The Influence of Search Engine Marketing on the Consumer Decision Making Process in South Africa
Date
2014-01-21
Authors
De Abreu, Delia Maria Freitas
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Abstract
Information overload is an issue which consumers are increasingly faced with,
and Internet search engines act as a means to assist consumers in overcoming
this problem. In an age of technological advancement where Internet and
search engine usage has demonstrated exponential growth, marketers have
witnessed the emergence of search engine marketing as a new marketing
channel of importance. Search engine marketing is unique in that it occurs
closer to consumer purchase decisions than any other marketing channel has
accomplished before: at the exact moment when a consumer is actually looking
for a desired product or service.
This research investigates how Internet search engines as marketing channels
influence information search, evaluation of alternatives and the purchase
decision of South African consumers.
A mixed method approach was used as the research paradigm, with a
combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative phase
involved a convenience sample of 10 face-to-face interviews, and the resultant
data was content analysed to understand the important issues related to search
engine marketing that influence consumer decision processes. These issues
were used to develop the questionnaire for the quantitative phase, which was
administered electronically and completed by 201 respondents. The resultant
data was analysed using exploratory factor analysis. The quantitative study
served to confirm the findings from the qualitative study and provide more
reliable insights about the population, while ultimately also answering the
research questions.
The results of this research found that South African consumers’ search for
information is influenced by a “search criteria” factor, while the evaluation of
alternatives is influenced by an “evaluation criteria” factor, and the purchase
decision is influenced by a “purchase criteria” factor, all related to search engine
marketing. Additionally, a number of contingency factors, which do not form part
of but influence the decision making process of South African consumers, were
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identified as “high and low involvement”, “sponsored listings”, “purchasing offline” and “type of product”.
The key message of this research is that search engine marketing campaigns are critical to the long-term profitability of companies operating in an electronic age. The identified factors relating to search engine marketing that influence the decision making process should be considered by marketing managers, and search engine marketing strategies formulated accordingly. And finally, new search engine marketing strategies should ideally be integrated with current marketing strategies to ensure optimal success.
Description
MBA thesis
Keywords
Internet marketing, Consumer behaviour