Social Media Marketing in the Scandinavian Industrial Markets

Background

In the early 1990s, company websites were aimed at one-way communication displaying company information and an offer. Later, more interactive websites were developed which included feedback mechanisms such as direct email links, feedback queries and signups for newsletters, surveys and questionnaires (Perry & Bodkin, 2002). Today the new websites are designed based on responsive design principles which scale webpages to different device requirements and screen sizes (personal computers, laptops, smartphones, tablet computers). Samiee (2008) highlights that while the use of the internet no longer offers a competitive advantage, not having any presence on the internet whatsoever increasingly leads to a competitive disadvantage as for example companies are actively seeking alternative suppliers via search engines and land on the company websites and industry portals (Davis Kho, 2008).