Social Media and Mobile Search Marketing in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example

Social Media and Mobile Search Marketing in Saudi Arabia Contents Contents 2 3 Introduction 3 Thesis 4 Relevance of the study 4 Literature review 5 Research questions 8 Knowledge That Form the Basis for the Research Question 9 Methodology 9 Questionnaires: 10 Interviews: 11 Observation: 12 Data collection and analysis 12 Integrity of the research: 12 Validity 13 References 14 Abstract As the world becomes increasingly globalised, there is a need to have functional systems that address the virtual community concerns in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is estimated that the growth of ecommerce is not as fast as expected. However, internet growth in the prevalent compared to other countries in the region. Studies show that PC sales are increasing in Saudi Arabia. Social and internet marketing seems to be growing at a slow pace. The marketing dimension of Saudi Arabia is concerned about the dynamic of internet usage. The ability of a website to attract clients in an intelligent manner is keenly being considered in Saudi Arabia. The major aims of web marketers in Saudi Arabia are to provide clients with customer centered services and getting the right audience. However, companies are also using the social media to influence the customizability. The social media is being used to ensure that consumer needs are acquired. This helps organizations in Saudi Arabia to deliver products and services accordingly. Currently, the Saudi Arabian internet market is described as immature. However, the probability of success in ecommerce and internet marketing is extremely high. At the moment about 40 percent of Saudis are making online purchases. The population is slowly embracing the use of internet when it comes to making transactions. This is profound when it comes to purchases on electronic goods. Introduction Globalization has led to the increasing use of virtual space to carry out real transactions. This has resulted in the pluralization of places. The use of internet and social media has been on the rise in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Statistics indicate many Saudis are conducting only transactions. Social media play a crucial role in the Saudi Arabian future economy. The using of social media to market services and products marks the essence of internet marketing. Social marketing refers to applying concepts and skills of marketing to achieve organizational goals. E-commerce sites like eBay have been good examples of the impact of social media marketing. This research proposal seeks to establish grounds for the basis of research into the actual impact of internet and social media in Saudi Arabia. Thesis There is a need to establish the impact of social media on brand awareness, marketing and liberalization in Saudi Arabia. A research should be conducted to indicate the best social platform and its effectiveness on the intended audiences in the business fraternity and general populace of Saudi Arabia. Relevance of the study There is a need to understand the dynamics of using social media marketing. The previous researches have not conclusively dealt with the economic impact of social media in Saudi Arabia. However, most of the researches create a basis for a proper research into the actual economic implications of internet in the Saudi Arabia compared to other Middle East economies. The impact of social media marketing has been substantive. The government of Saudi Arabia needs the research to be able to establish sustainable mechanisms for harnessing the gains of internet marketing. The study is relevant in making the Saudi fraternity technology savvy. The government, through the research can develop institutions that lead to increased use of social media. The study shall assess the contribution of the Saudis in the global market through their participation in the global virtual space. Saudi multinationals can use the internet as a tool to improve performance and trade with her partners. The study shall fill the gaps that have been left by the previous researches and make relevant observations. Literature review The Saudi Arabian market has been perceived as underserved in terms of ecommerce and online market penetration. However the government of Saudi Arabia has made strides to implement the e-government initiatives. This has harnessed services in both public and private sector in Saudi Arabian economy. Social media has increasing become the driving force for the emerging economies (Weerakkody & Al-Shafi, 2011). This is evident in South Korea, China and India. The Middle East is seen as an infant market. Jordan and Dubai has been tipped to the Silicon Valley for the budding Middle East markets. Egypt and Lebanon have had successful and profitable online business ventures. In Saudi Arabia 73 percent use search engines while 62 percent actively use social networking sites. The smart phones have a 60 percent penetration. According to statistics, 71 percent use email services and over 62 percent are connected to video sharing sites. The major internet access point in Saudi Arabia is the smartphone. However, over 45 percent feel insecure with online transactions which are a major hindrance in the country. Marketing and Customer care management is an integral part of any business that desires to become a success (Al-Nuaim, 2011). Today’s companies encounter cutthroat competition to establish and maintain their position as market leaders in various sectors of the economy (Spivak, 2001). One of the distinguishing factors is the reputation of a company among its customers, which can either make or break the business (Hillman et al, 2008). With the increasing use of Internet applications in doing business, online customer care is now also at the forefront. Therefore, it is crucial that companies invest in tried and tested strategies for Internet based customer care (Wayne, 2009). Bad systems lead to poor performance by companies as customers fail to receive the necessary attention (Professional Development Limited, 2012). According to John (2009), a company’s customer care strategy has to be automated in real time while they make use of the latest technology more. With a population of about 25.7 million people, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has about 8.4 million users of Internet technology with over 44.8 million phone accounts in the mobile industry (Al-Shehry & Rogerson, 2006). Statistics indicate that only about 38% of the population within the country has access to the Internet although 54% of these users are categorized as very active in their use of the Internet (Gummesson, 2000).This is in contrast to the United Kingdom and United States Internet users where only about 43% along with 42% respectively of their users are actively involved. This implies that the businesses in Saudi Arabia utilizing the internet for advertisement and communication purposes for the next three years will have a competitive advantage over those who do not invest in its use (Vithal&Jansen, 2009). The chances of success in performing Internet marketing are so high in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Sahraoui, 2006). This is because it is currently estimated that over 38% of the population using the technologies make their purchases online (Hillman et al, 2008). The current world, it is no longer an option for businesses to make the social media components of their marketing strategies (Cochran, 2007). Despite the projected growth in ecommerce within the kingdom, the authorities have imposed one of the strictest legislations on the Internet’s use (Braganza, 2000). This is to control the contents of communication since the country’s ruling regime is one of the most conservative in the world. The authorities usually access all the websites within the nation via a national regulatory service (Galbraith and Kazanjian, 2002). Therefore, businesses that plan to invest in ecommerce within the country should be very careful on the type of content they transmit. This is because failure to comply with the country’s legislations could result in imprisonment terms or the banning of their websites and business activities (Vithal and Jansen 2009). According to reports released recently, there are approximately over three million Saudi Arabian Internet users who spent over three billion dollars in making purchases through ecommerce in the year 2010 (Bartlett, 2001). The biggest selling products were electronics which came second to the sale of software products during the year 2010 (Hayes, 2007). This implies that businesses who had invested in the internet during the year made big profits as a result of their investment activities. Hotels and airports also recorded booming online business, as they were the top earners for online businesses in the kingdom (Borysowich, 2010). Currently, reports indicate that there are signs that these values will continue rising within the next few years (Al-maghrabi, 2011). This is because more people in their populations are joining the Internet and the service providers have also upgraded their systems (Hallinger, 2003). For instance, the STC Company within the country has upgraded her broadband levels of penetration from 4% to 22% in the remote areas of the nation which were previously not able to access the service (Harnisch & Taylor, 2011).This means that there is great support for similar businesses from the providers as they will be able to reach and trade with more citizens along with non-citizens in a more effective manner (Vithal and Jansen, 2009). The marketers participating or rather using the Internet should therefore begin developing their campaigns in the service (Niblock & Malik, 2007). This is in view of the infrastructural developments going on and the profitable nature of ecommerce within the country (Hamdan, 2005). There are predictions made that suggest that Internet spending is going to be on the rise as more of the wealthy people in the nation get faster access to the Internet (Al Ghamdi & Alhussain, 2012). This is in addition to the improvements being made in payment gateways to facilitate safer and faster transfers of funds. It is therefore the ideal moment for investors willing to invest in the sector to start exploring safe avenues and businesses to indulge in (Borysowich, 2010). According to Hayes (2007), the use of the Internet within the Saudi Arabian population has led to an increased awareness of their rights and has also helped reduce the oppression against their women (Alghamdi, 2011). For example, a campaign was started in the country using YouTube videos to sensitize the people on the right of a woman to drive. This was after the site highlighted the plight of a woman who was arrested on two separate occasions for driving and put into custody despite her driving safely (Adèr, 2008). The aired clip raised a great stir within the population and this is a good example of just how influential the Internet is within the country (Alshehri, 2012). The Internet has been widely used across many family lines and countries to connect people and businesses, which makes it a suitable tool for marketing products to the population (Vithal and Jansen 2009). The presence of major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask and AOL implies that the users of the Internet within the country have and will continue consuming a wide variety of commodities and services (Borysowich, 2010). Their experiences in utilizing the Internet will be made more exciting when the service providers have completed upgrading their systems speed along with bandwidths (Alfarraj, 2011). This may proceed for a period of one and a half years meaning that by the end three years are over the internet users will be more and revenues from trade will have almost tripled (Nandhakumar & Jones, 1997). On the other hand, the number of Saudi Arabian people who had accounts in twitter was increased 104% from 2008 to 2009 which is around 5 million users moreover; Saudi Arabia has the 30th rank of % of Facebook users (facebook Statistic, 2012). Research questions Do the regulations on the Internet’s use at a time when the service providers are improving on their speeds and broadband in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia affect the use of the technology and the revenues collected from their users’ activities? What is the economic impact of the current internet and social media use in the economic market? How do the social media platforms affect the business gross revenues in Saudi Arabia and how can the government make social online services for appealing and accessible? What is the estimated impact of the increased internet usage on the future of the Saudi Arabia trade? How can Saudi Arabian government establish motivational factors and incentives for both businesses and prospects and therefore developing a framework which could help companies to develop their mobile social engagement strategies?  Knowledge That Form the Basis for the Research Question The country’s legislations concerning the use of the Internet will form the major body of knowledge that will be utilized on the research. It will be used for the purpose of establishing the effect it has on the Internet’s use along with the impacts of going against it (Adèr, 2008). The other body of knowledge that will be applicable to the research will include statistics on various service providers and their operations. Reports detailing the revenues collected from using the Internet in comparison to other trade activities will also be applicable in establishing the effect of restricting its use in the society (Kouzes and Posner, 2005). However, there are several ways to strengthen sales, for example Dell gave the user who members in Twitter, promotion that exclusive offer 15% discounts. As result, Dell claims that they made just from Twitter $1 million in sales. Methodology When researching in the field of online and social media business performance in the republic of Saudi Arabia, the best approach is to use the quantitative and qualitative methods of research. The nature of the research requires details. It needs studies to be done among the social media personnel and firm shareholders to establish personal familiarity and respect with regard to performance indicators and measures. The qualitative and quantitative research method is one of the most exploited methods of research by other writers. It also is known are triangular or mixed method of research. One of the biggest merits of the triangular method is that the data collected from one method complements the data collected in the other method. This means that comprehensive opinions are obtained by the research for quality analysis. This shall involve surveying and interviewing the members of the organizational community in five large mining companies, between both top executives and shareholders by the researcher. This shall also involve four performance indicator initiatives, which were considered to be a reasonable in influence and capacity, in the large mining firms and the expectations among organizational stakeholders. Questionnaires: The aim shall be to get a wide range of opinions. Questionnaires are designed, to collect fundamental factors about online business communication dynamics in Saudi Arabia. This means that the questionnaires were used in the five online companies. They shall entail corresponding statistics about face book, tweeter and Google. The questionnaires shall be 10 in number. Some of the questions in the questionnaire require the top executives and principal shareholders in the organizational fraternity to state their understanding of online transactions and the impact of social media. This includes questions into the mode of determining ecommerce operations. The questionnaires shall establish the performance barriers in the roles in the social media. The questionnaires shall have an open section where the online buyers and sellers discuss their experiences with customers during firm operations. The research shall also focus on virtual or online business relationships. The questionnaires shall also require the respondents to state their biggest expectations during online transactions. The questionnaires shall access the level of exposure on the advantages on internet marketing. The research will assess and come up with the real impact of internet marketing in Saudi Arabia. Based on the literature review, a self constructed five –item structured questionnaire is imperative. The questionnaire shall be prepared to use 5- point Likert scale. Online business fraternity is expected to express a broad range of opinions in the focus groups on the key issues, in discussion. The social media personnel shall be expected to state the variations of revenue growth based on online marketing strategies. The shareholders shall state the definition of social media and internet marketing. The use of the structured questionnaire is inspired by cost effectiveness and relative convenience of the method. The questionnaire research method is also known to provide greater cover and anonymity than other research methods. Qualitative and quantitative methods shall increase the quality of data and findings. Respondents are required to show to what measure or extent they agreed with the statements in the scale. The responses will be expected to range from: agreeing strongly, disagreeing strongly. The respondents will be expected to respond to items such as; internal organizational politics can escalate organizational loss in this organization. This was followed by; inadequate skills by the Saudi online business fraternity that hinder organizational profitability. The questionnaire will be subjected to a pilot test to increase its reliability and appropriateness. Interviews: Up to 10 top personnel shall be interviewed using a method, known as the structured interview method. The participants were assured that the information would be treated with confidence. Observation: Data shall also be collected by observing organizational leadership behavior in five large social media companies within Saudi Arabia. This shall involve looking at the conduct of top executives and principal shareholders and comparing it with the observations made in all the companies. The research shall include the Smartphone usage statistics and their impact in daily lives. This shall include the nature of interaction with clients, owners, shareholders, the length of interactions and the general observations. Data collection and analysis Descriptive statistics shall be used to analyze the collected data. Data collection may involve travelling to the organizations’ premises and spending some time to interview and fill the questionnaires. This shall also involve content analysis. This is because the validity and applicability of data in qualitative research depends on how carefully the instruments have been constructed. This helps in ensuring that what is supposed to be measured by the instruments is precisely measured and obtained. The data from the social media and internet service provider companies shall be analyzed using the SPSS software to analyze the executive officers’ pay and performance of the firm. The questionnaires shall be shared in equal numbers, in the five internet and ecommerce companies and their portfolio personnel. This shall ensure that there is no bias in opinions. Integrity of the research: The integrity of the research shall depend on both the analytical and ethical adequacy. Data shall be collected only with permission from authorities in all the social media companies and internet service providers in Saudi Arabia, where necessary. This means that there shall be voluntary participation from the respondents, data protection, the purpose of the research shall be made clear and that the participants shall be assured of an opportunity to see and read that research report. Validity Validity is the degree of accuracy and reliability of the process of research and data. It entails defining the data and measures of collecting data. Constructive, predictive and content validity are enforced in the process of data collection. 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