Abstract
With the increasing diffusion of technologies and the use of the Internet, we are witnessing a rapid growth of cyberspace. This becomes a new means of communication in which, with the use of the Internet, rapid exchanges of information are possible in the context of commercial exchanges between consumers and sellers or companies. With the integration of the internet into marketing, we are witnessing changes from transactional marketing to relationship marketing. It becomes possible to segment the market more closely, understand the online consumer, and focus on personalisation. Since the objective is to satisfy consumer needs, the authors will address issues related to new communication strategies that have been implemented in the scope of Web marketing, starting from personalisation to satisfaction by the consumer.
TopIntroduction
Today's society is witnessing a technological change based on the dissemination and democratisation of social networks, forming communities in a virtual space that overcomes all barriers in space and time. The digital phenomenon makes it possible for interfaces to proliferate in cyberspace, with computers interconnected on a planetary scale. This scenario will create a rift with the paradigm established by industrial society, due to the emergence of the Internet and its development, where technology imposes new models of economic and social organisation. It is a technologised society, based on business dynamism, which completely changes the way consumers communicate, develop and market their products. This evolution has led to major changes in the pattern of consumption, purchasing and commercial supply. At company level, the use of the Internet as an instrument of competitive advantage is crucial. Initially, it acted as a communication tool and sales relationship support, aimed at building customer loyalty. Later, it assimilated the “always best connected” concept. Organisations recognise in these practices a functional way of relating to their current or potential customers, but in particular the way in which the consumer interacts with the company and receives its promotional stimuli.
Marketing on the web is behaving differently from traditional marketing by abandoning one-way communication aimed at large audiences in an undifferentiated and generalised way. In this sense, with access to digital platforms, it is able to identify customers individually and establish an interactive connection.
What's more, when potential customers connect, they receive personalised content. Personalisation is therefore a mechanism for providing relevant content based on the preferences of each recipient. It also allows companies to ascertain whether their products meet the needs, automatisms and preferences of that customer, based on what has been obtained through the customer's indications and the information obtained prior to purchasing the product. Each consumer will be a potential co-creator and proactive customer in the relationship with the brand.
Web marketing provides interactivity and democratises all information, as well as being able to monitor the customer's reactions at the same time and the immediate dissemination of information and parallel monitoring of their reactions. These technologies will adjust the marketing action according to the recipient's attitudes and behaviour.
Companies seek to engage with customers on an ongoing basis. This process challenges the customer to respond intuitively to the content of a particular approach or observation. Recipients can seek out the company to question it or add complementary information instantly. Furthermore, in this digital context, groups are created that share the same interests in relation to the brand, which will strengthen the relational process.
This sharing of experiences with other stakeholders about products and brands allows users to form opinions and act in an active and intervening way. The information provided by customers to brands, according to their preferences, makes it possible to develop and segment products in their image.
It is this technological phenomenon that presupposes significant changes in consumer habits, acting as an instrument to stimulate competitive advantage with a view to building consumer loyalty.
This paradigm shifts in marketing, using new technologies, initiates a permanent system of personalised dialogue with the customer, from a relational perspective.
Experimental marketing is emerging, identifying, and satisfying customer needs and aspirations, promoting reciprocal communication that stimulates the brand's personality and adds value to the segment, creating memorable experiences that generate buzz/word-of-mouth, renewing the consumer as a prescriber and brand evangelist.
It is in this context that Relationship Marketing (RM) emerges, which values the company's relationships, with the main concern being long-term relationships with customers, based on trust and sharing. Its main focus is on improving knowledge, models and theories that can provide companies with efficient tools in the relationship process with customers and other audiences of the organisation.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Loyalty: Underlies a set or sequence of steps in the consumer experience, which acts as a commitment to repeat purchases of the same product, leading the consumer to become positively attached, regardless of situational factors or marketing efforts, with a view to a change in attitude.
Interactivity: When there is technology-mediated communication - a type of relationship that causes the behaviour of one system to modify the behaviour of another.
Marketing: It is the set of techniques and methods applied to the study of market needs. The word derived from the English term market, which means market, that is, the study of the causes, objectives and results produced through the different ways in which companies deal with the market. Marketing studies the causes and mechanisms that govern the exchange relationships carried out within four main axes: price, distribution, communication and product.
Cyberspace: Is a term used to describe the virtual space created by computer networks. It is a term coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel Neuromancer. The term refers to the space where computer networks exist and where people can interact with each other through computers and other digital devices.
Relationship Marketing: It is a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns that emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction. The goal of Relationship Marketing is to create a lasting relationship with the customer, rather than just a one-time transaction. Thus, it aims to build loyalty and trust with the customer, providing a high level of service and customer support before, during and after the sale.
Personalisation: Consists of the option offered to the user to configure preferred products or brands according to their individual interests.
Artificial Intelligence: This is the underpinning of a set of projects that have in common the desire to build an artificial equivalent of the human brain or, equivalently, to simulate the functioning of human intelligence outside the human brain.
Customer Relationship Management: CRM stores customer information, current and potential, not just like a contact list, but gathers and integrates data to prepare and update companies with personal customer information, history and purchasing preferences. CRM is a strategy, tool and technology that brings together a set of practices, business strategies and technologies focused on customer relationships.