COP3 - Research- Consumer behaviour

http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/22506/1/JOHN%20FOTIS%20-%20PhD.pdf

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/social-media-consumer-behavior-45733.html

https://tcapushnpull.com/social-media-2/top-ways-that-social-media-influences-consumer-behavior/

https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/marketing/2015/05/how-social-media-influences-consumer-buying.html

CONSUMER IN CONTONL

'The consumer is in control" has been among the most popular refrains uttered by those in the business'

'Consumers may have a louder voice than ever'

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/consumer-control/149561/

'“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” - Scott Cook, co-founder, Intuit'

'“Our head of social media is the customer.” - Unknown spokesperson, McDonald’s'

'Age of the Consumer has centered around control – of brand, user experience, messaging, conversations. Marketers have been told countless times over the last few years that social meant the end of control'

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/08/04/listening-to-social-media-cues-doesnt-mean-ceding-control/#6a79b449cd52

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimblasingame/2014/01/27/its-the-age-of-the-customer-are-you-ready/#63bdbdbc119a


'The growth and power of social media means that brands are becoming more heavily reliant upon consumers for survival, increasingly so in the current economic climate, therefore reaching out to brand evangelists cannot be underestimated. With the massive uptake of social media amongst consumers being used for communication, the weaker brands that fail to recognise, adapt and engage with this behavioural shift are likely to suffer. Those who do experiment and embrace – such we’ve seen this week with Skittles – are perhaps more likely to prosper (take note, Ryanair). Of course it's early days and there are many doubters, but if word of mouth ever meant anything before this whole internet thing happened, then surely it matters even more today. Measuring results is key, and we await the results from campaigns like Skittles.'

Consumers can now openly challenge brands in an environment where there is scope to make a massive amount of noise (and more so if the consumer is 'influential'). Companies can’t gag users, or ignore them. It is feasibly possible to hold brands to a certain extent of reputation ransom, at least for those firms that care about their reputations (not all do). Despite this, a number of brands appear to be unaware that communicating poorly (or not at all) with customers is far from being a great strategy, but one they continue to follow. So is social media worth the effort? Well, advertisers tend to follow crowds and the smarter marketers understand the power of influence. We think social media is more than a bunch of hot air, though it won't be right for every brand (I very much doubt the big oil companies are going to 'do a Skittles' anytime soon).
https://econsultancy.com/blog/3387-consumers-control-social-media-and-brands-need-to-wise-up