Customer reference marketing and utilization of social media as an integral part of customer references

The objective of this Bachelor's Thesis is to find out the role of social media in the B-to-B marketing environment of the information technology industry and to discover how IT-firms utilize social media as a part of their customer reference marketing. To reach the objectives the concepts of customer reference marketing and social media are determined. Customer reference marketing can be characterized as one of the most practically relevant but academically relatively overlooked ways in which a company can leverage its customers and delivered solutions and use them as references in its marketing activities. We will cover which external and internal functions customer references have, that contribute to the growth and performance of B-to-B firms. We also address the three mechanisms of customer reference marketing which are 'status transfer', 'validation through testimonials' and 'demonstration of experience and prior performance'. The concept of social media stands for social interaction and creation of user-based content which exclusively occurs through Internet. The social media are excellent tools for networking because of the fast and easy access, easy interaction and vast amount of multimedia attributes. The allocation of social media is determined. The case company helps clarify the specific characteristics of social media usage as part of customer-reference-marketing activities. For IT-firms the best channels to utilize social media in their customer reference marketing activities are publishing and distribution services of content and networking services.

Media-antropologian hahmoa hakemassa

Kirja-arvio

Media in the Ubiquitous Era: Ambient, Social and Gaming Media

http://www.igi-global.com/book/media-ubiquitous-era/49581

Menestyksen eväät ja murtuva media. Tapaustutkimus aikakauslehden aineettomista kilpailutekijöistä muuttuvassa markkinatilanteessa.

Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan yhden aikakauslehden aineettoman pääoman keskeisiä tekijöitä ja niiden dynamiikkaa laadullisilla menetelmillä. Aineisto perustuu haastattelumateriaaliin. Taustan muodostaa tietojohtamisen teoriakirjallisuus, jossa eri tietopääomatekijät jaotellaan suhde-, rakenne ja inhimillisiin tekijöihin. Aikakauslehdet, kuten koko mediatoimiala, ovat vahvassa muutostilanteessa ja aineettoman pääoman tekijöiden kautta ne voivat jatkossakin ylläpitää markkina-asemaansa. Tutkimuksen kohteena on hyvän markkina-aseman omaava aikakauslehti, jonka arvonmuodostusta ja aineettomia tekijöitä ja niiden välistä dynamiikkaa tutkimuksessa analysoidaan. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että tarkasteltavan aikakauslehden arvonmuodostus perustuu vahvaan aineettomien tekijöiden kombinaatioon, vahvaan organisaatiokulttuuriin ja aineettomien tekijöiden väliseen dynamiikkaan, mikä saadaan ulosmitattua printtituotteen muodossa kuluttajamarkkinoilla. Haasteena on näiden pääomatekijöiden hyödyntäminen yhtä tehokkaalla tavalla muuttuvan markkinatilanteen myötä.

MeDia

keksintöilmoitus, luottamuksellinen

Kuka soittaa ja kenelle? : musiikki, media ja sukupuoli

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Treatment of Acute Otitis Media

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most common bacterial infection in young children, but the optimal management of AOM remains controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of antimicrobial treatment, either immediate or delayed, for AOM and to compare parental experiences regarding the management of AOM in two countries with very different treatment guidelines. Methods: Altogether, 322 children participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled trial. Children 6–35 months of age with AOM received amoxicillin-clavulanate or placebo for 7 days. The primary outcome was the time to treatment failure. In the second study, the delayed antimicrobial treatment group consisted of recipients of placebo who had received rescue treatment. The immediate antimicrobial treatment group consisted of children allocated to amoxicillin-clavulanate group. Parental expectations and opinions were evaluated by questionnaires sent via public day care in Turku, Finland, and Utrecht, the Netherlands. Results: Treatment failure occurred significantly more often in children receiving placebo as compared to antimicrobial treatment (45% vs. 19%, P<0.001). Delayed initiation of antimicrobial treatment did not worsen the recovery from AOM, but it was associated with worsening of the child’s condition, prolongation of symptoms, and absenteeism from day care and parental absenteeism from work. According to the comparative questionnaire, antimicrobial use was more common in Finland than in the Netherlands. Finnish parents believed more often than Dutch parents that antimicrobials are necessary in the treatment of AOM. Conclusions: Children with AOM benefit from antimicrobial treatment. Delayed initiation of antimicrobial does not worsen the overall recovery from AOM, but it might increase the symptom burden and create economic losses. Treatment practices and parental expectations seem to interact with each other. This needs to be considered when AOM treatment guidelines are updated.