LITERATURE REVIEW 2
Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW 1
NAME: ROHIN JOHN ALEX
PROGRAMME: MSC BUSINESS WITH LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT.
STUDENT NUMBER : W19034653
MODULE-APPLIED MANAGEMENT WORK INVESTIGATION (NX0470)
A LITERATURE REVIEW ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MARKETING STRATEGY: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPROVED MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS
WORD COUNT-4043
REFLECTIVE STATEMENT(NX0470)
WORD COUNT-1845
REFLECTIVE STATEMENT(NX0475)
WORD COUNT-955
Contents
Introduction 3
Defining Social Media 5
Social Media Marketing for Increasing Virtual Brand Awareness 7
Social Media Marketing as a Strategy of Measuring Consumer Attitudes 13
Conclusion 16
References 18
Appendix A1 21
Appendiox A2-Ejournals 24
Appendix 3-Reflective statement(NX0475) 35
Introduction
The success of any business venture relies on effective marketing strategies. The same applies to businesses seeking to help individuals secure mortgage solutions such as Approved Mortgage Solutions. There have been different approaches made towards understanding and improving marketing strategies. This section of the study attempts to present the various perceptions of previous scholars regarding marketing strategies and how they can be employed in a business to increase its competitive advantage and serve its customers effectively. Additionally, different perspectives will be synthesized to establish a deeper understanding of how these strategies are developed and how they can be improved for adaptation with Approved Mortgage Solutions. Recommendations of this review are based on how social media marketing can be adopted for the organization based on its ease of adaptation and presence of complete tools that can increase brand loyalty, brand awareness, and brand recall. Social media marketing is constantly being advanced through technological advancements, making it the most developed marketing strategy since its inception within the last two decades. Studies about social media have focused on defining the phenomenon by explaining the terminology associated with its application and the concepts which surround its usage. Studies have also explored the effect of businesses integrating social media tools to understand consumer behaviour within the wider context of applying these results to marketing strategies. The current paper reviews the terminology used to describe social media marketing and identify the different themes and fields of marketing present in previous research. The paper concludes with a provision of implications that might be drawn from these studies with regards to theory and application in business.
In the current technologically advanced world, social media is rooted in every aspect of society. Social networking sites are becoming effective avenues that are used by businesses to reach their consumers and extend their customer bases through effective marketing campaigns to a wider audience present on these social media platforms. In a study by Chi (2011), the concept of social media marketing is seen as an interlink of consumers to brands, providing a personalized “channel and currency for user-centred networking and social interaction” (Chi, 2011, pp. 46). According to Albors et al. (2008), consumer consumption habits have been influenced by the development of social media, with consumers developing new perceptions on their habits regarding how they assess, look for, choose, or buy goods and services. Marketers have found these new developments to be vital determinants of how they operate and affect marketing practices to establish tactics and strategies to present them with risks and opportunities in the use of social media tools for marketing (Thomas, 2007). The concept presents a wide range of tools that have since been tailored to develop approaches for improving communication between customers and businesses. As a result, many businesses are investing time and resources to familiarize themselves with the mechanisms of social media as a marketing approach constant with organizational cultures and business plans without changing anything (Mangold and Faulds 2009). The communication between businesses and consumers is vital in promoting brand loyalty above conventional approaches (Laroche et al., 2013; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Although still relevant in some cases, traditional methods fall short in managing to increase brand loyalty through the promotion of products and services since they target audiences not present on social media platforms. Therefore, they fail to establish an online community of online followers, suggesting brand loyalty through visible brand followers as suggested by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010). According to Gunelius (2011), maintaining effective communication is among the greatest benefits of social media. It enables firms develop new strategies of increasing brand recall, brand recognition, and brand awareness. Businesses are increasingly focusing on advancing their social media marketing frameworks to take advantage of the increasing audience in social media platforms as a way of increasing competitive advantages and increase their client base.
Despite the popularity of social media marketing in previous research, current knowledge is only based on theoretical and experimental research. This suggests that there has been an insignificant review of effective marketing strategies through social media tools. This article attempts to expound on this field and contribute to the field of research. Therefore, this paper will deepen and systemize the review of social media as a marketing strategy through a review of the wider scope of research and identifying studies that require further research. Furthermore, systemization will also enable the study to deepen the knowledge that businesses need to establish their desire to employ social media as a strategic marketing instrument.
Defining Social Media
This phenomenon relies on understanding what social media is about. An understanding of social media relies on understanding Web 2.0. Web 2.0 focuses on the way end-users utilize the World Wide Web (WWW). According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), the WWW is a place where every engaged operator is increasingly altering content in a collaborative and sharing way. Campbell et al. (2011) define social media as a place that is much more than what users do with technology than the technology itself. According to them, social media users are using social media in ways more than simple information retrieval. They are now creating and consuming social media content suggesting that social media are used in ways that add value to websites, allowing them to perform additional services rather than simple functions (Campbell et al., 2011, pp.87). According to the authors, Web 2.0 has received many upgrades making it a technologically advanced tool beyond simple functions to more advanced functions such as collaboration, interoperability, and interactivity. This has made the definition also evolve with the advancements to more befitting definitions.
In another study, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content” (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010, pp.61). The author’s explanation adapts to the new advancements within social media, suggesting that more advanced features are addressed. Sinclaire and Vogus (2011) argue that social media envelopes all software components that create easily transferable user-generated information. This definition builds on O’Reilly’s (2005) definition. The challenge existing with such definitions is that a normal website lacks the advanced features that make a social network website. Social network sites need to contain advanced features such as user profiles, content, and methods allowing users to connect with others and comment on posted content easily.
Additionally, social network sites need to allow individuals to join virtual groups based on shared interests (Cox, 2010). The general presentation here is the concept of social networking websites, a term used interchangeably with social media. In their study, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), argue that these two phenomena need not be confused since social media enables unity and interaction through the generation of personalized information profiles that are based on personal invitations to provide other users with access to these profiles.
Therefore, social media refers to an environment where social networking occurs, although the approach employed by users to gather information and make decisions has been altered. Additional studies have been conducted to understand the perception of end-users on social media as a marketing strategy and how they perceive the marketplace mentioned in the marketing strategy (Mady, 2011). According to Mady (2011), the motivation of users to partake in consumption activities is determined by their perceptions of the general marketplace. This suggests that social media marketing is only effective if targeted consumers are open to the technology of social media. In other words, they need to illustrate technology readiness. According to Mady (2011), this readiness is the people’s inclination to adopt and use new technological ideas to accomplish their goals at work or home. Therefore, businesses need to understand consumer technology readiness before embarking on social media marketing since this concept will not be rewarding if their consumers rarely use social media, don’t know anything about it, or have a negative perception about it. However, this review looks at many social media users as a positive approach for modern businesses to use social media marketing successfully.
Realizing this huge number serves as an effective way for the company to understand its target client base, especially since most businesses are targeting the modern customer who frequents social media platforms. This idea presents the phenomenon of the innovation adoption process that summarizes how individuals accept new technology. According to Mady (2011), an individual goes through five stages of the innovation adoption process: innovation knowledge, attitude development about an innovation, the decision to accept or discard an innovation, implementing an innovation, and confirming this decision. This information is very effective for businesses since it will enable them to comprehend the capacity of social media as a marketing strategy once they realize the attitudes of users towards the technology and adapt their campaigns in a way that will be successful and befitting for the organization. With the new technologies increasingly advancing social media, a platform for shared information between business and customers to keep in touch through individualized content makes social media an effective marketing tool. For example, consumers learn about their favourite brands and their products, while businesses using these indicators as a way of reaching consumers based on their online behaviour. According to Shankar et al. (2011), social media provides businesses with new and advanced technological tools such as powerful search engines, new advanced smart devices, online social networks, and advanced peer-to-peer communication platforms. These tools allow businesses through their marketers to reach a diverse range of online users, turning them into prospective shoppers.
Social Media Marketing for Increasing Virtual Brand Awareness
Research on social media marketing continues with focus on its role in creating virtual brand communities. According to Georgi and Mink (2012), these communities focus on the aggregate composition of consumers on the internet since they share a common interest in specific brands or products. Casaló et al. (2008) provide a detailed explanation of these brand communities as groups of people with similar interests in brands or products. Therefore, these communities are sites of complex brand existence focused on creating meaning and generating consumption efforts from a group of consumers with similar interests. According to Casaló et al. (2008), when individuals trust these communities, their participation is greatly increased, suggesting that they end up having positive participation experiences. This increases brand loyalty which is based on trust. In other words, the survival of the communities is based on trust. According to Cha (2009), consumer opinion towards social networking sites is also based on security. Therefore, the nature of security impacts the level of trust illustrated by a group of consumers on a brand community. Casaló et al. (2008) argue that since these communities depend on consumer participation, unity and awareness can strengthen the satisfaction of users in specific communities. This study suggests how powerful these brand communities are, suggesting how they are portrayed in online interactions between consumers with similar likes and interests, allowing marketers to adapt their involvement in such communities to understand their purchasing behaviour.
Other studies have explored how these communities have evolved with new features, for instance, the electronic consumer to consumer interaction (eCCI). According to Georgi and Mink (2012), eCCIs are communications between the consumers of specific e-services. According to the authors, the opportunity to interact with wider ranges of individuals is a vital element of social networking sites and consumer experience. It explains how consumers are interacting with businesses and their favourite brands. The eCCIs are also integral in influencing consumer purchasing decisions because consumers are involved in influencing each other. An advanced version of the eCCI is the eCCIq which focuses on quality as an element of customer interaction. According to the authors, the success of the eCCIq is dependent on seven factors such as content, security, hedonic (emotional aspects), quality, atmosphere, convenience, and social. In a study by Mangold and Faulds (2009), it is established that consumers are more absorbed by brands and firms if there are effective engaging patterns with the company to provide feedback. However, this extends to the business, whereby it is vital for the marketers to realise the quality of individual business’ social media presence, despite customers being involved in creating most of their marketing content as it influences the purchasing behaviour of the consumers. Therefore, organizations need to realize all the factors that impact their social media presence, including the social identities of consumers who are active online.
More studies on brand communities have explored the phenomenon of group norms and social identities as approaches influencing online groups’ purchasing behaviour. Therefore, Muñiz and Schau (2007) conclude that group culture and nature impact how each member interprets or attaches significance to products, brands or services. As a result, group norms reflect on the elements of social identity that establish the culture shared by members of a group. Therefore, the concept of social identity explores cultural elements that influence group related behaviours (Zeng et al., 2009). In a strong social group, community members have group intentions that embrace online advertising in brand communities (Zeng et al., 2009). Social media is composed of different social media platforms such as Facebook, with different communities based on the interests of users and the representation of companies. These platforms will present advertisements to members based on the relevance of a product to these users. This suggests that brand communities have varying degrees of ad exposure since some products do not advertise very often. According to Muñiz et al. (2007), members in different groups will consume ads more easily if they accept the meanings contained in such ads. Therefore, when a similar product is released, they will be exposed to the ad even when it is for a different product. The idea is that they have already established meaning to a given ad such that they will likely find another ad relevant to their desires. On the other hand, some members interpret ads when they attach meaning to a brand to their own experiences and not the other way around. Therefore, an advertisement of another brand will not propel them to change their perception of a given brand (Muñiz et al., 2007).
Additionally, members in a given brand community will value an ad relevant to a given community theme. The idea here is for an ad to adapt to what the community is about. If the ad is found to be irrelevant to the theme of the community, then the members would not consume the ad positively. According to Muñiz et al. (2007), ads can easily discourage the meaning of an ad seeking to adapt to the meaning of a given brand community. While an ad can have the potential of adapting to the meaning of a brand community, it can fault in its original idea, altering or manipulating its true meaning and purpose based on how it is used for branding. This suggests that these brand communities serve a greater purpose of a brand being successful among a group of members with similar desires. They also have the potential of changing the meaning of ads based on how they are presented in a community. This is possible if the advertiser tries to adapt to a community theme, altering the original message, which ends up getting lost through a campaign. Individual identity in social media and the customs and values of a brand community impact how people perceive an ad presented on social media. This suggests that individual cultural backgrounds unique for every individual in the brand communities can impact community customs.
Individual culture and social media behaviour have long been a subject of numerous studies. Pookulangara and Koesler (2011) explore the role culture plays on social media through an adapted form of the Technology Acceptance Model3 (TAM3) tool. This tool emphasizes the procedures and roles associated with the perceived ease of use and usefulness of technology. The authors establish that perceived usefulness does not impact perceived ease of use and vice versa. The authors use TAM3 to determine the cultural background of individuals and how it impacts perceived ease and perceived usefulness to distinguish the behavioural interaction of different users perception of social media. They also use TAM3 to examine the role of individual cultural backgrounds on how they interpret the ideas and messages presented through social networking sites through a conceptual framework based on TAM3. The following image represents the adapted TAM3 model.
Experience
Subjective norm
Image
Perceived usefulness
Perceived ease of use
Cultural background
Intention to use social media to accept marketing content
Perceived Enjoyment
Experience
Subjective norm
Image
Perceived usefulness
Perceived ease of use
Cultural background
Intention to use social media to accept marketing content
Perceived Enjoyment
Figure 1 TAM3 illustrating how cultural background influences perceived usefulness and perceived ease of social media as a marketing tool
Figure 1 TAM3 illustrating how cultural background influences perceived usefulness and perceived ease of social media as a marketing tool
The authors conclude that culture is a factor influencing how people perceive and act towards a technological application such as social media. Therefore, individual cultural background plays a role in influencing how people interpret social media and its content. The authors note that social networking has enabled new cultural ideas that are not shaped by unique values or ideologies but the new communication tools and rituals associated with Web 2.0 (Pookulangara & Koesler 2011). Therefore, businesses should identify the role of culture and its influence on individual online behaviour before employing social media marketing. This perception is important since social networks link traditional cultures to the new technological cultures created by the internet. Additionally, cultural backgrounds, values, customs, and beliefs can greatly influence an individual’s consumer opinion and attitude towards a specific product, service or brand produced by a company.
Social Media Marketing as a Strategy of Measuring Consumer Attitudes
Consumer attitudes are among the most vital elements that businesses need to realize before adopting social media marketing. It is vital for businesses to realize factors influencing consumer attitudes and their motives towards the brands, services, and products advertised through social networking sites. According to Heinonen (2011), businesses need to realize the relevance of this issue since consumers are becoming more involved in the creation of content for services, brands, and products more than companies. This has traditionally been the role of companies, meaning that a company can alter information to the best of its advantage and prevent somewhat damaging information from damaging the reputation of a firm. While this has been the norm for many companies in the past, the trend is becoming overseen and replaced with consumer-created content based on reviews and feedback. Studies exploring this direction of research examine the aspects of social media websites and their influence on consumer attitudes and motivations towards a brand. Chu (2011) examined the relationship between Facebook brand-associated group membership, ad responses, and the psychology of individual information disclosure and group members and non-member attitudes. The author concludes that group members have a high likelihood of disclosing information than non-members. The author reveals that for such groups to be effective in promoting content, participation and engagement have to be central elements of a campaign. This is because these two factors determine how invested an individual will be in consuming the content. The authors also reveal that the success of ads posted in the groups rely on the personal information disclosed by users when they reveal their connections with groups when they promote brand or product ads as they interact with their friends. According to the author, Facebook groups are equipped with channels deemed useful by consumers when looking for self-status in product categories.
The author also reveals that Facebook groups members have a positive perception of social media advertising. This positive perception suggests that a member is more likely to join the Facebook group of a particular brand to keep up to date with tailored promotional content (Chu, 2011). Therefore, the author establishes that there is a strong link between customer use and engagement in groups of social media sites. This suggests that there is a higher success rate of social media being employed as an effective marketing strategy. Chu (2011) goes ahead to reveal how favourable social media advertising is for college Facebook users. College users are among the targeted consumers in modern companies since it forms part of the largest demographic of internet users. Therefore, social media platforms are among the most effective tools for a business seeking to target a large customer base, especially if most consumers are within the generation present mostly online such as modern family and college students.
There is also an inclination of attitudes influenced by the different types of advertising contents posted on websites. Cox (2010) explores this area of research by examining the association between attitude and age in increasing individual perception of posted content. The author determines that there are different attitudes among different age groups regarding online advertising formats such as brand pages or channels, video contents, or blogs. Social media content is tailored to be appealing and eye-catchy to users of a given age group. For instance, content curated for users in the 18-28 age bracket will not have a similar affinity to users within the age bracket of 35-54. Different ad formats are, therefore, suitable for different age groups due to difference in taste. For example, video and branded content were discovered to be preferred by users within the 18-28 age group since they were amusing, informative, and eye catching as opposed to brand channels and video for users in the 35-54 age groups (Cox, 2010). In a nutshell, social media ad formats strike positive attitudes among users from different age groups in modern society. The author goes ahead to argue that if an ad is intrusive or interferes with the normal online behaviour of an individual, such as appearing in the form of pop-up ads, they will be disliked, creating a negative attitude among users who felt that this pattern was affecting their online presence.
Another inclination of social media as a marketing tool reflects on the different perception of ads based on a social network. This was examined in the study by Chi (2011), who looked at how different perceptions emerged with advertisements on different social networks. The author associated this perception with individual motivations for social networking in defining their perception of social media to market services or products of a company. To explain this concept further, Harris and Dennis (2011) use a loose form of the technology acceptance model (TAM), combining perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness of the framework to determine consumer perception of social media. The authors conclude that consumers who are students rely on a hierarchical foundation of trust when online on platforms such as Facebook. The study reveals that students have great trust in ‘actual’ friends more, then Facebook friends. They then trust expert blogs and independent review websites more than celebrity and e-retailer websites (Harris & Dennis 2011). According to this finding, users attitude on social media as a marketing tool will be based on how trusting they are to the feedback, testimony, or recommendations they receive from their trust circles before they consume the message contained in a marketing campaign. Therefore, if they receive credible information of how social media influenced their purchasing behaviour from an actual friend, they will imitate their behaviour in changing their perceptions on social media as a marketing. This would suggest that innovative features of the TAM model are effective. The following figure summarises this observation.
Innovation factors of the TAM model
Usefulness
Ease of use
Imitation factors responsible for adoption
Subjective norm
Word of mouth
Individualism
Adoption
Weak uncertainty avoidance
Short term orientation
Innovation factors of the TAM model
Usefulness
Ease of use
Imitation factors responsible for adoption
Subjective norm
Word of mouth
Individualism
Adoption
Weak uncertainty avoidance
Short term orientation
Figure 2 Factors that may hinder an individual from adopting social media as a marketing tool
Figure 2 Factors that may hinder an individual from adopting social media as a marketing tool
The figure shows that although an individual may accept the information on social media based on word of mouth, their individual traits will not be changed completely to accept the technology. They will go through avoidance and orientation to familiarise themselves with the newly acquired information.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social media marketing has the potential of leading to the success of a marketing campaign, especially if the target consumer frequents social media platforms. The case of Approved Mortgage Solutions is not very different since most of the targeted customer base is within the age bracket of 28-54. Recommendations mentioned in this review are effective in allowing the organization to maintain a growing client base and increase its competitive advantage. For instance, the TAM framework has been found to be an effective approach to understanding how individual traits are linked to the perception of social media as a marketing strategy. These measures can propel user perceptions on a given page and influence their attitudes towards a given service. Therefore, marketers need to be aware of consumer attitudes before they engage in social media marketing. Studies need to exhaust this area of research and present an idea of how consumers perceive social media marketing to improve the efficacy of this strategy, not only as a way of increasing comparative advantage but also as a way of ensuring that customers illustrate brand loyalty and continued engagement.
References
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APPENDIX A1-REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
This reflective statement will help us examine the employable skills I have attained during my consultancy project.The project overall gave me an insight to how the corporate world would be and how it is going to be working with colleagues. I will always have a better opportunity since I have been a part of this program and I have achieved skills with confidence. This consultancy project gave me a chance to work with a housing firm and consult them on their marketing strategy. Since i am a supply chain and logistics major, this experience will give me a boost in my career.
Developed competency traits
IT
This project required us to work with MS teams, MS word, google docs,powerpoint etc. I was always confident in working with these tools but never had a chance to show my work to others and get their feedback. Which gave me more confidence than before the project started.
We had to do primary research in order to support our recommendations and we had to find our ways to create a questionnaire using qualtrics. The links generated for the survey were used to send to facebook groups on housing and mortgaging and even individually to people.
It was a new task for me, as I had not done this in my prior projects and it helped me in learning it. This project has taken my fear over using tools of the internet to make our life easier and it was new which was introduced to me by being a part of this programme.
Teamwork and Communication
This Project has given me an insight to how it is going to be working with colleagues in the corporate world. Every individual team member came from different ethnicities and circumstances, all of them have their own way of functioning. As for my previous years belbin report, my least favoured trait was a team player. And my best quality was a leader.
It was not easy not being the leader and taking up the charge, but I had been used to being a leader in most of the groups I have participated in. I stayed back and worked as a team member,which was new to me and I took it up as a challenge to try and do my best for the team.
However, all my teammates did an impeccable job at delivering and being a team worker.
As i mentioned before, we had members from different ethnicities, so verbal communication was
Not as easy as i was expecting but we overcame all those hurdles and we started working with our teammates in harmony.
If any of our team members was not feeling well or could not attend the meeting due to their personal problem, the team would always take up the chance to brief the member who missed the meeting.
Business knowledge
Prior to joining for my masters I was working for a construction business for almost 2 years, but my job description was into operations. This consultancy project has given me the chance to learn more about marketing even though my major is in supply chain and logistics. It will help me in boosting my career. My skills for analyzing and finding new marketing strategies gave me an idea as to how fast marketing is evolving. If used and implemented properly, we can always turn a business around from loss to profit. We hope to have given approved mortgage solutions their marketing golden ticket to success.
Experience
My experience with the business clinic was really informative and I had the chance to work closely with 5 other colleagues,which I feel like I learned more from my teammates through the project.
I had an experience in working with many people before joining for my masters but never had the chance to work with such a competent and diverse team. As it was COVID-19, we had the liberty to meet through Ms teams to discuss and brainstorm all our doubts and queries which was more informative and experience boosting.
Problem solving
There were a lot of hurdles that we had to overcome in order to maintain our teams success, considering most of us lived in different time zones, delay of work from the teammates sometimes, which had jeopardized our team to some extent but we had revived the whole team back.To address the difficulties raised above, efforts were made such as brainstorming alternatives and noting the benefits and drawbacks of each one in order to select the best option. Regular contact with the client was maintained in order to get the necessary information, and motivating one another in the team resulted in an increase in morale for everyone, resulting in positive outcomes.
Confidence
I had chosen this project to finish the tasks allocated to me on time and present it. We had weekly meetings, and the praise I received from my team leader and teammates for my up-to-date work gave me the courage to improve my performance and speak up without fear. I had never worked with real clients before this consulting engagement, and I was nervous at first then i overcame my hurdles and started to work towards my goal.Nevertheless, we had a rehearsal before the first meeting, and I prepared short points that helped me have a flow during my presentation with the customer, and after the first successful interaction, I felt much more confident for the second meeting. These team and client encounters have managed to boost my confidence, which will help me in my future endeavours.
Conclusion
The skills I gained through this consulting project have given me the confidence to approach future job interviews with a positive attitude. The optimistic thinking will give me the confidence to face and answer the questions that will be posed during the interviews.
After completing this project, I’ve noticed a shift in my attitude toward using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and other similar applications. I usually needed help before the project, but with the practise I’ve gotten this time, I’m now able to create reports and presentations on my own.
I have gotten the confidence I was hoping to get when I joined the course.It has been an extraordinary experience for me.
Overall, this experience has given me extra insight apart from supply chain and logistics and inclined towards marketing. Which is going to boost my career.
APPENDIX A2-EJOURNAL
Week 1 –(31-01-2021) Initial team meeting and discussion of client brief.
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT- The team was introduced to us by our professors through the facebook group and later on our numbers were shared on the chat to create an individual WhatsApp group for every team.The WhatsApp group was created in order to discuss project related queries and share everyone’s materials.
We were created as an individual group on the MS team, and we conducted our first video meeting.
A google document was created to add all the adequate questions to ask the client by the team.
Basic literacy and use of English- Communication was extremely effective with english, as most of the team members are from different countries. Such as India, China and Ukraine.
-Knowledge of english also helped with our discussions of the client brief and to take on the next upcoming task.
Analysis skills- The client brief was shared to the group by the university, the team members studied the brief and we analysed that the client marketing budget was not mentioned in the brief.
Approved mortgage solutions was the client we were given the brief material on,as I had no prior experience or knowledge with mortgage advising,I began to do a basic market study on it through google.
Positive attitude to work- Every team member had just received the brief and everyone responded to the group with their queries within the week on the chat.
However, as most of our team members and in different countries due to the pandemic, it was difficult for everyone’s immediate response.
Apart from that, the team was excited to take over the consultancy project.
Problem solving- Since the studies were online,we initially had some setting up problems with MS teams. And it was resolved by the team members.
The team was asked to fill an ethics form by the professors, and the team was finding examples through the internet as we had no prior idea.j
Team working- We already had experience working as a team in the previous semester.Hence, we were adapting easily to our new project and communicated effectively as a team.
In the meeting, the client brief was discussed by the whole team and we discussed our doubts with each other. It gave a chance to all members to understand the brief thoroughly.
As a team, we divided our work according to the brief and made sure everyone understood their part of work. All the doubts were discussed as a team .
Leadership skills- The team came to the decision to have our previous leader as our current one, as the person had the experience with it.
Every team member was a leader on their own and that was the policy we discussed as a team.
Week 2-(3-2-2021)-Gathering questions and meeting the client.
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT- Using Google, the team gathered questions to ask the client in our first meeting.
A meeting was arranged with the client through MS teams. It was a successful first meeting.
After the meeting, we shared our feedback to the client and they did the same through Email.
International Cultural Awareness- The team introduced a new member who was an international student from China, as I was very excited to be part of something with such a diverse ethnicities. It was initially hard to communicate with everyone, but as a team we helped each other to overcome every hurdle.
Analysing skills- As asked by our leader, all the team members were ready with the questions to ask our client,related to their topics.
All the questions produced by the team members were verified prior to the client meeting
Positive attitude towards work- It was our first meeting with the client, I was nervous on how to approach the client. However,I was confident with my queries.
We had agreed as a team to have a mock meeting to go through our questions, so we were confident with our client.
The team introduced a new member and he was accepted by the team and briefed on the project so far.
Team working- Task was divided between the team members and everyone had cleared their doubts with the help of the whole team
Team was given instructions by the leader to discuss in the next meeting.
Hence, everyone got on with their researchers on social media,marketing strategies etc.
Self-management- I was always someone who listened before I spoke anything,therefore, I decided to do the same during the meeting.
I took down notes during the meeting to ask the client about their company and how they functioned.
Relevant work experience- I was able to understand the size of their operation and understand what kind of a marketing consultancy they would be expecting that is attainable in their reach.
Business and customer awareness- The Client meeting gave us a gist to how corporate meetings take place and how to behave in a professional manner.
After the meeting, we were aware of their clientele and what kind of recommendations were expected from us.
Week 3-(15-2-2021)- Collection of data
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT-
We were efficiently using google documents which was created to upload our finding related to everyones respective topics.
We mailed our client in order to get a list of their previous clientele to understand the pattern. And the details on budgeting.
Analysing skills-
All the information gathered by the members during the meeting with client was discussed with the team. However, we found some complications that had to be cleared out.
Our clients operation was on a small scale. Hence, their budget on marketing was very less. So we had to find our options for low cost or free marketing.
Problem solving-
We had issues with the meeting timings as all of us were in different timezones, but we made sure we had our ways to include everyone in every meeting.
If any difficulties was faced by any of the team members it was always our first priority to help each other. As we had issues regarding referencing, then we found Mybib which made our task easier.
Teamwork –
Marketing is not my strong profile but I had done a few modules on social media strategies in my undergrad. I was able to help my team members with the knowledge I had on marketing.
Tasks were assigned to their choice to complete within time allotted to the team.
Self-management-
I always made it to a point to deliver my tasks as quickly and efficiently as I could. Since marketing was not my strong profile, I had to take help from my team members also.
International cultural awareness- There was a big difference in how different cultures had different ways of operating. It was an eye opener to how efficient and helpful some team members are and at the same time you can’t expect much from others.
Week 4 – (23-02-2021) Discussion of recommendations
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Teamwork-
We discussed different marketing strategies to our client such as guerilla marketing, social media marketing etc.
We had meeting discussing on the tasks we were allotted to,
And we had discussed creating a survey in order to find our clientele preference.
We discussed the type of questions to be added in the survey and all the members participated.
One of the members was away due to the pandemic, and I tried our best to brief the member on what was discussed.
Use of IT-
We had to find a tool to conduct our survey, so we decided to use google survey as a team.
We mailed our client regarding the questions to be added in the survey.
Problem solving-
As a team we faced a challenge to find the appropriate tool to use for the survey, after a few hours of discussion through MS teams we were able to decide on google survey.
Self-management-
The task assigned to me was completed and delivered.
Week 5-(5-3-2021) Primary and secondary research
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT-
The marketing strategies discussed in our meeting, and i was taking up the social media marketing strategies. I did all my research through the internet and various sites
As we discussed in the previous week, we had to conduct a survey,we changed to a qualtrics website due to university requirements to approach old clientele
The survey idea was well received by the client and was given affirmation through the mail.
All the information was uploaded on our teams google document in order to be discussed.
Positive attitude towards work-
All the team members took up the gather the information depending on their task assigned in order to make the survey.
Team working- Since we are in a group all of our work was divided and everyone was helping the team by doing and uploading their individual works.
Business & customer awareness-
Secondary research helped me to understand how marketing works in SME firms.
As the survey was prepared,we got a clearer idea as to how to approach our marketing strategy.
Week 6- (18-3-2021) Reviving survey data.
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT-
An email was sent out to our client to find out on the pricing given to their customers.
We started to do our survey by approaching people through facebook groups on housing and mortgaging.
Few questions were discarded by qualtrics, we sent the revised forms to new groups .
Teamwork-
Our method of gathering primary data through surveys did not help us in gathering the data we required.
Team was a bit discouraged, but we decided to discuss new methods to gather data and take help from our professors.
Problem solving-
The issue of inadequate data was resolved by sending links to individual group members, in which we gathered data.
I sent out more than 45 links to individual people through Facebook messenger.
There was some delay from some people in the group but they were resolved as we gathered all the data we needed with all members.
A team member had personal issues they had mentioned, which was understood by the team.
Work experience-
Client experience is very important as I could relate to my previous job and resolve most of the problems I was facing by myself.
Working with a team is a different experience as everyone operates in different methods. But everyone got along very well and our leader made sure to get work from everyone.
Week 7-(2-4-2021) Updating of content
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT-
Data received was adequate to move on with the project and we gathered graphs through qualtrics to analyze our findings.
Analysis skills-
To support our recommendations, we did a market survey to support our recommendations.
We realized our survey showed we need to approach social media through different methods like influencer marketing as it was in high popularity.
Positive attitude towards work-
The data gather gave us more clarity to the work we were doing. And gave us to confidence to go ahead with my consultancy project as we were on the right path.
Teamwork-
The survey helped us gather 50 responses out of almost 300 that were contacted, on an average of 50 per member. It was good to see teamwork.
Relevant work experience-
It was first experience working with surveys, and i learned a lot in terms of how to make a survey and team work.
All the work was verified by one of the team members.
Week 8-(8-4-2021) meeting with client and new requirement
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT-
We decided to have a meeting with our client through the MS team to discuss our recommendations and get his feedback.
Animated videos were suggested by our client, which was taken up by my teammate and I.
Basic numeracy skill-
We calculated the required budget to implement our recommended marketing strategies.
Analysis skills-
After properly analysing our primary and secondary data the team collected, we had decided to confirm our recommendations.
Positive attitude towards work-
Researching after finding data on our recommendations gave me assurance we were on the right path.
My teammate and I had discussed on finding tools to help with our animation task.
Problem solving-
Clients new requirement gave us a chance to solve another problem which was taken up enthusiastically by one of the teammates and I.
Team working-
Our Impeccable team work led to all of us presenting good work to our client.
Work with animation was done with the help of our teammates suggestions.
Self-management-
I kept focusing on my literature review as we were going forward with the group assignment.
Week 9-(18-4-2021) Submission of work and discussion on budget
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Use of IT-
Research and data was collected on my topic and it was shared with my teammates. And I received critical feedback for my work. Which helped in preparing better.
The cost the marketing strategies we recommend was found on the internet.
Teamwork-
As we were in our final stages, all the members’ task was to find the cost for each strategy they recommended.
Discussions on how to make the presentation was done by our team.
Self-management- I was still in my final stages of my research during that period, i submitted my work to our leader and some changes were suggested.
Positive attitude towards work-
My leader and teammates helped me in understanding my topic better and i was able to produce a better report.
Week 10-(27-4-2021)Forcast discussion and preparation for final presentation.
Employability & leadership attribute skills
Basic numeracy skills-
Return on investment had to be calculated in a forecasting method, which needed numerical as it had calculations.
Use of IT-
We had our final meetings to finalize our reports and decide on our mock meeting before our final presentation.
Teamwork-
Every team member delivered their work, which led to our success.
Many members had doubts which were unhesitant cleared by the team.
Everyone was very keen on having more meetings before our final presentation.
Positive attitude towards work-
Everyone was enthusiastic about their work and did their level best to complete all their work
Relevant work experience-
Working in the business clinic consultancy gave me an idea on how the corporate world would function. The professionalism and decorum maintained by my teammates during every meeting taught me more about myself.
APPENDIX 3-ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT- REFLECTIVE STATEMENT(NX0475)
I was always inclined towards logistics and it was the reason why I took supply chain and logistics as my major and I have experience in working with logistics. it was my first time going abroad to do my education. I was very excited about the United Kingdom and the university I was going to study in. I was nervous to meet new people from different countries, but the induction programme at our university made it easier for us to make friends. The iced breaking sessions which was held during the 1st semester. I had enquiries about my accommodation which was helped by the ask4help team and gave me assurance that they would help me at any time in need. It would be helpful if the university could make the student be given a briefing on their accommodation status before they come to the university.
The business with supply chain management and logistics was an extremely considered course, we had a module called global developing competencies, which taught me lots of skills on excel and presentation skills as well. It helped us in doing an analysis study on football clubs and comparing their work by making dashboards. The residential weekend was exceptional for me as I got to meet a lot of new people from my programme, it was part of the emotional and cultural module which gave me more confidence. In the residential weekend, we were put into groups and asked to perform different tasks, which was useful in terms of skill and communication building. Since I was coming from India, it helped me in diversifying my crowd beyond my ethnicity, which was really liberating for me as a person coming from a third world country.
My most enjoyable module was the strategic management module, in which were included topics on procurement, marketing etc. the task was form a team and build your own car company through a programmed website, which made us compete individually with the teams. It gave me the confidence to present my work in front of the whole class.
Then modules which were taught to us after this were all the core subjects that were needed for the supply chain and logistics management, which I gained knowledge on different processes such as procurement, inventory management, logistics management, technology advancements used for retail and warehouses like IoT etc.
Moreover, In the next module Sustainability and risk management in supply chain and logistics, it gave me an idea as to how the GrSCM will play a vital role in supply chain management in terms of finding various ways to reduce the carbon footprint in the process.
The business game and consultancy project gave me a chance to work with my colleagues in teams, as most of my team members were from different countries, we had a culturally diverse team. There were a lot of differences between each member, some were not very outspoken or did not have the confidence to speak in english, but i realized by the end of our consultancy project, most of the teammates had overcome their hurdles .I also got the chance to analyse different level of competencies between the teammates, as every member had brought knowledge to the table. Working with a multicultural team has given me the confidence to face people with different ethnicities or skills, which has resulted in me delivering in competent work.
However, working in teams has got its drawbacks as well, such lack of support, incompetence etc.
At Northumbria University, all the assessments were all assignment based, which was new to me. It took some time and help from my tutors to be able to produce work up to the standards.
Later on, I realised I had found my own easier ways to gather information. This method of doing assignments in this country has taught me a lot on practical ways to problem solving. The detailing that goes in preparing an assignment, has given me the opportunity to improve my work in terms of making it more attainable for better grades. A quick check at the module files on Blackboard was enough to recollect the projects and tasks I had accomplished during the course. As I was deeply immersed in the course, this demonstrates my good comprehension of the topics and abilities developed throughout the course.
I was working for a logistics firm before joining for my masters. I was really interested in the line of work I was in. But this course has taught me a lot about different wings of supply chain and logistics management, such as risk management and supply chain sustainability. The information I learned from these concepts will assist me in quickly adapting to new working practices in the industries, as well as assuring a continuous and risk-free flow of work.
Overall, I was very content with all of the teaching and modules. I would like to see some changes in the way of assessment, where the university introduces more exams than assignments, which I feel will be beneficial for the students to have a thorough knowledge on the modules taught. I had the good fortune of being a part of a business consulting project that allowed me to interact with clients. Overall, my knowledge of supply chain, logistics, and business operations, as well as abilities such as IT, confidence, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, have all improved as a result of this master’s course, and I’ve made relationships with teachers and colleagues.
As I write this reflective statement, I can understand the changes and improvements that I have attained over the 2 years of this course. I am glad to be a part of Northumbria university and making me a professional and competent candidate for my future endeavors.
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