different buyers and sellers available into the market so that with the help of using social media customers can also make their decision in positive manner. Social media has given enhanced opportunities for the businesses that to make connections with their customers and to gain separate position into the market. There are various platforms that can be used by the organisation in the terms of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and many others. Social media marketing is treated as one of the most significant marketing strategy which is associated with using of different channels, platforms and digital approach in order to attain branding goal of the organisation and to market their product or services in most defined manner. Social media in not just about posting the content as this is related with investing different resources of the organisation in the manner of delivering awareness to the customers.

Using social media the organisation may take feedbacks from their customers as well so that real market position can be analysed in terms of product and brand image. Social media is proven to be the method which is helpful for customer to assist them in their decision making process as the method is highly collaborative and transparent in nature. Using such platform the role of middlemen can be eliminated as with the help of social media content the customer can select their product or services according to their needed characteristics. This manner social media is proven to be the prominent method in which positive decisions can be taken by the organisation. Brand awareness is the another reason for which social media marketing is used and this would be highly collaborative for the organisation that to promote goods and services into the market. Using social media as business tool brands can be promoted by the organisation in proper manner in which significant assistance can be collected in overall manner. As the organisations of current age different social media channels or platform are used which are related with gaining of market consistency and collaboration.

Using of good marketing channels by the organisation is able to acquire higher customers and in the same manner customer can also be retained. Social media are the channels which have attained prominent position within communication tools as customer from different countries can also make their buying decision by seeing positive content or post over social media channels. In order to review a product or services social media channels can be used by the customers and the organisation as well. For getting information related with product or services such channels can be used by the customer so that they can develop positive decision making.

In the current time individual look after the performance and quality of the product or service which they are willing to buy or use. This is only possible after buying of such product but in case that product or service is the failure for the customer then different resources would be wasted. In order to avoid this situation the usage of social media is the boon for customers as they can see reviews and then take their decisions. So this can be said that using social media positive decision making can be performed which is helpful in saving various efforts and to use different resources in full manner. The organisation can display their offers over the social media platforms so that larger number of customers can be attracted so that business benefits can be acquired. The major relationship between customer buying decision and social media marketing is related with managing business functions in such a manner that overall business benefits can be acquired.

Recommendation

In the terms of recommendations this can be said that the organisations should be enhanced in such a manner that business advantages can be acquired. On the other hand, the organisation should use different social media marketing channels and in which catchy content should be posted in order to grab attention of existing and target customers. Argos limited is needed to focus on messaging so that to catch attention of their customers and to manage their business functions in appropriate manner. The company should measure and analyse results in a manner that efficiency of the social media channel can be examined so that in overall manner results can be measured. The company should also interact with their customers so that all the negative or positive feedbacks can be collected in which improvements can be made. In the current time there are certain trends which are seen over social media these are needed to be followed by Argos Limited so that better place into the market can be made. The recent trend is to use hashtags so that by using hashtags Argos Limited can displace their business offerings in most appropriate manner. The company should use leverage use friendly content so that the same can be understood by users in order to gain higher attention from customers. The company should also use employee advocacy so that thoughts of their employees can be used in order to gain business benefits. Social media is the platform which is used by almost all people from different age groups. So that by keeping this into context the organisation should target their audience accordingly so that positive decisions can be taken by the customers which are in the favour of the organisation. This manner sales and profitability of the organisation can be enhanced so that growth and sustainability opportunities can also be developed.

Implication for further research

The current research will be beneficial for the organisation as they can develop their social media marketing strategies in such manner that higher business benefits can be attained by them. On the other hand, the research will provide edge to the researcher in which they can execute future researches in more appropriate manner.

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