Using Digital Marketing and Outdoor Advertising in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example

A Research Proposal on Using digital marketing and outdoor advertising for SMEs in Saudi Arabia Introduction: Background of study Small businesses could be defined as "an independent owner/managed business organization of limited significance within the industry, employing less than one hundred employees where the owner/managers omnipresence creates a highly personalized management style" (Mc Cartan-Quinn and Carson, 2003: p202). On the other hand, we can define marketing as selling more stuff to more people to more often (Daimond, 2005:p24). “With that end in mind, every action your team takes affects the sales of your company. To that end, everything you do is marketing." (Daimond, 2005:p24). This makes marketing a key characteristic that may determine the success of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). This relationship between marketing and small businesses is a concern of many researchers. Mc Cartan-Quinn and Carson (2003) were perhaps pioneers in investigating this relationship. Much of their work (1995, 2003) focused on the role of digital marketing and traditional marketing (with one of this tools is outdoor advertising) for SMEs. Their studies, which were conducted in Ireland, concentrated on examining which issues impact upon marketing in the small businesses (Cartan-Quinn and Carson,2003: p202). However, according to Nahas (2009), marketing and information support and availability are the main obstacles confronted by small and medium enterprises. Many subsequent researchers (e.g., OShea 1998, Motwani, Jiang and Kumar 1998, and Evans and Moutinho 1999) were believed that small businesses tend to be far more creative and innovative than the larger organizations. Moreover, according to (Zartmam, 1978 p29) the factor for SMEs success is the ability to take advantage of modern business techniques. In order to be successful, SMEs must attempt to use modern business techniques, procedures and efficient equipment where available (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 1995). When businesses use modern business techniques, they are virtually guarantees to remain competitive and efficient in their respective markets. This is particularly important for SMEs (Ghose & Yang, 2010 p18). As result, SMEs should consider at digital marketing and outdoor advertising as one of these techniques. It is, therefore, necessary to look for the features of marketing in SME, mainly the digital marketing and outdoor advertising management functions and capabilities with a view to assisting SMEs through the critical stages to permanence. The following is a research proposal with an aim of creating an outline to assist in preparation of final research project that will address the effectiveness and the factors and experiences that have contribute to the digital marketing and outdoor advertising for SMEs in Saudi Arabia and the possibility to develop it. The investigation will analyze internal aspects of the firm and diverse levels of marketing in terms of responsiveness to Saudi environment. By taking this approach, we can identify the root causes of using digital marketing and outdoor advertising, and can make suggestions for safeguarding SMEs from failure. Purpose of the study: Based on the above introduction, the major aims of the proposed research are improvement-related. Particularly, this study aims at the following: i. To investigating the use of digital marketing and outdoor advertising for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. ii. To study Factors that encourage and /or hinder the use of digital marketing and outdoor advertising for SMEs in Saudi Arabia. iii. To find out relationship between digital marketing and outdoor advertising in SMEs in Saudi Arabia. iv. To compare digital marketing to outdoor advertising in SMEs. Objectives of the study i. The study seeks to investigate the extent to which digital marketing and outdoor advertising are applied in medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. ii. To study the favorable factors that enhances digital marketing application, as well as the unfavorable factors hindering its application in SMES. Research questions: i. How can SMEs in Saudi Arabia using digital marketing and outdoor advertising? ii. What determines SMEs to use digital marketing and outdoor advertising? iii. How do customers respond to digital marketing and outdoor advertising in SMEs? iv. How does digital marketing and outdoor advertising contribute to reducing cost in SMEs? v. Are the digital marketing and outdoor advertising the major use in marketing for SMEs? vi. What are the common experiences of SMEs that use digital marketing and outdoor advertising in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Chapter 2: Theoretical framework and Review of Literature Theoretical framework This study is founded on the basis of the three theories, namely the consumer behavior theories, the prospect theory and the attribution theory. Based on the theories of consumer behavior, there are many consumer needs than the resources they have. This being the case, a consumer has to prioritize their needs (Sebenius, 1992 p35). Under the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Customer needs, a consumer will seek to satisfy their basic needs before they embark on seeking comfort and pleasure (Cronin, 2008 p2739). Therefore, advertising has a very crucial role to play in persuading the consumers purchase certain brands, owing to many consumer needs and shortage of resources to fulfill such needs. Considering the prospect theory, individuals will make a decision based on the potential loss or gain, as opposed to the final outcome of an issue (Frank, 1997 p38). This way, advertisement has a very important role to play in ensuring that consumers perceive more of the gains obtainable from a product, than the negatives (McDermott, James & Oleg, 2008 p44). On the other hand, the attribution theory observes that customers are mostly attracted to product, due to its outwardly physical attributes, before they even come to evaluate its performance (Dinner, Harald & Neslin, 2011 p15). Thus, advertising should be focal o the attractive attributes that appeals to the customers more. This way, the customers are invited to test on the products performance, and its appropriateness in meeting their needs (Rutz & Bucklin, 20008 p33). Review of Literature The essence of any advertisement is to keep the consumers updated on the available products and services, which seek to satisfy their needs (Mehta, 2000 p70). However, some aspects hinder this objective. To the extent that an advertisement seems to manipulate more than informative, then, it puts off the consumers. The effectiveness of any mode of advertising is influenced by the attitude of the consumers towards the advertisement (Russell & Germain, 2002 p26). It is this attitude that determines the attention that such individuals will pay, which determines the extent to which they will remember the content of the advertisement (Kursan, & Mihi, 2010 p71). Persuasion and the ability of the consumer to memorize are the actual measures of the effectiveness of any mode of advertisement. Nevertheless, worth noting is the fact that the brands that are advertised happens to be well known than those ones which are not advertised. This is because, such brands happen to be more known and memorized. For any advertisement to be effective, advertising should be captivating and interesting for people to keep looking at and referring back to (Eigen, 2009 p14). The utility of any mode of advertising is based on its ability to keep effectively the customers updated. The role that the internet plays in advertising is more important, as regards the provision of a channel for undertaking research and gaining intelligence regarding consumers needs (Saffer & Chaloupka 1999 p25). Therefore, this section will provide more analysis and evaluation of some research that had been previously done regarding the consumer behavior and the role of advertising in influencing what consumers will prioritize in their purchase list. Regulations on advertising are influenced either by the global standardization or specific internal regulations in a country (Mushtaq, Zahir & Ugur, 1989 p36). Global standardization of advertising enhances the universality of the advert, in that it becomes appealing to and usable the world over (Redish, 2011 p19). Therefore, the government has a vital role to play in enhancing the suitability of advertisements, through appropriate policy formulation (Mayzlin, & Shin, 2009 p27). Nevertheless, consumer protection should also be an important consideration in any advertising. This is necessary to ensure that the consumers are not misled (Houser, Ludwig, & Stratmann, 2009 p10). Chapter 3: Proposed Research methodology Research Strategy As mentioned above, the study aims to compare the usability between the digital marketing and the outdoor advertising in SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The methodology will entail a logical research strategy, comprising of various steps where various factors that influences the consumer product choice will be indentified. This will be followed by the evaluation of the role of advertising in influencing consumer choice as well as the comparison between the application of digital and outdoor advertising in Saudi Arabia. Research Methodology Sampling The methodology will apply sampling, to determine the businesses to be studied. It will. It will entail the division of the study area into two segments Medina and Riyadh. Therefore, the data will be collected in two stages; the first stage will be in (MCCI) where almost all SMEs in Medina will be there and as only the elite SMEs will be involved. The second stage will be in the (MG) one year later as one of the success SME in Saudi Arabia. Data Collection In order to conduct this study, a combination of quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews) approaches will be followed in the first stage (MCCI) as the number of SMEs will be approximately 100 firms. Then in the second stage (MG), a qualitative study will follow, where interviews will be applied to a sample of SMEs mangers. A sample of 20 managers will be considered for this study. Data Analysis Data analysis will be very simple since there are no statistical tools involved. The data will be divided into various components; factors influencing advertising effectiveness, factors enhancing consumer choice of products, and how attitude plays a role determining how an advertisement is effective. Critical Discussion From the obtained results in data analysis, a thorough and critical discussion will be conducted identifying factors affecting the effectiveness of a mode of advertising. The comparative analysis between digital advertising and outdoor advertising will be undertaken. The critic will include both raw information and perspective of both the author of this project and other previously conducted research. Ethical considerations In both stages, questionnaires and interviews will be conducted in Arabic to enable the participants to speak in a more relaxed manner. Considering that their level of English might not be significantly high, requiring them to respond in English may limit their ability to address vital points. The will then record the interviews, after which the interviews are translated into English. Thereafter it will be transcribed. Conclusion This section provides a closing statement concerning the subject of the topic. Under the section the most vital aspects of the dissertation will be revisited, and then a general statement and conclusion will be made winding up the project. References Cronin, A. M., 2008. Calculative spaces: cities, market relations and the commercial vitalism of the outdoor advertising industry. Environment and Planning. 2734-2750. Diamond, M. 2005., What is marketing? Reeves Journal. 24. Dinner, M, Harald, J. & Neslin, S., 2011. 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