Relationship Marketing on Social Medias : A case study of Instagram

Background Relationship Marketing has during the last decades received a lot of attention. The approach enables companies to develop and improve beneficial interactions with their customers, which leads to increased profits and additional value for the customers. Due to the growing trend of the Internet and social medias companies need to adjust their Relationship Marketing to fit into this new digital era. Purpose To explore the customers perception and expectations on relationships with companies on social media. Research Question What motivates consumers to participate in a relationship with companies on social media? Methodology The research takes on a qualitative approach with a case study design. The chosen data collection method is semi-structured interviews. Conclusion The main findings are that customers’ perception of a company-customer relationship is that it should be personal and consists of a two-way communication, where both the company and customers are a part of the value creation process. The main expectations are that companies should post inspirational pictures, updates and news, discounts/offerings and pictures containing products and information. Instagram is not seen as a suitable platform for communication but rather as a strong supplement to a company’s’ other marketing channels. Due to the prominent expectation of inspiration on Instagram companies should take a stance in this and lean more towards becoming an inspirational account of their own products and services