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social meet up groups), and professional groups (e.g., practitioner community), among others. However, the online social networks have attracted more research since they are equipped to produce data on the impact, reach, and progress of a product, which in turn, leads to rich analytics on customer behavior, customer preference, and product penetration and branding. This feature of the online networks has made them more conducive to rm efforts to monitor and manage them.
Mobile technology. Mobile technology has come a long way in a relatively short period of time due to the rapid technological transformations. Consequently, its inclusion in marketing applications comes as no surprise. Formally, mobile marketing is de ned as the two-way or multi-way communication and promotion of an offer between a
rm and its customers using a mobile medium, device, or technology(Shankar and Balasubramanian 2009). Further, the introduction of smart phones, equipped with the ability to capture multimedia and connect via cellular and/or wireless networks, have quickened the adoption of mobile technology into the mainstream marketing campaigns. In this regard, the mobile technology is being used for several marketing purposes such as
web browsing, sending and receiving text messages, advertising, distributing coupons, and providing customer service, among others(Shankar et al. 2010).
Internet. A noteworthy precursor to the mobile technology, the Internet set the trend in exponential growth in uses and users worldwide. This extraordinary growth has created exciting opportunities for rms
to build long-term relationships with customers.
As of June 2014, an estimated 43.6 percent of the world’s households were connected to the Internet.4
As a marketing channel, the Internet presents a
variety of features such as (a) the ability to collect, store, and retrieve vast amounts of data, (b) aid in marketing communication, (c) an inexpensive way
to deliver information, (d) providing rich, experiential content delivery, (e) serve as a transaction medium, and (f) an easy and inexpensive way of entering the marketplace(Peterson et al. 1997). However, challenges with respect to worldwide Internet penetration and uneven technological progress still remain that impacts international rms in achieving relevance, consistency, and control in the markets they operate in.
Electronic medium. The advent of electronic technology has dramatically transformed marketing practices. Prior to this, the print and direct mail (non- electronic media) were the sole means of getting
marketing messages across. The Sears Catalog is a classic example of the power of the non-electronic media. The early electronic in uences such as TV, radio, and theatre advertising brought in richness
to the marketing messages. Later, the integration
of telephone into the media options enhanced the
reach and intensity of the marketing campaigns. The electronic developments that have occurred since
then have spurred marketing options such as the electronic displays, fax machines, VCRs, CDs/DVDs, and MP3 music have been an important part of the marketing mediums. More recently, the broadband Internet has integrated several of these mediums and present interesting options such as game consoles, wireless phone, smart phones, e-books, and tablets that continue to present new opportunities and challenges to marketers.
Forms of Interaction
The digital media options have signi cantly transformed the marketing discipline in terms of marketing communication planning (Bezjian-Avery et al. 1998; Hoffman and Novak 1996). Further, studies have recognized the potential of the digital media to continue to impact the ways marketing communication is designed (Glazer 1999; Low 2000). In this section,
we will review the forms in which customer- rm interactions are typically forged.
Transactions. Transactions can be viewed as rm- customer interactions wherein social value and economic value are exchanged (Fournier 1998). Perhaps the rst and foremost form of interaction, transactions serve as an ideal means of rm-customer exchange. Over the years, rms have adopted
several orientations (e.g., production, selling, market, interaction, engagement) to guide them. Through all this, transactions have undoubtedly been a major part. However, its place and form in the respective orientations have continuously morphed. While the production and selling orientations focused primarily on the sales functions; beginning with the market orientation concept, transactions became much
more integrated with other rm functions (Jaworski and Kohli 1993). Later, the interaction orientation further integrated the sales function into the rm
and advocated a customer level approach by viewing customers both as a source of business and as a business resource for the rm, and recognizing the importance of customer networks (Ramani and Kumar 2008).Further, other developments in relationship marketing and customer value management streams
4 “The World in 2014—ICT Facts And Figures,” http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx (Retrieved on May 11, 2014)
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