Evaluating The Role Of Online Media In Promoting Advertisement Of Electronic Appliances

Marketing activities has been revolutionized by the changes of information technology and the widespread use of social media and other Online media. Many retailers have had to adapt to engage in non-traditional marketing activities that include e-marketing. The use of e-marketing that include social media, digital advertising and e- marketing has gained ground significantly and as a result many retail outlets and brands are adapting to the new changes and consumers preferences. This research aimed to find out the role of online media in promoting advertisement of electronic appliances (a Case Study Of Jumia Online Nigeria). The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional study. The research depended on data from primary sources that was gathered through the use of structured questionnaires. The study found out that social media, online marketing and email marketing positively influenced consumer buyer behavior. The study concludes that inquiries were received via social media about new and existing product. Promotions done via Social Media led to increased sales in supermarkets. Supermarkets had many site visits once a product has been launched. Online marketing attracted more customer and customers perceived online marketing as convenient mode of transaction. Use of email helped in customer retention and customer provided feedback on the email sent. The study recommends that policy makers in supermarkets ought to formulate strategies on better adoption of E-marketing. The policy makers ought to enhance the better usage of social media to market their products. Administrators ought to train their staffs on E-marketing mode of transactions. The administrators ought to ensure that their supermarkets launch new products by sue of social medias.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Almost all human activities on earth have been revolutionalised and witnessed the tremendous change from their conventional process due to advancement in the internet in this twenty-first century. One of the human activities greatly influenced in this era is a mode of shopping, marketing, advertising and communication.

Online advertising sometimes called e-marketing, web advertising, digital advertising, internet advertising or simply online media of advertising; is a broad term used to describe the paid advertising that is posted or published on the Internet such as on social media, mobile apps, games, blogs and web pages. The emergency of the internet particularly web 2.0 have introduced new templates and platforms where the advertisers can offer goods, services, ideas and concepts known across the globe (Wikipedia, n.d).

It is the process of browsing and searching products information in a virtual online environment in order to provide sufficient information for a purchase decision, and then implement the purchase action (Mengli, M. and Rui, n.d).
However, online advertising is made possible especially via the use of search engines such as Google and Yahoo and to the recent Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and many more. For example, Google charges fees to help link sponsors of these advertisements to other sites on its search engine by using a method called "pay per click".

Internet advertising is a big business, generating more than 16 million dollars in 2006. One of the most common forms of advertising is "pay per click". Whenever you do a search on Google for example, on the right side of the results page, you will see a number of sponsored links to products or services to what you are looking for "search for satellite radio" and you will get nine sponsored links" (Dominick, 2009).

It should be noted that online advertising usually cone to the audience in the form of an unwanted or distraction to some consumers, especially the pop-up advertisement. Online advertisement includes but is not limited to email marketing, social media marketing, mobile advertising (SMS), App Ad, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) etc (Wikipedia, 2017).

Easy access to the internet has driven consumers to shop online in fact according to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) communication policy (2001), online marketing and shopping is the third most popular activity on the internet after email use and web browsing (Muhammad, U. S. and Nasir, U. M., 2011).

The growing number of internet users is one of the factors responsible for online advertising practice. For instance, the number of internet users in Nigeria has further increased to 93.4 million, according to a new report on Internet status in the country. The report obtained by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, indicated the country has recorded about 14 percent growth in mobile internet subscriptions between January and the end of December 2016. According to the data, which shows that Nigeria"s mobile Internet ecosystem is gaining momentum, telecoms networks collectively boosted mobile Internet subscriptions on their networks from 81.8 million in January to 93.4 million in July (Kunle, 2015).

The growth of online users thereby attracted marketers to recognize it used as an important part of their marketing communication strategies because it helps organizations to communicate with their customers in two-way i.e bi-directional or interactive in nature. These interactions help marketers determine customers" needs and understand what their market might look like.

Books, airline tickets/reservations, clothing/shoes, videos/games, phones, tablets, computers, journals, and other electronic products are the most popular items advertised on the internet (ACNIELSEN Report, 2007). However, despite this dynamic nature of online advertising, it may be surprising that the online marketing advertising agency practices are still in their infancy as many online advertising agencies are just coming up (Joel, 2011).

The emergence of digital platforms in Nigeria has given birth to some digital advertising agencies while many existing advertising agencies have integrated online to their practice in Nigeria such as Webcoupers, Byte Size, Wild Fusion & Anakle. Currently, WebCoupers LLC & WildFusion Group are Certified Partners of Google in Nigeria (Peter, 2015).

It is against this background that the research evaluating the role of online media in promoting advertisement of electronic appliances (a Case Study Of Jumia) with the intention to ascertain the extent to which Nigeria advertising agencies have gone in terms of online advertising and digital marketing.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

So many studies have been done on electronic marketing and consumer purchasing decisions over the years. The proper analyzing of electronic marketing must be done in order to bring in more innovations and bring in more customers and achieve better profit. There are so many ways to improve e-marketing to gain a good and positive consumer purchasing decisions.

With the slight repositioning of an option offer, great results can be achieved. A common or best practice is to provide some incentives to collect email addresses and building your email list for better marketing strategy further in future. The option offer appearance on a Jumia"s website can have a huge impact on the number of customers as well.

Build a value to your customers. Make adjustments in a website for fruitful result is one of the strategies which a marketer can easily adopt. Provide value to the website of your business.

Offer your audience more value. Always believe that the more value your customers feel, the more likely they are going to recommend your brand to their close ones.

There are other existing methods that could be improved such as boosting the website speed. If the website is slow to load, the prospective clusters will move on to your competitors" website page load time, which allows a user to load pages very quickly and remain connected and interested in your website.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The objective of the study was evaluating the role of online media in promoting advertisement of electronic appliances (a case study of jumia). In this study, we try to;

Examine the impact of social media marketing on consumer purchasing decisions of electronic appliances

Investigate the effect of online marketing on consumer purchasing decisions of electronic appliances

Evaluate the factors affecting the consumer purchasing decisions of electronic appliances

1.4 Research Question

The study will provide answers to the following questions

What is the impact of social media marketing on consumer purchasing decisions of electronic appliances ?

What is the effect of online marketing on consumer purchasing decisions of electronic appliances?

What are the factors affecting the consumer purchasing decisions of electronic appliances?

1.5 Hypothesis of the Study

The following hypothesis was tested by the study

Ho: there is no significance influence of Online media on consumer purchasing decisions

Hi: there is a significance influence of Online media on consumer purchasing decisions

1.6 Significance of the Study

The importance of this study is to enlighten consumers on challenges and benefits on electronic marketing.

The findings of this study will help companies to provide better electronic marketing skills to improve on their service which will lead to building a good relationship with their consumers.

The research will also help serve as a reference point to students interested in knowing more about electronic marketing and consumer purchasing decisions.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study will analyze The Role Of Online Media In Promoting Advertisement Of Electronic Appliances (a Case Study Of Jumia). The study is limited to Jumia. Hence, the respondents for this study will be obtained from and among customers and jumia agents.

1.8 Limitation of the Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher were able to manage these just to ensure the success of this study.

1.9 Definition of Terms

E-marketing:

E-marketing is a process of planning and executing the conception, distribution, promotion, and pricing of products and services in a computerized

Consumer Behavior:

Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. Consumer behaviour consists of how the consumer"s emotions, attitudes, and preferences affect buying behaviour.

1.10 Organization of the Study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows.

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.

Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.

Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.

Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.

Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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