Appendix A
Review of Literature
The review of literature synthesized our team’s research findings from different publications which consisted of expert knowledge that solidified our individual suggestions for ways to increase HHS memberships.
The Importance of Social Relations and Reputation
A vital point in marketing, especially in a small niche, is developing relationships with potential buyers. When working in smaller markets, appealing to individuals becomes a valid strategy. Research in one of the eminent institutes in Malaysia, the University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, under Dr. Abdul Razak Bin Omar described it as a main attribute. “The main purpose of niche marketing is... relationship marketing practices, and building company reputation based on long term mutual benefit with its customers” (Akbar, 2017). The research points to relationship building and focus on reputation as some of the main reasons to participate in niche marketing at all.
​
Research by the often-published Dr. Blocker out of Baylor University expands on this, claiming that those who relationship marketing appeal most to can be identified and set apart from their counterparts, as “socially-oriented”. Dr. Blocker is currently an associate professor in the marketing department of Colorado State University. He identified these socially oriented leads by their belief “that socializing is an important aspect of the interaction and are interested in fostering interpersonal relationships more so than getting immediately involved in the specific content of the task at hand” (Blocker, 2008). If this group of social clients can be identified, niche advertising may be more effectively focused. This is an especially relevant aspect to be aware of when advertising a social club.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
As identified by Dr. Friedman, a professor of business at Brooklyn College, in one of his hundreds of publications, authored alongside two of his fellow professors: “Hyper-differentiated products cannot usually rely on traditional mass advertising techniques such as television. The new kind of promotion that must be used is buzz marketing” (Friedman, 2007). Here, the authors point to the same conclusion of narrow strategies but identify this strategy explicitly. They also continue what was present in Dr. Shi’s paper and use absolute language like “must” to express that this narrow marketing is the only feasible solution. Plainly, niche, or “hyper-differentiated” markets, require a different, very specific, set of tools when compared to their competitive counterparts.
​
Call-to-Action Importance to Website Conversion Marketing
In literature, experts explain the critical impact call-to-actions have on the success of conversion marketing. Joshua Rice of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill states, “After doing a large amount of research on how to optimize e-commerce websites, call-to-actions showed up repeatedly as the key element for optimization” (Rice, 2014). Describing that call-to-actions are proven to be valuable in conversion marketing. Krisine Bardsen of the University of Twente agrees with Rice, stating, “In practice, a percentage of customers fail to progress through each stage…A digital marketer's goal, in essence, is to move a potential customer through all phases…, utilizing call-to-actions, resulting in a higher conversion rate for each call-to-action, and subsequently, purchase” (Bardsen, 2022). Describing that call-to-actions assist in the overall conversion marketing process. These experts conclude that call-to-actions are critical to the process and success of conversion marketing.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Social Media and Online Presence Risks
Experts acknowledge the value that social media can have on an organization or business. It often raises awareness about it and brings in new customers/members and general traffic. However, there are some risks that come along with it that organizations should be aware of. This is mentioned in the work written by Katherine Milde and Robert M. Yawson of Quinnipiac University. The two acknowledge the benefits it has, in increasing outreach, but discuss the risks and rewards of it. "Once a nonprofit decides to proceed with a particular social media site, it must also commit to keeping the content current and fresh. There should be new posts regularly to keep followers interested… Failure to do so may result in people not visiting the sites...not making a contribution of either time or money" (Milde, 2017, pp. 23). The authors do recognize that having an online presence is important and can be very beneficial, but that the time and risks that go into it are valuable to note.
​
Jennifer Ihm and Sangeun Lee in their article published through Voluntas discuss that there are also perceived risks on the customer/member side of things as well. They acknowledge that social media participation created community-based and in-person participation are two different things that can work hand-in-hand, but the way that the interaction is perceived impacts the outcome of it. "The studies discussed above indicate that how individuals perceive the costs of participation activities may play a significant role in determining their participation" (Ihm, 2021, pp. 1321). People are more likely to interact with something if it takes less time, which is why often there will be many followers on social media sites, such as Facebook, but that number is not reflected in the number of members an organization actually has. Social media can be a very valuable way to reach new consumers and market a business/organization, but it is something that needs to be done right.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Blend Ibrahim, who works in the business department at Ä°stanbul Ticaret University, agrees with this idea, and expands on the idea of who should be focused on being marketed to. “Managers should be not focusing their content solely on students or younger age groups; they should also try to adjust the content to match different age groups. Young age groups are more active on social media sites; however, other age groups are also important,” (Blend, 2022, 80). Often, the idea with social media is that younger generations and consumers are more receptive to it, but this should not diminish who is the target audience, just that the content needs to be adjusted to accommodate for said audience. Blend Ibrahim also has different ideas for boosting connections with already established members. Marketing based on the target demographic is essential for building the right kinds of connections with the right consumers, depending on the intended outcome.
Social Media Marketing and It’s Benefits
Experts have suggested that digital marketing has an impact on business or organization. It leverages various platforms to connect with target audiences, and build brand awareness. However, relying heavily on digital marketing is not always a good idea. In writing about the use of social media in the digital era A necessity or a choice, Musammat Khanom, a Professor at Leading University, in the department of business administration states “Today is the era of digitalization. Nowadays, people prefer to attach their lives to social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Hence, manufacturers and producers use social media tremendously in this digital era to reach customers with their products and services. Thus, social media marketing has become famous for businesses to promote their products or services, engage with their customers, and build brand awareness” (Khanom, 2023). Khanom claims social media is an effective way to advertise a business, and also expresses that this way of marketing can increase target audience as well as an effective way of communicating with customers.
​
Khan acknowledges that creating a customer connection through social media can develop loyalty and encourage people to recommend the business to other potential customers as well as establishing customer relationships. Sarah Berry, a web marketing consultant in Webfx, agrees with Khanom regarding the influence of digital marketing on business and organizations, she says, “As people spend more time and money online, businesses can increasingly use the Internet to reach new customers, drive more leads, and earn more revenue” (Berry, 2022). Berry explains the benefits of using digital marketing in today’s era to promote business. Berry acknowledges that digital marketing enables businesses to target audiences precisely based on demographic, interest and location. Notably, these author’s see a correlation between digital marketing it benefits, and a positive way to communicate with customers.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Dr. Saravanakurma acknowledges that social media is a hot topic for businesses today, it allows businesses to choose the profile of people that matches its target segment and communicate with them accordingly. Holly Paquette, an associate professor at University of Rhode Island, agrees with Saravanakurma regarding using the social media market to target audiences, she says, "The tools and approaches for communicating with customers have changed greatly with the emergence of social media. Social media marketing has become a connection between brands and consumers, offering a personal channel and currency for user centered networking and social interaction". Paquette expands the idea of marketing tools businesses should use to target their target audience. She claims that most businesses use Virtual Board Communities (VBC), to find people who share the same interest in organization, band or product. Marketing tools based on trust is the central aspect of social media marketing and audience target.
​
​
The review of literature assisted in the research findings that solidified our team's individual suggestions for the HHS to increase memberships.
The Narrow Scope of Niche Marketing Tactics
In these niche markets, the lack of competition allows for unique approaches to organization, though these can be limiting. According to Dr. Shi, a professor of sociology at the University of Iowa, this lack of competition necessitates limitation: “when the competition is less demanding, [a group] can grow only if it keeps to a relatively narrow range of strategies” (Shi, 2017). The use of “only” here means that if more general tactics are used to sell, they will fail. A paper published by three renowned business and statistics professors agrees with this sentiment.
Call-to-Action Strategies Effect on Website Conversation Marketing: Feedback
In literature, experts explain using different feedback call-to-action strategies can change a users' perception that can impact the success of conversion marketing. Daria Boganova of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, states, “Another important attribute, customer’s testimonials, appears with a picture, name, age, and a positive feedback from a client why the services helped” (Bogdanova, 2016). Describing factors that can influence users’ perception using previous feedback.
Dr. Zalmanson, Dr. Oestricher-singer, and Dr. Perez of Tel Aviv and New York University agree with Boganova about the influence of users' perception using feedback, stating, “A ‘question-behavior effect’ in which questions posed by the firm transform the user’s perceptions about the firm’s offering” (Perez, Oestreicher- Singer, Zalmanson, 2017). Describing that the use and wording of a questionnaire can influence a user's perception. These experts conclude that using different feedback call-to-action strategies can change users' perception that will impact the success of conversion marketing.
Social Media Marketing/Demographics
When using social media to market your business or organization, it is widely accepted that you should do it in specific ways depending on who you are trying to reach. This applies to both demographics you are trying to reach, along with what kind of consumer/how established the connection between the organization and customer is. Blanca I. Hernández-Ortega, who is an Associate Professor from the University of Zaragoza, along with others acknowledges the importance of marketing and posting specific content online based on what the connection between the organization and consumer already is. “Social media marketers should develop relational and intellectual content to drive sales to loyalty program members, and behavioral content to sell to non-loyalty program members most effectively,” (Hernández-Ortega, 2022, 1084).
Loyalty members, or people who hold membership in general, want to see content catered towards them because it is already known they have interest. However, when trying to reach out to new consumers, they need to be convinced on why they should consider becoming members, and why it is worth it to them. Marketing to both is important, but it should be considered.
Social Media Marketing/Target Audience
Social media has become the method of statement in today's era, it is widely accepted that it has become an effective way to draw attention to a business and their product or service. This applies to target audience, demographic, and customer-to-business relationship. In writing about social media marketing, Dr. Saravanakurma, an associate professor at Anna university, in the department of management studies states, along with other experts, acknowledges the importance of social media marketing and how it has affected today's marketing and audience target. "Social media has transformed research methods, this allows brands to communicate better with their consumers, and intensify their association with them. Social media is seen by Marketers today as a great opportunity to boost market share figures. It allows companies to establish a communication channel with its customers, market their products, build brand equity, and boost clientele faithfulness' ' (Saravanakurma, 2012).
