BU7002 Management Research Methods Assignment Sample 2024
Topic:
“How does online branding provide competitive advantage in the digital era: a study of the consumer electronics industry?”
Introduction
As per the view of Popescu, (2019), in today’s developing era, digital technologies are emerging rapidly which makes it essential for every organisation to adopt that. Online branding is described as the process of building the identity of any brand online using various digital platforms or technologies. Online branding is essential for every brand nowadays to build its identity among the mass market and targeted consumers.
It can be described as a digital-centric method that helps in developing brand conversions and presence. As the online platform is advancing regularly and every day a new technique is coming into the market so it offers opportunities to different brands to expand their identity online. Every brand uses online branding so they can reach potential consumers using diverse social networking platforms.
Moreover, online branding is defined as the brand management technique that uses different online channels that are beneficial for positioning the brand in the target market. As digital technologies are at the boom, every business requires a brand strategy that helps them in staying unique in the market from its competitors (Scholz & Smith, 2019).
Delivering the brand strategy to target market and potential consumers, online branding is beneficial as nowadays every individual is utilising digital platforms for different purposes. Concerning this, delivering the brand strategy to the target market using online platforms could help in spreading it quickly and easily.
Research Background
Katsikeas, Leonidou & Zeriti, (2019) elaborated that every individual is using various digital platforms for entertainment or different purposes. From the research, it has been found that around 4.66 billion users are using the internet globally. It covers around 59.5% of the global population and out of this population, 92.6% around 4.32 billion people utilise the internet through mobile devices.
Looking at this, it can be said that more than half of the population worldwide uses the internet and other digital platforms which makes it essential to brand products and services through digital platforms to reach mass consumers.
As the world is developing and technologies are frequently changing makes every brand needs to establish its name. Every other competitor is adopting technologies so they can reach potential consumers. In today’s digital era, brands have to adopt well-suitable online branding strategies so they can develop their brand among the target market.
Online branding not only helps in reaching consumers but can be used as a tool that helps in developing a strong relationship with consumers (Zabojnik, 2018). On the other hand, it also helps the brands in understanding consumer demands and brings product and services that satisfies and meets the requirements of consumers effectively. Therefore, the research helps in understanding various ways of online branding that can help the organisation in achieving a competitive advantage.
Rationale
It can be observed that online branding plays a critical role in developing brand positioning in the target market. The market competitiveness is increasing rapidly as many of the companies and entrepreneurs are establishing their brands in the market. It makes it difficult for the consumers to choose the products and services that best suit their demands (Silvia, 2019).
Along with that, price differences between similar products in the market offered by different brand enhance the switching power of consumers. It can be harmful to destroying the potential consumer base. Looking at this, reaching out to consumers and explaining the products and services offered is essential to help them differentiate the products from other offerings. Hence, online branding plays a critical role in achieving market competitiveness and staying unique in front of consumers from other competitors.
Research aim
To identify the ways online branding helps organisation in gaining competitive advantage- A case of consumer electronics industry.
Research objectives
RO1: To understand the importance of online branding in building the brand among target market.
RO2: To investigate about the ways that can be used for online branding to reach potential consumers for gaining market competitiveness.
RO3: To understand the essentiality of online branding for achieving competitive advantage- A case of consumer electronics industry.
Research questions
Q.1) What is the importance of online branding used for building the brand among target market?
Q.2) What are the different ways that can be used for branding online in reaching potential consumers to gain competitive advantage?
Q.3) What is the importance of online branding to achieve market competitiveness taking the case of consumer electronics industry?
Literature review
Consumer electronics is described as any home electronics or digital equipment that are used by individuals daily. Manufacturers from this sector build products like computers and laptops, Smartphone’s, televisions, cameras, digital watches, DVD players, and more. In today’s technologically advanced world, it can be observed that the consumer electronics industry is facing a turbulent and competitive landscape due to increased competitiveness among players in the sector (Cohan, 2020).
In the digitally advanced world, it becomes essential for this sector to bring innovation and creativity that is primarily market demands along with the innovations that help them in placing themselves uniquely in the market amongst competitors. On the other hand, various brands operate in this industry serving consumers and bringing innovation as per the demands and requirements of consumers.
It allows the consumer to switch from one brand to another easily because of various reasons like product features, quality, price, and innovation. According to Sima et al., (2020) concerning this, reaching consumers and meeting their demands is crucial and online branding helps the brands in developing a strong connection with consumers.
As the world has become a digital post-Covid-19 crisis and every consumer has started to shop products and services online. It is must for every industry to adopt digital technologies and marketing strategies to reach consistent consumers. Billions of the users worldwide are using the internet actively and Gen Z focuses on buying products after researching about a particular product they wish to purchase (Fromm & Read, 2018).
They go through various products and services promoted on the internet so they can choose the best and unique out of all the different brands. Here comes the importance of branding as it helps in reaching potential consumers along with promoting and advertising its services on the internet so they can build their brand and stand out from the crowd. Branding is the way to reach the target market and make them believe that products served by them are capable of meeting their demands.
Furthermore, with the transition of the utilisation of traditional marketing to digital marketing consumer behaviour has also been changed that increasing the importance of online branding. With the internet taking an active part in every individual life, consumers wish to research before buying anything either online or offline. During their research, they come with different products and services developed by various brands and they research for its features and price and choose the product that best suits their demand.
It is mandatory to position the brand and its features in the target market to stay market competitive (Winzar, Baumann & Chu, 2018). Concerning this, online branding helps the brands in sharing and creating a brand story that attracts the consumer effectively and makes the product look different from other competitors.
Online branding plays a big role in internet marketing and helps businesses in achieving growth and success rapidly. Online branding is essential as it offers the brand a platform that is beneficial for keeping the product characteristics and features unique from other competitors serving the market with similar products. As per Borges‐Tiago et al., (2020) online branding also changes the attitudes of consumers towards a product or service.
The effectiveness of describing the product features is beneficial in changing the mindset and attitude of a consumer towards a brand. The product requires innovation and creativity but once a brand is developed it doesn’t require any innovation and it just requires strength to hold the brand image in the market. For example, in the consumer electronics sector, Apple has a strong brand image in the market and consumers love to buy their products and services just because of the brand name.
Every brand builds a strategy to achieve success and gets into the limelight among consumers and the target market. Online branding helps in promoting recognition and building an impression in front of the target market. Online branding is beneficial for promoting and advertising the brand features and services on various digital platforms that make it familiar to the target market.
Branding the products and services online is the best way to be recognised in the market the brand is targeting (Dimitrieska & Efremova, 2021). On the other hand, branding not only helps in reaching the target market but also creates a positive impression among consumers by promoting the unique name and logo that is essential for differentiating the brand from competitors. Further, by advertising the products and features served by the brand on digital platforms, online branding helps stand out from the crowd.
According to Kingsnorth, (2019) Digital marketing and online branding go hand-in-hand as one completes the other and completes it. Branding is all about the long-term evolution of any brand, whereas; digital marketing tactics are short-term plans to thrive the business. In today’s digital era several key factors are there that make online branding very essential. Online branding is all about standing out from the crowd with confidence.
Even if the company is small-sized or multinational, branding helps in leaving a meaningful experience on the consumers that helps in seeking their attention. Online branding also helps in developing or converting one-time buyers into loyal customers (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2019).
For instance, potential customers of Apple, Samsung, Panasonic, and many more wait for their products and innovation to be brought into the market. It is all about building a relationship between the brand and the customer.
There are different ways for building the brand online utilising different digital platforms. Out of all the best way is to brand the products and services on social media platforms to reach potential consumers. Social media platforms are the most widely digital platforms that are used worldwide regularly (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2020).
In 2020, around 3.6 billion people were utilising social media and this is expected to increase to 4.41 billion people in 2025. From the research, it has been found that around 144 minutes per day is spent by active users on social media and messaging applications and it is being increased by around half an hour since 2015. The most popular social media platforms include Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram, Apple App Store, and various messaging stores.
The above graph clearly illustrates the increased use of social media platforms among individuals worldwide. The research also states that every buyer first goes through different several social media platforms and research about the products and services before making the move to buy a particular product from the brand (Swani, Milne & Miller, 2021).
Looking at this, it is depicted that social media platform is ruling the digital era and can be used as a technique for branding the products and building the brand online. Developing a strong brand positioning online at social networking sites is great to attain a competitive advantage in the industry. It also helps in reaching the targeted customer by showing them personalised content that can be used to specify the target market and analyse consumers that are reviewing and researching for a particular product or service.
Further, online branding can also be done on different websites and on Google itself utilising SEO and Google Keywords that are most widely searched by consumers. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the best way to attract targeted consumers (Matta, Gupta & Agarwal, 2020). It is essential to know that the content updated on the website utilises the language normally used by the users and content updated helps meet the requirements of consumers and answers all their queries.
Out of all, on the websites creating useful, creative, and attractive content is most essential. The branding of the consumer electronics industry needs to be strong as every other brand is developing new and innovative products into the market making it essential for them to seek the consumer’s attention.
From the research, it can be observed that out of all the consumer electronics industry, the most popular brand is Apple and customers don’t think once before buying its products and services but the primary target market of Apple is high-income families and people living a luxurious lifestyle.
The branding strategy of Apple target high-income families and they advertise their product features and promote it uniquely so they can stand out of the crowd and attract more and more consumers. Whereas, many of the consumer electronics industry develops innovative products and services at different prices that offer consumers to take advantage of features at low prices (Tuominen & Virtaranta, 2019).
Online branding will help the company in differentiating its pricing strategy, product features, and other qualities from other brands. It is the primary benefit of online branding and promoting the products unique is the key to attaining a competitive position in the market.
Furthermore, the consumer electronics industry is facing tough market competitiveness due to the presence of various competitors in the market. But every brand has one unique feature that helps them in standing out of the crowd and seeking consumer attention. In today’s developed world, the utilisation of electronics products has become an essential part of every individual’s life. Any individual before buying a smartphone visit various websites to ensure which brand will be best to buy from.
Here comes the role of online branding that helps in enhancing the trust and loyalty of a consumer of a brand (Paul & Aithal, 2018). While researching for the product, an individual will go through reviews, feedback, comments, and various customer opinions on different digital platforms to identify the product life and honest opinions. This branding helps in gaining the trust of a consumer and attains a competitive advantage.
Additionally, online branding also helps the individual in differentiating the product features and qualities from other brands’ products that are essential to make a choice. According to (Lund, Cohen & Scarles, (2018) the consumer electronics industry needs to advertise its product features, qualities, and price adequately on different social networking sites that are being used by individuals regularly so the consumer doesn’t face any difficulty while differentiating.
In this way, online branding is essential to gain market competitiveness, and establishing a strong brand image among consumers will help in making one-time buyers into loyal and potential customers.
Hence, the above illustration states the importance of online branding in the digital era as most individuals research online about a product and service before making a purchasing decision so having a strong online presence will help in achieving competitiveness. Further, targeting consumers and improving online branding utilising social media platforms, Google and websites play a crucial role as individuals search for products and services primarily on these digital platforms (Al-Zyoud, 2018).
Along with that, the market competitiveness in the consumer electronics industry in today’s digitally advanced era is increasing continuously as every brand is bringing innovation in the electronics product to offer exclusive services to its consumers. For this purpose, online branding plays a crucial role in the consumer electronics industry so they can develop a strong connection with consumers and achieve market competitiveness.
For example, the products and services of Apple are highly liked by the customer due to its strongly established brand position in the market (Evelyn, 2019). Therefore, online branding plays a crucial in today’s digital era to reach potential consumers and to secure a competitive edge in the market.
Research methodology
The current research is focused on reasoning the importance of online branding in the digital to gain market competitiveness taking the case of the consumer electronics industry in limelight. For this purpose, the data requires to be collected from secondary sources that are pre-published (Newman & Gough, 2020).
The philosophical approach utilised for the current research is interpretivism as it will help the researcher in acting as a social actor to understand the importance of online branding in today’s digitally advanced world. Further, this approach will focus on subjective experiences and presents valid justifications.
On the other hand, for the present research inductive approach is utilised to examine the pre-existing theories and statements to answer the queries raised. It doesn’t test the theories but focuses on generating theories after observing patterns and regularities.
The research strategy used in the current research is focused on qualitative analysis as it best suits for understanding the people’s beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviours, and interactions (Sherif, 2021). The qualitative research strategy is primarily focused on analysing non-statistical data and will help the investigator in understanding different perceptions, opinions, and concepts presented by different individuals on similar topics.
It will be used by the researcher to examine the importance of online branding in the digital era for achieving market competitiveness by observing different points of view and framing the research paper as per the research questions raised.
Furthermore, the research is particularly based on the secondary method of data collection that will help the researcher in developing statements and justifications to clearly illustrate the importance of online branding in the digital era. Further, the secondary data will also help in analysing various data that prove the essentiality of online branding in achieving market competitiveness (Pandey & Pandey, 2021). The secondary data is also helpful in analysing the online branding strategy used by different brands in the consumer electronics industry. The data will be collected from journals, PDFs, case studies, and books.
As the data is collected through secondary sources it is must for the researcher to sample the data accordingly as per research questions and aims. The current research will focus on utilising non-probability sampling methods as a researcher will use random journals, case studies, and articles whose abstract best suits the research demands. Further, convenience and purposive sampling techniques will be used (Bairagi & Munot, 2019).
The investigator will use thematic and qualitative content analysis for data analysis. At last, the researcher must focus on several ethical issues that can act as an obstacle. It includes ethical issues like copyright infringement, plagiarism, and more that need proper citation.
Gantt chart
| Activity | W-1 | W-2 | W-3 | W-4 | W-5 | W-6 | W-7 | W-8 | W-9 | W-10 | W-11 |
| Choosing the relevant research topic | |||||||||||
| Developing the background and rationale for the research | |||||||||||
| Framing research aims and objectives | |||||||||||
| Collecting secondary data | |||||||||||
| Sampling the data | |||||||||||
| Analysing the data | |||||||||||
| Concluding the statements that justifies the research problem | |||||||||||
| Recommending suggestion |
References
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