Social Network Marketing: Customer Value, CRM, and Competitive Actions

Introduction

Westland (2009) described social networks as structures consisting of members that share one or more specific types of special interests. In this chapter, social networks will be understood Internet-based social networks related to a company (e.g Facebook), company’s product (e.g. Google Plus) or a non-profit initiative (e.g. Wikipedia).

In recent years, the question of social networks has been the subject of various studies, which focused often on their structure (Ansari et al. 2011, Xinlei et al. 2013) and on the relation between the use of social networks and the development of word of mouth communication (Trusov et al. 2009, Katona et al. 2011). To other researched aspects of social network which are important from the marketing perspective belong: customer behaviour (Park et al. 2009) and influence of social networks on brands (Zaglia 2013).

There is a marked important gap in many areas of social network marketing such customer value creation, CRM in social networks or their competitive actions. Often traditional approach cannot be utilized, which results from the fact that the customer value depends heavily on other customers. Hence, this social network marketing is more dynamic than in the case of traditional companies.

The main aim of this chapter is to present the specificity of social network marketing in the above mentioned areas (customer value, CRM, competitive actions). The research questions are following. How the customer value is created in social networks? How to manage the customer relationships in social networks? What competitive actions are taken by social networks to achieve an edge over competitors?

In the first part of the chapter, the concept of customer value in social network will be presented. The next will focus on the description of the model of customer relationship management, employed by companies in relations with customers who form a social network. The model attempts at elaborating a consolidated framework, embracing various activities that enter into the scope of CRM and focusing on their independent character. The final chapter consists of an outline of the main competition actions employed by social network-based companies.

This chapter is an attempt to describe the social network marketing with such notions as customer value (value for a customer), value exchange, and CRM. These terms have been used in traditional marketing for many years. In author’s view this approach is in line with the definition of marketing, according to which it is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large (American Marketing Association, 2007).