The overall problem that will be addressed in this essay is the problem of stagnancy that an organization can face due to the ever-changing conditions of its environment. This subject has great significance because technological advances constantly require companies to adapt and improve. I will begin by discussing how this problem was illustrated by the Burberry case. Then, I will describe the current awareness level on the subject and how it is reflected in related literature. After that, let me present a theory that can be used as a solution to the problem. This will be followed by a more detailed discussion of how this theory was presented in the Burberry case. Here, it is necessary to make an argument to support the previous statement and describe the risks that may arise. Finally, I will observe the findings in the conclusion part.
The Burberry case is an excellent example of the chosen problem, as it is an old company that went through many difficulties to adapt to changes. It has tried a number of different approaches, but almost all of them failed to help the company achieve long-term sustainable success and bring it out of stagnation. Finally, with the introduction of digital and social marketing, it managed to solve the problem.
Nowadays, social media has become an essential part of business marketing strategies. Professionals such as SEO experts and SMM specialists are highly demanded because all businesses need to work with social networks to promote their goods and services. If they do not, they risk being left behind. There is a body of literature that focuses on many ways how social media can improve businesses.
We can use research and models presented in the lecture and readings to explore, analyze and introduce them into our own e-marketing strategies. Implementing the trust theory discussed in the second reading can become a major step on the way to positive changes. Customers need to trust the product-makers to buy their products. As Jefferson and Tanton (2013) put it, “if you want success from your marketing, stop ‘selling’ and start helping instead.”
After multiple failed attempts to capitalize on the growth, Burberry had to increase its trustworthiness. As a CEO, Angela Ahrendts took a number of steps to do that. Among these are steps to form a whole new department of social marketing, as well as improve communication with customers by collaborating with bloggers and using social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Introducing these approaches into its marketing strategy, the company finally managed to come out of the crisis. The reason for this is the fact that at that time, the customers that Burberry mainly targeted were Millenials. Therefore, Ahrendts determined to use social networking websites to make the company more popular among them. However, this strategy involved some risks because using social media was not enough. As a result, Burberry had to do more to minimize the risks: to unify the product lines and hire new designers and marketing specialists.
In conclusion, it needs to be stated that this analysis revealed how important it is for businesses to include working with social media in their marketing strategies. Digital marketing tools and technological advances should not be ignored. Otherwise, the risks can be too great, and companies can lose their money, markets, means of production, and the most important thing: their customers’ trust.
References
Day, G. S. (1994). The capabilities of market-driven organizations. Journal of Marketing, 58(4), 37.
Dellarocas, C. N. (2003). The digitization of word-of-mouth: Promise and challenges of online feedback mechanisms. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Gefen, Karahanna, & Straub. (2003). Trust and TAM in online shopping: An integrated model. MIS Quarterly, 27(1), 51.
Gnyawali, D. R., Fan, W., & Penner, J. (2010). Competitive actions and dynamics in the digital age: An empirical investigation of social networking firms. Information Systems Research, 21(3), 594-613.
Heidemann, J., Klier, M., & Probst, F. (2012). Online social networks: A survey of a global phenomenon. Computer Networks, 56(18), 3866-3878.
Jefferson, S., & Tanton, S. (2013). Valuable content marketing: How to make quality content the key to your business success. Kogan Page Publishers.
Kawakami, T., Kishiya, K., & Parry, M. E. (2012). Personal word of mouth, virtual word of mouth, and innovation use. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(1), 17-30.
Kim, D. J. (2010). An investigation of the effect of online consumer trust on expectation, satisfaction, and post-expectation. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 10(2), 219-240.
Romano Jr, N. C., & Fjermestad, J. (2001). Electronic commerce customer relationship management (ECCRM). International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6(2), 7-8.
Stephen, A. T., & Toubia, O. (2009). Deriving value from social commerce networks. SSRN Electronic Journal.