Understanding the adoption and use of social media marketing communications within a business-to-business context : a study among Maltese B2B companies

Abstract

Marketing tools have evolved throughout the time as in the beginning traditional marketing communication was heavily used however, we are currently in the transitioning phase towards digital marketing. Many businesses have been able to generate better targeted advertisements for their target market by utilising technology, which has the ability to have an influence both society and industry in general. As a result, marketing has taken on a more prominent role, and organisations who choose not to utilise effective forms of marketing communication would cease to exist or fail in today's society. Advertising strategies differ between B2C and B2B contexts, according to their target audience. B2C is an acronym for Business to Customer, and it refers to when a company connects with a customer in order to offer a product or service. While B2B stands for business to business, it means that a business shares information with one or more other businesses regarding the services that the business provides, such as involving a supplier and a distributor or a distributor and a retailer. The latter seem to have been a slower in implementing digital marketing methods within into their marketing efforts. The objective of this research is to determine whether B2B organisations use digital marketing tools rather than traditional marketing for branding and advertising. Another purpose that has hampered the adoption of SM marketing methods by B2B organisations to advertise their product or service is that B2C enterprises have a higher rate of acceptance. First and foremost, research was conducted on the issue, after consulting the literature, particularly on the evolution of marketing communication from conventional to digital. A number of questions were raised which in turn provided the basis for the main research question, which is: What are the main factors leading to a slower rate of adoption of SM marketing strategies among B2B companies? An exploratory research methodology was deemed as being most appropriate to address the research question, specifically one in which in-depth interviews with marketing managers or business owners were conducted, in order to obtain primary information on the issue. The best method to analyse such data, was to use a thematic approach, in which topics were chosen to organise the data into mutually exclusive group. According to the findings, the Maltese B2B companies' lethargic adaptation to digital marketing was due to a lack of knowledge and the complicated nature of a B2B partnership. As a consequence of the advent of digital marketing, B2B companies began to utilise a combination of traditional and digital marketing in order to obtain the greatest results.