Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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    Management Practices for Digital Influencer Marketing
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Kajee, Ahmed; Beder, Laurence
    This research report highlights the growth of Digital Influencer marketing on social media, and how consumers interaction and engagement with brands are changing as a result. Through qualitative research with 17 Digital Influencer experts and practitioners in South Africa from various marketing disciplines, this study sheds light on best practices for this emerging marketing field. In South Africa, consumer attention and media consumption are increasingly becoming digitally centric, and the use of online channels for marketing continues to grow exponentially. This has implications for brand building, advertising, and marketing management. This research reports on how the traditional marketing and consumer behaviour paradigms have shifted from uni-directional static advertising, towards bi-directional digital engagement using Digital Influencer Marketing (DIM). As a growing field, the research found that although DIM as a marketing tactic is increasingly effective in meeting business objectives in modern day digital marketing environments, there is a lack of knowledge and shared best practices amongst marketing practitioners. The research finds that despite DIM growing and being strategically important in all the marketing environments that have been researched, most organisations are conducting DIM on a “best-effort” basis with limited cross functional co-ordination or strategic planning. Due to a lack of knowledge about the field, there is also relatively little action being taken by organisations to meet the growing demand by putting in place the requisite skills and apabilities to better manage influencer marketing initiatives. Aspects highlighted in this research such as Influencer Performance, Payment, Brand Safety, Campaign Management, Creative Control, Organisational Capabilities, and Risks associated with DIM are discussed and reported on, providing marketing practitioners with practical insights into this emerging marketing field. A key recommendation emanating out of this research is that DIM is not the responsibility of any specific marketing function, for it to be successful, cross-functional expertise, integration, and management is required
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    The Potential for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in Brand Marketing
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Sawu, Rohini
    This research is an exploration of the potential role of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in brand marketing communications in a South African context
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    The impact of relationship marketing strategy on customer retention in a business-to-business services company
    (2020) Lembede, Mashudu
    Relationships are by nature two-sided, and both parties share the responsibility of the outcome. The antecedent state and the outcome may differ according to the perspective. This research focuses on understanding relationship marketing from the perspective of service industry businesses’ employees who interface with the customer. Relationship marketing theory suggests that successful relationship marketing strategy is a result of co-operative relationships with the customer, and its effectiveness is positively related to social and functional benefits. Trust and commitment are foundational in this theory; for this reason the variables investigated in this study are: trust, commitment, communication, and bonding, and their impact on relationship satisfaction. The influence of employee moderating factors, competency and responsiveness, on relationship satisfaction was also investigated. This construct was then proposed to affect customer retention. The research method utilised was a survey with a structured questionnaire, using convenience sampling of employees in an organisation. A total of 183 responses were received, comprising employees working across all levels in the company who interface with the customer. Structural equation modelling was then used to analyse the data. The results showed that trust and bonding were significantly influencing factors on relationship satisfaction, while commitment and communication were not significant. The employee moderating factors of competency and responsiveness were also found to be not significant in influencing relationship satisfaction. In turn, relationship satisfaction was found to be significantly positively influencing customer retention. Recommendations are given to organisations to strengthen their relationship marketing, particularly the employees interfacing with the customers, and directions for future research.