The Role of Chatbot Marketing Efforts in Enhancing Customer-Brand Relationships for the Finnish Fashion Brands
Khonkanen, Evelina (2023)
2023
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023060116998
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023060116998
Tiivistelmä
This study investigates the impact of chatbot marketing efforts on customer-brand relationships and engagement in the Finnish fashion industry. The primary goal of the research was to identify how customer engagement could be improved through chatbot marketing efforts.
The theoretical background discusses tech-powered marketing, including conversational and augmented marketing approaches, the application of chatbots in marketing, the chatbot communication quality, and its correlation with customer-brand relationships and engagement. The empirical part evaluates the chatbots of local fashion brands, explores the extent of chatbot application among users, the effect of chatbot marketing on customer-brand relationships, and discovers how the chatbot user experience can be ameliorated.
The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, the heuristic evaluation of the fashion brands’ chatbots was conducted. Second, the survey was administered to 97 participants with prior chatbot interaction experience, and which results were analyzed with the help of IBM SPPS statistics software.
The results showed that Finnish fashion brands are scarcely adopting chatbots, and these menu-based basic types of chatbots are lacking entertainment and customization features. The survey revealed that users primarily utilize chatbots in e-commerce and financial services on a monthly or quarterly basis. In terms of user perception of their selected brands’ chatbot marketing properties, users’ reactions were moderately positive and partially consistent with the prior research. Respondents found the accessibility, interaction, and information satisfactory, while customized assistance and entertainment were met with skepticism. The respondents acknowledged the chatbot's easiness of use and response time effectiveness, but valued accuracy and trustfulness as low. Chatbot customization was discovered to have a positive impact on brand satisfaction and loyalty.
The user insights exposed that there is a potential for fashion brands to accommodate chatbots more intensively on their platforms. Along with the practical chatbot functionalities like orders, and delivery, it is recommended to fashion brands emphasize customization and entertaining features to promote affective engagement with the brand. Moreover, the brand should ensure the communication quality of the chatbots.
The theoretical background discusses tech-powered marketing, including conversational and augmented marketing approaches, the application of chatbots in marketing, the chatbot communication quality, and its correlation with customer-brand relationships and engagement. The empirical part evaluates the chatbots of local fashion brands, explores the extent of chatbot application among users, the effect of chatbot marketing on customer-brand relationships, and discovers how the chatbot user experience can be ameliorated.
The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, the heuristic evaluation of the fashion brands’ chatbots was conducted. Second, the survey was administered to 97 participants with prior chatbot interaction experience, and which results were analyzed with the help of IBM SPPS statistics software.
The results showed that Finnish fashion brands are scarcely adopting chatbots, and these menu-based basic types of chatbots are lacking entertainment and customization features. The survey revealed that users primarily utilize chatbots in e-commerce and financial services on a monthly or quarterly basis. In terms of user perception of their selected brands’ chatbot marketing properties, users’ reactions were moderately positive and partially consistent with the prior research. Respondents found the accessibility, interaction, and information satisfactory, while customized assistance and entertainment were met with skepticism. The respondents acknowledged the chatbot's easiness of use and response time effectiveness, but valued accuracy and trustfulness as low. Chatbot customization was discovered to have a positive impact on brand satisfaction and loyalty.
The user insights exposed that there is a potential for fashion brands to accommodate chatbots more intensively on their platforms. Along with the practical chatbot functionalities like orders, and delivery, it is recommended to fashion brands emphasize customization and entertaining features to promote affective engagement with the brand. Moreover, the brand should ensure the communication quality of the chatbots.