Annotated Bibliography
Berman, B., & Thelen, S. (2018). Planning and implementing an effective omnichannel marketing program. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 46(7), 598-614.Â
The article strives to highlight the difference between multichannel and omnichannel marketing from a retail perspective and examine marketing features related to these approaches. The authors argue that an omnichannel strategy has several advantages and can help manage customer demand effectively. In addition, barriers to the productive implementation of such an approach are mentioned, particularly the fear of technological innovation. Multichannel strategy is considered to a lesser extent, but for such a topic, this is not a gap since omnichannel practice is judged to be more conducive to managing a marketing program.
The research is credible and includes many references and figures to increase the reliability of all estimates. The other studies used in this paper touch upon the omnichannel approach less and focus more on the aspects of brand experience and promotion. The article is easy to read as it contains tables, schemes, and lists. The assessment of barriers is one of the deepest among the other sources used, but the article lacks empirical data to discuss the implications of the findings in more detail.
This study is useful for the discussion of marketing program management and can be utilized effectively to describe the significance of the omnichannel strategy as applied to the field in question. The arguments about the benefits of this approach compared to the multichannel one will be mentioned. The value of technological innovation in brand experience management will be cited to highlight the value of this strategy of marketing development and its advantages.
Gao, L., Melero, I., & Sese, F. J. (2020). Multichannel integration along the customer journey: A systematic review and research agenda. The Service Industries Journal, 40(15-16), 1087-1118.Â
The main research question of this article is aimed at revealing the principles of control over the marketing mix across the customer journey by utilizing the multichannel approach. The authors conduct a detailed literature review, study relevant sources on the topic, and highlight a number of significant variables to take into account when planning promotion strategies, particularly industry features, customer purchasing intentions, and some other criteria. The multichannel environment takes up the bulk of the article, while the omnichannel strategy is mentioned only in one of the analyzed articles. This narrows the range of assessment but, at the same time, allows covering a specific research area in as much detail as possible to highlight its main features comprehensively.
Along with the other articles used for this work, the research includes much information about technological innovations used for marketing purposes. The focus on promotion and customer demand is also core, as in other studies, allowing multiple findings to be applied successfully to the analysis of the management of relevant marketing principles. The article contains tables and diagrams for the easy perception of data in a concise form.
When applied to the assessment of brand experience and promotion as the approaches to enhance sales, this article provides valuable insight into the multichannel strategy. The conditions essential to consider for formulating optimal management practices will be mentioned in the following discussion. The factors affecting the sustainability of the marketing mix will be the aspect of evaluating the approaches to managing the declared variables.
Kuehnl, C., Jozic, D., & Homburg, C. (2019). Effective customer journey design: Consumers’ conception, measurement, and consequences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(3), 551-568.Â
The authors identify the effects of a customer journey design and brand experience on the aspects of loyalty and brand attitude and seek to identify relevant correlations by analyzing empirical evidence from two countries. In their study, they conclude an effective design is closely related to brand attitudes described as utilitarian, while brand experience is more associated with hedonic attitudes. Other terms related to the management of marketing programs, such as the multichannel approach, are mentioned in passing. This means the main focus is on the comparison of the aforementioned two parameters, and other criteria are not discussed.
Along with the other studies involved, this article considers the aspects of brand experience broadly and offers detailed insights into the factors it influences. From a visual perspective, the study also includes schemes and tables, which is its strength. Compared to other involved articles, the work is valid because it includes the empirical data that shape the basis of the study and allow obtaining objective conclusions regarding the correlations under consideration.
For the discussion on the topic of managing brand experience and promotion across the customer journey, this article will be a valuable resource raising the pertinent issue of related variables and criteria, such as loyalty and brand attitude. The empirical evidence will be cited as the crucial component of this study. A detailed assessment of specific parameters will allow giving credible arguments regarding the influence of a customer journey design and brand experience on perception factors.
Ngarmwongnoi, C., Oliveira, J. S., AbedRabbo, M., & Mousavi, S. (2020). The implications of eWOM adoption on the customer journey. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 37(7), 749-759.Â
This study considers the concept of electronic word of mouth, or eWOM, and is aimed at identifying its effect on customer behavior at different stages. The authors assess the impact of online platforms on the formation of consumer preferences and evaluate the motivations for using such resources. In addition, the researchers identify customer types based on their findings and note the impact of eWOW on such an aspect as the customer journey. Such phenomena as brand experience and promotion are not mentioned in the study because the main focus is on analyzing the role of the digital space and the corresponding marketing incentives.
Compared to the other studies, this article provides the most in-depth discussion of online platforms and their role in shaping customer demand and marketing factors. The used lists and schemes make the findings easier to perceive, and the empirical data gathered through interviews enhance the credibility of the research. As a result, the findings of this study may be based on the actual experiences of the respondents and their views on the suggested purchase incentives and motivators.
In relation to the future discussion, this article will be used as a resource to assess customer principles of shaping purchasing preferences. The role of the digital environment will be mentioned, and the findings from this study will be taken as evidence. The factor of a suitable approach to interaction with customers will be assessed by considering digital sites as convenient platforms for stimulating demand and affecting purchasing intentions effectively.
Zha, D., Melewar, T. C., Foroudi, P., & Jin, Z. (2020). An assessment of brand experience knowledge literature: Using bibliometric data to identify future research direction. International Journal of Management Reviews, 22(3), 287-317.Â
In their research, the authors raise the question of the need to develop a convenient research framework designed to study the concept of brand experience in detail and pay attention to the factors influencing the very concept of a brand. As a method of analysis, the researchers use a detailed review of a number of articles to collate their findings and reveal relevant data regarding the concept of brand experience and related aspects associated with marketing activities, such as consumer-brand relationships. In addition, the criterion of promotion is mentioned, but other approaches, such as multi- or omnichannel strategies, are not analyzed. This narrows the scope of research but, at the same time, allows focus on a specific concept.
The article contains numerous figures and tables that, despite their relevance, complicate perception and make research difficult to understand. Compared to the other resources used, this work addresses the findings of other researchers exclusively and makes arguments based on the analysis of these data. However, for evaluating the topic of brand experience management, this strategy is valuable as an approach that uncovers multiple practices and marketing steps.
Of all the studies reviewed, this article will be the least useful for future discussion. Nevertheless, its findings on the importance of coordinating policies that control brand aspects will be applied, and ideas about the potential of these analytic activities will be mentioned. The approaches to assessing brand experience proposed as research frameworks can also be utilized as alternative conceptual models and analytical algorithms.
Discussion
The topic chosen for the analysis relates to managing brand experience and promotion across the customer journey. The methods to stimulate purchasing intentions and enhance brand loyalty are valuable marketing initiatives needed to engage effectively with customers and identify specific trends that drive demand. In the current academic literature, there are many findings regarding these types of marketing programs, including empirical evidence and systematic reviews. The topic of managing modern customer retention approaches carries relevance in the context of intense competition and a wide variety of technology solutions, which some marketers, nevertheless, fear. The differences in these tactical strategies determine the nature of interaction and the productivity of communication, which directly affect the sustainability and pace of sales. The information from five credible peer-reviewed articles has been evaluated to synthesize the findings and identify specific trends in brand experience and promotion, and at the end of the discussion, future research areas will be suggested based on the collected data.
In the resources involved, the focus is on approaches to brand experience and promotion management. However, some articles, such as those by Berman and Thelen (2018) and Gao et al. (2020), consider the omnichannel and multichannel strategies, respectively, by paying attention to the differences and advantages of each approach. Based on the findings, one can conclude the omnichannel strategy is better suited for sustainable marketing work than the multichannel one (Berman & Thelen, 2018). The value of technological innovations is high due to the digitalization trend and the massive transition to online shopping. At the same time, Gao et al. (2020) offer valuable conditions that need to be met to effectively manage brand experience and promotion by applying the multichannel strategy, particularly customer, firm, and industry characteristics, to gain a wealth of insight into the prospects for desired interventions. Given the nature of marketing activities, empirical evidence forms an important basis for analyzing customer preferences and motivators. From this perspective, Berman and Thelen’s (2018) article is the least valuable, while the study by Kuehnl et al. (2019) offers much information based on real-life reviews on the aspects of brand attitude and customer loyalty. The authors argue building a sustainable customer journey design, along with proper brand experience management, helps address the task of client engagement (Kuehnl et al., 2019). Therefore, the adequacy of the marketing strategy can be assessed in terms of the ability to promote the feedback system. Given such motivating tools, one should assess the research by Zha et al. (2020), in which few practical recommendations are given, but valuable advice regarding control mechanisms is mentioned. Coordinating the aspects that define brand experience should be promoted as a one-stop solution when planning promotional approaches (Zha et al., 2020). In addition, the findings by Ngarmwongnoi et al. (2020) about the importance of the digital environment and its impact on shopping preferences should be mentioned. Electronic platforms are convenient sites for placing advertising offers, and interaction with the target audience through these channels allows creating the most effective incentives, which is in line with Berman and Thelen’s (2018) ideas on the role of digitalization.
Future research on this topic may address a deeper assessment of approaches to managing appropriate marketing strategies. According to the findings by Berman and Thelen (2018), a more detailed analysis of the interaction of the omnichannel approach with a purchase funnel can be made in the context of a planning regime. A comparison between the omnichannel and multichannel strategies can be made to distinguish not only the positives mentioned by Gao et al. (2020) but also the negative features. To highlight the role of a customer journey design and its impact on the sustainability of sales, the findings by Kuehnl et al. (2019) can be taken as a background for evaluating different criteria but not just brand attitudes. The features of brand experience can be learned in different environments since, as Zha et al. (2020) note, numerous current studies lack the discussion of emergent channels. Finally, the analysis of the differences among each of the popular online platforms mentioned by Ngarmwongnoi et al. (2020) can allow for finding the optimal marketing mechanisms for influencing purchasing decisions with an emphasis on each media resource individually.
References
Berman, B., & Thelen, S. (2018). Planning and implementing an effective omnichannel marketing program. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 46(7), 598-614.
Gao, L., Melero, I., & Sese, F. J. (2020). Multichannel integration along the customer journey: A systematic review and research agenda. The Service Industries Journal, 40(15-16), 1087-1118.
Kuehnl, C., Jozic, D., & Homburg, C. (2019). Effective customer journey design: Consumers’ conception, measurement, and consequences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(3), 551-568.
Ngarmwongnoi, C., Oliveira, J. S., AbedRabbo, M., & Mousavi, S. (2020). The implications of eWOM adoption on the customer journey. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 37(7), 749-759.
Zha, D., Melewar, T. C., Foroudi, P., & Jin, Z. (2020). An assessment of brand experience knowledge literature: Using bibliometric data to identify future research direction. International Journal of Management Reviews, 22(3), 287-317.